This nice old Darts plaque may have been silver plated originally. It's also possible that the high sheen of the 'cartouche' at the bottom is the result of the original inscription being polished out, which is a shame as this would have helped locate the plaque to the pub or club it originally came from. Having said that, it does make this attractive trophy eminently re-usable.
I can only assume that the engraver was payed by the letter to embellish this humble Pewter Tankard trophy. Presented to a W. Jones some 55 years ago, the abbreviated lettering is probably for the Newfoundpool Working Mens Club in Leicester. Now a non-political social club, it is still going strong and hosting a wide range of traditional games, including Leicestershire Long Alley Skittles and the rarer Leicester version of Table Skittles.
The tradition of awarding a trophy to teams and individuals who finish at the bottom of a league table is a long one, and usually takes the form of a Wooden Spoon as shown below. Whilst nobody wants to win one of these trophies, it is to the credit of the pubs and team members who receive them that they are generally always displayed in the pub and not tucked away out of sight. A trophy for the Leicestershire game of Long Alley Skittles is quite a rare one these days, so a special award for the lowest average score as seen above could only be found at one of the current hotbeds of the game. This one sits amongst a shelf-full of assorted pub game trophies at the Rose & Crown, Thurnby. The skittle alley at the Rose & Crown is one of the better known in the Midlands, and features prominently in Arthur Taylor's book 'Played at the Pub'.
The Artizan Ladies Darts team appear to have a stranglehold on the Division 2 wooden spoon. This basic back street Northampton pub is active in local Darts, Pool, and Cribbage leagues.
These impressive Shields, displayed at the Eagle pub in the Lincolnshire town of Boston, represent some of the spoils of the Boston Dominoes League.
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