Due to the wonder of the internet I managed to make contact with Arabella Youens (editor of countrylife.co.uk), the great granddaughter of the Reverend Canon Algernon Fearnley Cyril Youens the late Vicar of Brodsworth village. My message was passed onto her Father Richard who has kindly given us the following information.

It appears that the table was acquired by Canon Youens in the 1930’s for the Brodsworth village club which he started in old garages at the bottom of the vicarage drive. The club became very popular with the local parishioners not least because the owner of the local brewery lived directly opposite. Undoubtedly a few samples were brought across the road.Richard just about remembers the table but was not allowed anywhere near it.

Due to the ornate nature of this table I suspect it may have come from Brodsworth House , it would be interesting to find out further information about this lovely old table. Any ideas - please make contact !

 On Friday we came across the first Wik table (manufactured in Poland) we have seen in operation. The  table was quite well built but had a bizarre way of attaching the top rail to the table. Basically you had to remove rubber bungs from the top rail and then release with an Allan Key. The issue being that on all commercial tables these bungs are easy pulled off and removed by customers. Thus you are left with an unsightly number of holes in your commercial table. They need to rethink this if they are going to gain any market share in the UK.

 Whilst involved in dismantling an Antique Orme and Son Table in Nottinghamshire today our Senior Billiards fitter Geoff Large discovered a nice piece of provenance on the back of one of the knee panels.

The official Orme and Son document stated that the table had been returned to the factory in September 1936 for some remedial works. The table belonged to Rev.Canon Youens M.A. of Brodsworth Village near Doncaster. No doubt this table had pride of place in the vicarage for some considerable time before ending up in its present location.The table itself had a lovely Burr Walnut finish with ebonised detailing and buttons. The slates were in fairly good condition and were a good 2″ thick. Therefore the table probably dates from 1900 onwards.Unfortunately the table had not been looked after very well and was in very poor condition  requiring significant work. A sad end for what will have been a beautiful table when new ! We believe the Canon’s church was in the grounds of or close to Brodsworth Hall. The hall definitely had a Billiard Room - perhaps there is a link , anyone who can spread some light on this subject -please get in contact.

 Table now installed at University in Canterbury NZ. The plaque reads Hopkins & Stephens , nephews of the late John Thurston. 19 Mercer Street , Long acre , London.

 Many thanks to Margaret Wilkinson who has made contact having read our blog re Early Tables.  Margaret asks whether I have any information re a billiard company that was originally called Hopkins and Stephens. Although the information is all under comment , I am going to list the details in case anyone else can enlighten us further.

It appears Hopkins and Stephens were in business from 1859 -1872. They were nephews of John Thurston and provided a Table and accessories for Charles Darwin. Their base was Covent Garden in London.

The gentlemens full names were Richard John Hopkins and William Richard Stephens. They had two sons who were also Billiards manufacturers. They were called Richard John Thurston Hopkins and John Stephens.

In 1869 Richard John Thurston Hopkins went bankrupt and by 1872 he was in liquidation , it appears however that both these gentlemen continued to make Billiards Tables.

Clearly ‘Stephens’ is a well known Antique Billiards Table manufacturer - but are they one and the same person ? Any information you may have re these pioneers of the industry would be most useful.

 We are interested in hearing from anyone in the USA Cuesports industry or indeed any individuals or group based in The States that might be interested in selling Antique Snooker Tables from a base in the USA. If this might be of any interest to you. Please get in touch.

 The hits on the website are growing all the time and the response from around the world is astonishing. Thanks very much for all your support its genuinely valued.

Due to the interest we have been generating from abroad we have recently sent product to Rumania , Australia , South Africa , Hong Kong and the USA. Therefore if you see a product that you would like or find hard to obtain in your own country. Please get in contact and we will endeavour to fulfill your order as economically as possible. We will install Tables anywhere you would like as long as transport allows. We regularly go to Europe so please ask for a quotation - wherever you are.

I am delighted to report that the new range of Peradon Cues and Cue cases is now updated on the website.

The range has been refined and extended to include a very high quality Pool cue range equal to the standard of the Snooker Cues.

The one piece Snooker cue range is now fairly small and reflects the increasing sales of both 2 -piece and 3/4 Cues.

Cues are a very personal choice but I would definitely check out ‘The Balmoral’ and another favourite of mine is ‘The Ascot’.

The Cannon range of affordable cues has been both refined and increased in number. The novelty cues have gone and a far more traditional looking range produced. 

For American Pool fans out there have a look at the new Macmorran cues which have the Irish linen wraps , we expect these to do well in the run up to Christmas!

Peradon have taken a major step forward with their Pool cue offer. They now have a collection of three section cues in English made Ash and a lovely range of cues supplied with a 6″ mini butt.

Keep a look out for ‘Venom and ‘Saturn’ - at last Pool players have been given an opportunity to have a cue to rival the excellent Snooker range.

The Cue case range has altered dramatically as well with an all new Leather range and some seriously bright cases to balance their more traditonal range. Look under the relevant headings on the front page for more information.

 Early Thurston table

In the previous post I detailed some of the history of early billiard tables. In this post I will cover some of the other companies who were involved in a similar period.

One of those companies was the renowned John Thurston a name that is still well known amongst billiard fitters today. In 1799 Thurston who was a cabinet maker by trade opened a business in Newcastle Street , The Strand , London. He manufactured expensive furniture and billiard tables.

However by 1814 Thurston had decided to focus solely on the manufacture and sale of Billiard tables , he undoubtedly benefited from providing a table to King George the Fourth and his wife Queen Caroline who resided in Greenwich London.

The initial tables that he built from 1799 onwards were made with wooden beds up until the introduction of slate in 1834. He proudly claimed to use only the finest Spanish Mahogany and English Oak in his products. Thurston was an undoubted artisan and lived in London at his place of work , he took tremendous care in the production of his tables and soon provided an entire range of tables to suit all clients. The most expensive of these tables were very heavily carved and benefited from silk pockets.

Interestingly we have recently restored fully a 9ft Thurston table which originally had a wooden bed and was then converted to slate at a later date. We could clearly see where the wooden dowel aperture had been altered in the cushions to receive a slate bolt. The slate was very thin which suggests it was a very early table. This table is now in a private residence in Cropwell Butler , Nottinghamshire , UK.

From 1834 he described all his tables as ‘Imperial Petrosian Tables’ this referred to the introduction of the slate bed to the table. Petros is a greek word meaning ‘rock-stone’thus emphasising the strength of his new products. Its important to understand that due to the skill and craftsmanship of these manufacturers they were more than capable of producing one offs in different materials. Its said that at this early stage models were produced out of metal frames probably more of a demonstration of their abilities as opposed to anything else. Regardless Thurston achieved a significant landmark when in 1851 he supplied a table to the Great Exhibition in Hyde Park and was awarded a Gold Medal.No doubt this had a very positive effect on his trade at that time.

The best was still to come for these pioneers of the trade as the Victorians took to billiards in a big way. There was an explosion of interest in the game particularly amongst the nobility and landed gentry. It was a time when demand almost out stripped supply as every large house was built with a billiard room.

Indeed Queen Victoria herself had a table erected at Windsor Castle in 1838. The table remained in situ until 1936 , this famous table was then removed back to Thurstons in central London.Unfortunately this table and many other antiquities relating to the billiard trade were destroyed by the bombs of the German Luftwaffe in World War II.

Thurstons reputation for outstanding quality spread across Europe and he installed tables for the Duke of Brunswick in Germany and also the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Apart from the cost of the table the Duke had to also meet the employee’s expenses of £33.17 shillings !

Billiard fitting is an art and requires consummate skill as demonstrated ably by one Francis Carey. He entered Thurston’s employ in 1839 and remained with the company for 60 years. He retired in 1899 having been in charge of the factory for many years. He must have supervised the production of thousands of tables , and a testimony to the quality of these tables is the number that are still operable today in clubs and homes up and down the country.

Dependent on design some Thurston tables can be bought relatively cheaply , however if you wish to purchase a heavily carved model in excellent condition you will have to pay in excess of £10,000 from a dealer.The rarity of these tables drives the price upwards as does the magnificent workmanship.

An early example of a Gillows table circa 1820

I think its worth detailing some historical information about this wide ranging subject. Therefore I will continue to produce information on original manufacturers and their histories. If anyone has further information - I would be delighted to receive it.

One thing is certain and that is that the origin of Billiards is very obscure.There are many references to the game throughout history but most of these refer to an old version which was apparently an outdoor game played on a court surrounded by wooden boards called banks.

Its believed that the game was first played indoors on a table. France can lay claim to some of the earliest references which appear to be in the time of Louis x1 (1482-83). From around 1600 there are many references to the game of billiards both in the UK and on mainland Europe. One of the most famous references is that of Mary Queen of Scots who whilst a prisoner in Fotheringay castle complained of being deprived of her billiard table. Amongst other references are those attributed to James 1st King of England and indeed Shakespeare in his play Antony and Cleopatra.

Clearly the game evolved in a number of ways in the preceding years and a variety of tables were produced with differing games played on them.
Undoubtedly one of the most famous manufacturers was a company called Gillows. In fact originally the company was known as ‘Gillows and Taylor’ and in addition to their role as Billiard Table manufacturers they were also Cabinet Makers , Upholsterers and Undertakers.

Its recorded that they were making tables from circa 1770 all be it the game was quite different to that of today. The table was approximately five feet in length and two and a half feet in width. The game played on this table became known as ‘Trou Madame’ and involved balls being struck under arches in order to score points.

Gillow was a cabinet maker from Lancaster who understandably realised that there was a market for these products in London. He therefore set up a business with a partner Mr Taylor who died shortly afterwards. Thereafter the tables were produced in Lancaster and sent by horse drawn carriage to London. Eventually Mr Gillow entered into a further partnership with a Mr Waring to form the now very well known furnishings company ‘Waring & Gillow’.

The business continued apace and its known that on average between the years 1770- 1820 fifteen to twenty tables were made per annum. Gillows tables are still in existence and used in both private houses and members clubs. Early examples are much sought after by serious collectors and fetch many thousands of pounds.