By Elliott West
Introduction
First played in the 1930s, bar billiards developed from the French/Belgian game Russe, a game of Russian origin. Played to this day as a league game, it still remains popular in English counties such as Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Suffolk, Northamptonshire, Guernsey and Jersey. Bar billiards is a form of billiards that involves potting balls in holes rather than pockets. A pastime that you would probably find in a tucked away country pub but a game that is still relevant historically.
History
The game of bar billiards was originally derived from the French billiard, a game played by the French aristocracy and monarchy of the fifteenth century. It was played on very expensive tables and over time evolved into Russe in the sixteenth century, something played by Russian Tsars and a derivative of Bagatelle played by the French royalty.
Bar billiards was first brought to the United Kingdom in the 1930s when a man called David Gill, witnessed the game Russe being played in Belgium. Armed with his brainwave, he took his idea to the company Jelkes in Holloway Road in London and persuaded them to make a similar table. This led to a flurry of tables being made by similar companies such as Sams, Riley, Burroughs and Watts and Clare. The standard league tables have a playing surface of approximately 32 inches and Sams manufactured a narrower version at 28 inches.
The first pub league was established in 1936 in Oxford and shortly afterwards leagues sprang up in Reading, Canterbury and High Wycombe. This also led to the Canterbury Team Challenge Cup being formed in 1947 and was held for the next 50 years.
Born out of this creation, came the formation of the Bar Billiards World Championship, a tournament founded in 1981 and played to this day annually in Jersey. First won by Harry Siddall from Jersey, the event is still held to this day but hasn’t been played since 2019 due to Covid restrictions. A unique game that brings together many of the elements of cue sports in a compact size. One that will hopefully survive in the coming years and passed on to future generations and is still going strong in the South of England and the Channel Islands. A little piece of history that is a hybrid of several historical games. Such a table today would cost you £5,000.
