Containing everything needed to enjoy the fine game of croquet, Jaques' Surrey Croquet set pays tribute to the heartland of croquet playing, England's Home Counties.
For many, the name of Jaques is synonymous with croquet. Though the game had existed in some form or another for many years, it was John Jaques II introduction of the game at the Great Exhibition in 1851 that brought the game the attention it deserved. The games popularity proved infectious, and it became hugely popular throughout the British Empire in a matter of years - indeed, it was said that "Nothing but tobacco smoke has ever spread so rapidly". For his display at the Exhibition, John Jaques II won a Gold medal and cemented Jaques of London's place in sporting history. JJ II was widely regarded as the foremost authority on the game, and in 1964 published 'Croquet; the Laws and Regulations of the Game', by which (with some revisions) the game is still played today. Nowadays there are croquet clubs all over the world, with many millions of casual players. A sport that can be played by man or woman, young and old, it is with some pride that Jaques of London can say they are still producing the highest quality croquet sets 160 years on from John Jaques II's first presentation.
The Home Counties, around London, have always been the spiritual home of croquet. John IV, John V and John VI and now JJ VII all made their homes in Surrey at one time or another. This Surrey set has a lovely natural pinewood box made from sustainable timber, containing full size English ash mallets handmade by Jaques and fitted with their famous Corrigrip handles.
These provide a long lasting, practical grip giving a similar performance to the leather grips fitted to many competition mallets. The Surrey Croquet set has full size double scored balls with an excellent rebound factor for family play and fired enamel heavyweight steel hoops robust enough to allow effective wired shots.
The lovely hand painted four colour winning post with its gold top peg clip holder reminds everyone of the order of play, and the weather resistant 4 colour corner flags define the court boundaries. Also included are a set of spring hoop clips to indicate each players advance around the court, and ball marker pegs to record a ball's position. Finally Jaques Basic Laws of Croquet includes the rules of Association, Golf and Short croquet and much handy tactical advice on the game. The Surrey Croquet set, a comprehensive and high quality set with all you need to play the wonderful game of croquet.
