Ealing Croquet Club

History of croquet

Games in which a ball had to be knocked around a course of hoops or obstacles with a mallet were popular in seventeenth and eighteenth-century France. One of them, “Paille Maille”, was introduced to London, where it was played on open ground near St. James’s Palace – later becoming known as Pall Mall. It is to these roots that many croquet historians look when trying to explain the origins of the game.

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Croquet has been played in Lammas Park, albeit not continuously, since the early years of the twentieth century.Since the opening of the park in 1883, Ealing Council has promoted sporting activities. By 1907, in addition to the usual avenues of trees, flower beds and a tea chalet, there were two bowling greens and a cricket pitch with shelters for the players.

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