Croquet at Wimbledon 1870Croquet seems to have reached England in the early 1850’s, probably from Ireland. It enjoyed a surge of popularity in the 1860’s, as women embraced an outdoor game they could play on equal terms, and both women and men discovered the joys of meeting the opposite sex without the intrusions of a chaperone.
 

By the 1870’s, croquet garden parties were all the rage; the All England Croquet Club had been formed and laws agreed; and croquet tournaments had become an established feature of the summer.
 

The latest equipment - 1907 styleThe new craze of lawn tennis then became the latest fashion, but croquet staged a magnificent revival in late Victorian and Edwardian times, with the game well established as a spectator sport and the national papers publishing regular match reports.  Croquet was even included in the 1900 Paris Olympics.
 

Nurses C and H Pollard challenge convalescents at Stapleford Park military hospital, 1940The game made a distinctive contribution during both world wars despite the challenges of bomb damage and shortages of equipment.  As well as raising very large sums for war relief, it proved ideal for convalescing servicemen in field hospitals and as recreation for war workers.
 

International matches were first staged in 1925 and continue to this day, with home internationals against Scotland and Ireland, and Test Matches between England, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
 

Lawn sports, 1904, with full Edwardian attireNow croquet is enjoying another wave of interest as a socially distanced, sociable and absorbing outdoor pursuit.  There are some 200 registered clubs across the country, some playing Association Croquet, some Golf Croquet, and some both.  Croquet remains a minority pursuit, but delights its devotees as one of the few remaining sports with a well-established code of honour, no professional players, and - wherever the game may take you - the pleasures of good companionship and a warm welcome.
 

1850s – croquet is first introduced into England and quickly establishes itself across the country.

1864 – croquet equipment is being manufactured in York by Messrs Cordeaux and Ernest's Croquet and Wood Turning Establishment. Each set includes rules of the game, one of the very earliest versions of the rules to find their way into print.

Walter Whitmore, Secretary of the National Croquet Club, organised the 1870 York tournament and was himself a competitor in it1870 – York is chosen as the venue for a June croquet tournament, organised by the National Croquet Club, and featuring some of the country’s top croquet players.

1874 – Heath's The Complete Croquet Player includes York among the fifteen principal croquet clubs in the country.

1896 – guests at a garden party at Bishopthorpe Palace enjoy croquet, bowls, music, and a tour of the palace and chapel.

1900 – an advertisement appears in the York Herald: "Wanted, a Field, four acres or thereabouts, in the suburbs of York, for the Yorkshire County Croquet Club." A croquet ground is eventually established at Dringhouses.

1906 – the Yorkshire Croquet Tournament, inaugurated two years earlier, transfers to the Yorkshire County Croquet Club grounds at Dringhouses, The event is then an annual fixture there until curtailed by the First World War, with each tournament lasting several days.

1911 – Scarcroft Green is officially opened for lawn sports, initially as bowling greens - ideal surfaces for the croquet lawns they later become.

1914-18 – military hospitals throughout the country turn to croquet as a restorative outdoor team activity for convalescent soldiers.

1925 – a spirited article in the Yorkshire Evening Post defends the playing of croquet on Sundays.

1939-45 - croquet clubs across the country suffer the multiple challenges of enemy action, grounds commandeered for military purposes, fuel rationing, members diverted to active service, labour shortages, and an embargo on the manufacture of replacement equipment.

1965 – inauguration of the annual Roses sporting weekend between the Universities of York and Lancaster, with, as its finale, a croquet match between the two Vice-Chancellors.

1988 – York Croquet Club is re-formed and holds its first season at Beningbrough Hall, before transferring into the City of York to a green on Salisbury Road near Water End.

1992 – York Croquet Club moves to its present grounds on Scarcroft Road, initially with the use of one full sized lawn.

1996 – York Croquet Club joins with the bowls clubs playing on the adjacent greens to form the Scarcroft Green Association, to manage the Scarcroft greens on behalf of the City of York Council and the Freemen of York.

2014 – York Croquet Club takes over a second full sized lawn and hosts its first national Croquet Association events.

2017 – York Croquet Club shares a third full sized lawn, making it the Association Croquet club with the largest number of lawns in Yorkshire, and enters into a long lease.  The Club also launches the Northern Croquet Coaching Academy at York.

2020 – York Croquet Club takes over full use of all four lawns at Scarcroft Green.

2021 – York Croquet Club holds a Home International for the first time - England versus Scotland - and recruits a record number of new members.

Now – The Club looks forward to developing its activities at Club level and regionally, and its coaching programme through the Northern Academy at York. However the main focus of the Club remains participation and pleasure.

If you would like to know more about the game of croquet, or would like to find out more about York Croquet Club, please get in touch:

* ring the Club Secretary, Christine Morris, 07981 049174

* send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We will be pleased to hear from you and will do all we can to help.