Jaques Croquet Accessories
It was John Jaques who introduced the game of Croquet to England and the world at the 'Great Exhibition' of 1851. A century and a half later, Jaques are still the leading manufacturer of Croquet equipment and they continue to be the only company who make truly high Croquet sets and accessories. Whether you want to play an international Test match or just in your back garden, Jaques croquet is the obvious first choice and as Jaques' largest and most knowledgeable Internet retail partner, Masters Traditional Games will ensure a service to match.
Balls
Hoop Drill, Association, Hampton, Challenge Hoops, Smasher, Allweather,
Garden, Championship flags
4 band Finishing Post, ball marker, clip, boundary peg
Hoops
In general, the heavier the weight, the better the hoop. Heavier hoops reduce movement and aid 'wire' shots.
Association hoops are regulation 2Kg cast iron with an oven-fired enamel finish which should not require repainting.
Hampton and Challenge hoops are made from wrought iron. Hampton hoops are 1.1 Kg each while Challenge hoops are 0.6Kg each.
The hoop drill is used to precisely mark the lawn at regulation hoop width.
Change to $  Change to  |
UK pounds (ex.VAT) |
Pounds (incl. VAT) |
Typical ETA in wkg days |
Add to basket |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaques Set Association Hoops |
£164.17 | £192.90 | 3 + transit time | Apologies - out of stock. Date new stock due: unknown. Email us to be notified when new stock is available. | |
Jaques Set Hampton Hoops |
£108.00 | £126.90 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Set Challenge Hoops |
£67.23 | £79.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Association Hoop Drill |
£33.19 | £39.00 | 3 + transit time | Apologies - out of stock. Date new stock due: unknown. Email us to be notified when new stock is available. | |
For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location. |
Balls
| 1st colours | Blue, Black, Yellow & Red balls |
|---|---|
| 2nd colours | Green, Brown, Pink, White balls |
 |
Jaques Eclipse Championship Balls have been the default choice for competitive Croquet for more than 150 years. Regulation 16oz weight, regulation size and regulation rebound factor. |
August 2004: apologies but we are out of stock of the Eclipse balls. Jaques are having a long-term problem with the manufacture of these. The factory that made them closed down. We do not have any ETA but when we do, we will post it here.
| Change to $ Change to |
UK pounds (ex.VAT) |
Pounds (incl. VAT) |
Typical ETA in wkg days |
Add to basket |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaques Eclipse Championship Croquet balls - Set 1st colours |
£102.04 | £119.90 | Apologies - product is discontinued | ||
Jaques Eclipse Championship Croquet balls - Set 2nd colours |
£102.04 | £119.90 | Apologies - product is discontinued | ||
For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location. |
The Challenge balls are roughly full size, 13oz balls. Although lighter in weight, they are designed to give a similar "feel" in play to the regulation balls. The matched balls are like the challenge balls but are specially selected to be exactly regulation diameter.
| Change to $ Change to |
UK pounds (ex.VAT) |
Pounds (incl. VAT) |
Typical ETA in wkg days |
Add to basket |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaques Challenge Balls - 1st colours |
£63.83 | £75.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Challenge Balls - 2nd colours |
£63.83 | £75.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Challenge single croquet ball |
£16.94 | £19.90 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Matched Regulation size Balls - 1st colours |
£72.34 | £85.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Matched Regulation size Balls - 2nd colours |
£72.34 | £85.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques Matched Regulation size single croquet ball |
£20.34 | £23.90 | 3 + transit time | ||
For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location. |
Winning Posts
The 6 player post features 1st colours plus Brown and Green bands.
| Change to $ Change to |
UK pounds (ex.VAT) |
Pounds (incl. VAT) |
Typical ETA in wkg days |
Add to basket |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaques 4 Band Winning Post |
£29.79 | £35.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques 6 Band Winning Post |
£38.30 | £45.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques 8 Band Winning Post |
£46.81 | £55.00 | 3 + transit time | ||
For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location. |
Miscellany
The Garden Lightweight corner flags and Championship corner flags are both made from material but the Competition versions feature sturdier and heavier flag posts more suitable for tournament and club lawns.
| Change to $ Change to |
UK pounds (ex.VAT) |
Pounds (incl. VAT) |
Typical ETA in wkg days |
Add to basket |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jaques Set 8 Regulation Yard line pegs & 4 Lightweight Corner Flags |
£47.66 | £56.00 | 3 + transit time | Apologies - out of stock. Date new stock due: unknown. Email us to be notified when new stock is available. | |
Jaques Set 8 Regulation Yard line pegs & 4 Championship Corner Flags |
£110.55 | £129.90 | 3 + transit time | Apologies - out of stock. Date new stock due: unknown. Email us to be notified when new stock is available. | |
Jaques Set 4 Championship Corner Flags |
£85.02 | £99.90 | 3 + transit time | ||
Jaques English Ash Smasher |
£33.11 | £38.90 | 3 + transit time | ||
For an immediate quote and ETA, add to the basket & select your location. |
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History of Croquet
Mallet and ball games are thought to have been first played in England and Europe during the middle ages. Games would normally involve only one ball which would be struck through very wide hoops. A Croquet-like game is believed to have been first played by thirteenth century French peasants who used crudely fashioned mallets to whack wooden balls balls through hoops made of willow branches. In seventeenth and eighteenth century France, mallet and ball games were quite popular and one of them, "Paille Maille", was introduced to London where it was played in open ground near St. James's Palace. This area became known as Pall Mall which is how the famous street of today got its name.
The modern game of Croquet appears to be Irish in Origin. A game called Crooky was played in Ireland from the 1830's and, in 1852, it was brought to England where it quickly became popular. It was particularly popular with women because it was the first outdoor sport which could be played by both sexes on an equal footing. Widespread popularity began when Croquet equipment became readily available due to London sporting goods manufacturer, John Jaques, who began selling complete croquet sets.
Over the next 30 years uniform rules were established and national competitions commenced, Croquet becoming a major sport of the day. The first national headquarters was the Wimbledon All England Croquet Club (later to become the Wimbledon All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club); the first national championships were held there in Victorian times.
Spearheaded by Australia and New Zealand, Croquet spread quickly to the British colonies. By 1870, the game had reached virtually all of the British colonies and its popularity grew, following the earlier trend of being especially popular with women. Around this time, the game was denounced from the pulpits of the day, and play was actually banned at some sporting clubs. Croquet was played at the 1900 Olympics but around this time, the up-and-coming sport of Tennis started to eclipse Croquet and this other game's ascension marked the end of Croquet's heyday. The last 20 years has seen something of a resurgence particularly amongst the young.
Today, Croquet is played competitively in over twenty countries, the major ones in the 1990s being Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the USA.
In Australia, for example, there are nearly 7,000 registered players which is a similar number to Olympic sports such as boxing and rowing.
In the USA, two forms of the game are played, International Association croquet and American rules which uses the same lawn and equipment but has a few rule variations. Many of the best competitors play both versions. In addition there are some garden sets which have 9 hoops and 2 pegs.
Many other countries play croquet or their versions of it. France hosted the 1995 World Croquet Federation Championships, Japan plays Croquet along with a similar game called Gateball, Egypt plays a simpler form of Association croquet. In Russia, Tolstoy apparently had a Croquet lawn in his Moscow garden and astronauts are reported to have played for relaxation upon their return from space. Finally, China possesses many Croquet players from different age groups - a picture in the Illustrated London news of 1938 showed Revolutionary guards playing the game!
Learn more about Croquet by visiting the Online Guide to Traditional Games.