Today I have been over to Burton on Trent to re-cover a full size snooker table .
I have worked on this table a few times in the past , the last time in 2010 I re-rubbered the table .
the table when I arrived was in very good order , many working men’s clubs would have got at least another 2 years out of the cloth that was coming off .
but this club likes to keep the standards up to as new for it’s members .
the table only really gets played on one night a week !
The table is circa 1910 having rigidus frame leg spacing’s , where the centre legs are closer together , this is because the ridgidus design relies on cross members along each slate joint rather than the normal munting slate supports found on other manufacturers tables.
photo of cushions freeze removed sometimes we call these capping’s , to reveal steel plates , that many call Steel block cushions .
A close up of the steel plate with the name Burroughs and watts Soho Square London .
cushion covered showing middle angle
Bed cloth going on , the cloth of choice being Strachan 6811 tournament 30 oz .
some people call this 6811 gold tournament .
the printed transfer every 10ft off the roll .
two blue lines and woven gold lettering of 6811 tournament down the length of one side of the cloth
ask the fitter to see this and the transfer if you have been promised 6811 gold tournament 30 oz .
6811 30 oz tournament is the most used cloth in the industry .
the finished table , if you are wondering who the two Gentlemen in the large paintings are the one on the left is Micheal Arthur Bass ( 1st lord of Burton ) 1837 to 1909 , and the one on the right is his father Thomas Bass 1799 to 1884 as you may have worked out the owners of Bass Brewery the main employers in Burton on Trent .
there are not many of these Professional Gentleman’s clubs around anymore , not sure on the rules of membership , but in the old days you would have had to be a man of outstanding position and standing to even be considered for membership .
it is still a Men only membership club !
I thought people would be interested in some of my more unusual places of work , this is one such place that is for sure, heaped in history and tradition .
Many a game of billiards and Life pool would have been played in this club in Victorian and early Edwardian times, over a cigar and a glass of port while discussing business .
they still serve luncheons and the dining table was set when I arrived just in case someone called in for business lunch with cook on standby , but today the place was not used .
