Escape to the Country - Awesome billiard table.

[philip in china]

I think it is saying that the room was built in 1865 by his father. He moved his own table in there at a later date, presumably to replace the existing previous one. So the table could well be an 1887 table.

[Kryten]

Could be, it's a badly structured sentence but would explain some of the conflicting dates.

What I wouldn't give to be let loose in that room with a few select tools with the aim of getting that scoreboard working again

And some more lovely pictures of the house and a few of the Billard room bits:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neonbu...7634484852716/ (that's one of the pictures, but the whole album is lovely)

[philip in china]

Everything in matching oak. It really is wonderful. The wall panelling etc. I hope it was used a lot.

This is what I can't understand about the guys who get a solid wood table, not as distinctive as tha but a real beauty, then they spray the legs gold because that is what they have seen on TV.

[Kryten]

I wouldn't even mind knowing if the whole table was built by that furniture maker or if it was by the likes of Burroughs and Watts and the panelling etc added later.

[philip in china]

Geoff, was it you who saw a table on some TV antiques show years ago where they completely misidentified it?

[100-uper]

The table is not 1850 or even 1876

any table built before 1895 would have billiard finger top plates showing coming out of the leathers rebated into the top capping of the wood , concealed plates arrived after this date
look at 2nd photo down her for an example of pre 1895 top plates http://gclbilliards.com/two-full-siz...-for-just-100/

the wood mappings also would look very thin on a 1850 table and not have the depth of this table , also the legs would be very thin in early Victorian design like this pre 1830s gillows
http://gclbilliards.com/very-rare-gi...sale-in-essex/

The slates would have been a 3 or 4 section 1 inch thick slate in the 1850s .

around 1860 to 1870 they went with 5 section and started to make them thicker .

the table in your photo has steel cushions on although these could have been replacements the design of the table makes me think they are original to the table , and we know steel cushions where not around until late 1895/6

the electric scoreboard and button feature make me think early 1900s was the original period of this table set up .

the under heating is cast iron finned radiators .

I agree with all that, but I can push your dates back just a little bit. Geo Wright is credited with the invention of the "invisible" pocket plate, and I have seen one of his tables, fitted with these pockets, and a maker's plate advertising "15 prize medals." This can be accurately dated between 1890 and 1892. As I have seen other Wright tables with the same plate and "top mounted" pocket plates, I generally take this as the range when estimating the introduction of this innovation. It might be worth seeing if anyone can find a Wright table with less than 15 medals (13 was the previous one) which is also fitted with invisible plates.

I'd also mention that "steel block" cushions were patented by William Buttery (who was with Burroughes & Watts) in 1889. I'm not sure how long after this date the design was put into production, but I wouldn't have thought it was too much delayed.

I'm in total agreement with the date of early 1900s for the electronic scoreboard, and would go further and suggest that just going by the design of the cushion moulding, the whole table could well be of this period. A mix of modern and retro - although that is purely opinion and not based on anything other than first impressions.

[Geoff Large]

Geoff, was it you who saw a table on some TV antiques show years ago where they completely misidentified it?

Yes I have commented on this table before in another thread on here a few years ago .

The design of the table to my 40 years billiards fitters experienced eye as early 1900 or at a pinch 1892 / 5 as the extreme earliest example as 100 upper explains about concealed pocket plates and steel cushions , as with many country houses the original tables do get replaced as more modern and better playing tables come onto the market
the table looks to be of exhibition quality so may have come from a large exhibition .
like a world trades fair which there where two in 1905 and 1906 in London , in fact they had them in London for a few years from 1905 to 1914 before the first world war
this table looks like the quality that a billiards manufacturer would have exhibited at a wolds trade fair .
especially with the electronic scoring feature , the table looks to me of unaltered or modified in any way so later cushions do not seem like they where added but an original feature,
so the pocket plates and thickness of legs to me give the date away and belong to around the early 1900s .
I have worked on a few pre 1890's tables and this table does not have that slimness of Victorian legs and top plate pockets with thin capping frieze of that period but of the much later 1900 design more towards Edwardian than Victorian .
as stated Tables do get replaced Buckingham palace for instance had Thurston table for Victoria and replaced by George wright table by Edward , so it is not uncommon for a table to be upgraded to a more modern more innovative design
either by one up man ship or change of owner within the family , and in this case not mentioned in past history or ledgers .