Croquet on BBC Countryfile

[<<] [>>]

Rachel Rowe with BBC presenter Helen Skelton during filiming at Chastleton House (Photo: Strat Liddiard)

Croquet featured on Countryfile, the BBC's popular programme about the people, places and stories making news in the British countryside. In the programme which was broadcast on 2 September, the Countryfile team visited Chastleton House where the rules of croquet were written in 1866.

Liz Larsson and Rachel Rowe (currently Women's World GC Champion and winner of the Cheltenham Advanced Weekend on 27 August) showed some of the tactics and skills of Association Croquet. Then presenters Helen Skelton and Matt Baker had a go. Chris Williams and Strat Liddiard were the background players.

The Whitmore Jones family owned Chastleton House, now in the care of the National Trust, and it was there that the younger son of the family, Walter, wrote the rules of croquet. These were published in the Field on 7 April 1866.

The programme was shown on BBC1 and BBC1HD on 2 September 2012 at 7.30pm and will be available on BBCiplayer for one week.