Quoits that once belonged to Jacob Beales (1874-1952), the landlord of the Chequers Public House.
Photograph courtesy of Graham Beales, great grandson of Jacob Beales
In setting out the game of Quoits, Pear’s Cyclopaedia of May 1928 describes the Quoits themselves as ‘flattened rings, convex on the upper side, 8¼ inches to 9½ inches in diameter, and from 1 to 2 inches wide in the ring; their weight varying from 4 to 5 pounds the pair.” The game was played by throwing (or casting) the quoits at a “hob’ of iron (metal pin) which was set in a square yard of moist clay at a distance of 18 to 25 yards. Players would endeavour to cast over the hob – and to count, the quoit must lie rounded side up.
The same book says that the game of Quoits originates from the discus-throwing days of the Greeks and Romans.
Quoits was played in the village of Great Ellingham. The Prince of Wales Public House had a team in the early 1900s. However, it is likely that Quoits was also played at the Chequers Inn, as publican Jacob Beales (licensee 1912-1916) owned the quoits appearing in the above photographs.
Sources:
Norfolk Pubs Website. http://norfolkpubs.co.uk/norfolkg/gtellingham/gtelch.htm. Accessed 07.07.2020
Herbert C Barratt. 1928 Pears’ Cyclopaedia. A & F Pears, Limited. 71-75, New Oxford Street, London, W.C.1. page 883
Thanks to Graham Beales