Nailsea & District Croquet Club was founded in 1984. Initially we had two lawns which has now expanded to four lawns making us one of the better resourced clubs in the South West. We have a clubhouse with changing facilities, toilets and a good sized kitchen complete with cooker, fridge freezer and other amenities. The clubhouse can be used for non croquet related activities; for example we have a thriving bridge club which hosts weekly sessions all year round. In order to keep costs down, nearly all the maintenance work around the club, including lawns, is done by club members which helps foster a great club spirit.
The Nailsea lawns are well maintained and provide a good surface for accurate shots. At the end of the 2017 season, we had major levelling work done to make the conditions even better. In 2024 we implemented an automated sprinkler system to help maintain the condition of the lawns. Due to the quality of our lawns and other facilities we have been able to host several prestigious tournaments including the home internationals with the England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland teams competing for the trophy.
The Club has a reputation for excellence in competitive croquet with several players having competed in world championship events over the past few years. However, please do not let that put you off if you are a beginner or a social player. We are a friendly, sociable club that welcomes all levels of experience, ability and competitiveness.
Both Association Croquet and Golf Croquet are played at Nailsea, and we have several league teams playing in both codes. Additionally we run our own club competitions in which you can compete against other Nailsea members. For those who do not want to play competitively we run club afternoons for both GC and AC when you can just turn up and play a friendly game with other club members.
For more information about Golf Croquet visit: https://www.croquetengland.org.uk/play-golf-croquet/
For more information about Association Croquet visit: https://www.croquetengland.org.uk/play-association-croquet/
If you are interested in becoming a member of this friendly club please visit our ‘how to join’ page or contact Erica at ericacroquet@gmail.com or call 07754 092800.
Look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCW_Rb5Y7t4 to see the croquet world in action.
The photographs below show members and visitors enjoying this wonderful sport.
Kriss and Marcus celebrate getting through the qualifying stages of the World Championship. Both learned to play croquet at Nailsea as children
Kriss in action at a tournament at Nailsea
Kevin is another player who learned to play at Nailsea – in 1992. He has played in five World Championships all over the world
Brigit executing a “roll shot” – two balls travel equal distances
Eugene lines up a “pegout”; this is usually the last stage of winning a game of Association Croquet
Having won the game and the tournament, Eugene poses with Greta, the runner-up. Eugene was aged 16 and relatively new to croquet. As this was a Handicap Tournament he was able to use his extra shot allowance to win against a more skilful and experienced player. Eugene went on to compete at high level himself and has introduced croquet to the students at Sheffield University where he is now a researcher in the Computer Science Department.
Linda carefully arranges the balls for a shot that will attempt to put one of the balls in front of the hoop in readiness for the next shot where it will “run” the hoop
Linda won the game and the High Bisquers Competition. She shakes hands with her opponent, Jim, a gracious loser!
Peter, a visitor from Dyffryn Croquet Club, playing in a Nailsea Tournament
Peter Dyke watches Kriss and Ryan, two of the many juniors that he has coached to a high standard
Jo takes part in the Beginners’ Competition at the end of her first season. The sticks keep track of her extra shot allowance – she must use them wisely.
Marcus in action at Nailsea. where he learned to play as a 13 year old. Marcus has played in World Championships all over the world, his greatest feat being a semi-final appearance.
More precision from Marcus
Tim Brooke-Taylor having fun at a charity event at Nailsea.
John cuts the grass. At Nailsea, the Club members do all the lawn preparation. This helps to engender a great Club atmosphere and a feeling of camaraderie
Geoff saved the day when the lawns flooded during a tournament following a torrential downpour. He donned his work clothes on top of his “whites”and manned the tractor towing the Sarel spiking roller and the light roller. The water was duly dispersed and the tournament continued. Geoff then won the trophy! The photograph made it into the national Croquet Gazette – whose editor just happened to be playing in the tournament. Nailsea led the way again!
