About Bygrave Croquet Club
Bygrave is a small village of 200 inhabitants in North Hertfordshire. The original part of the village is at the top of the photograph and is the oldest part with St Margaret's Church dating back to Saxon times. The lower part of Bygrave was built in the 1930's and planned to be a huge development but the building stopped before WWII.
The Croquet Club was founded in July 2011 and is officially affiliated to the Croquet Association www.croquet.org.uk and the East Anglian Croquet Federation www.angliacroquet.co.uk. It is a private club and membership is by invitation. Our mission is to encourage the playing of Garden Croquet which was enormously popular in Edwardian days. The game today is just as good as it was then and can be played in most gardens, on village greens or public parks.
Our website provides all sorts of information about Garden Croquet, the rules, how to play, playing equipment and videos too. Please have a look round our site. It is still being developed so will improve with age.
The croquet lawn lies over part of the moating system that was built in built in 1386 and filled in around 1966 and the line of the old moat can be clearly seen. The undulations make this an interesting and challenging croquet lawn.
In 1386 King Richard II granted licence to crennelate two houses. In all 17 acres were moated encompassing Bygrave House which stood roughly where the Moat House stands today and the second house now called the Manor House. This licence was the only one of its kind granted in the 14th century in Hertfordshire, a fact which demonstrates the importance of Bygrave in those days.
In 1551 Lawrence de Warren, a wealthy Goldsmith and Master of the Mint at Canterbury, built a mansion in place of the original house. This cost £5,000 which was a fortune in those days and the house looked similar to the Tower of London. The mansion was put up for sale in 1661 and later acquired by Lord Salisbury. While he was imprisoned in The Tower of London, the mansion at Bygrave was demolished - nobody know why! There are still 7 acres of land adjoining the present house which are moated A new house (the Moat House) was built in 1966 and is surrounded by 7 acres of land most of which is moated although some parts of the system have been filled in. Never-the-less the medieval stew pond still exists and is used as a water supply for the vegetable garden.
Members are invited to attend our regular club meetings as advertised in the member’s area of the website.
The Croquet Club was founded in July 2011 and is officially affiliated to the Croquet Association www.croquet.org.uk and the East Anglian Croquet Federation www.angliacroquet.co.uk. It is a private club and membership is by invitation. Our mission is to encourage the playing of Garden Croquet which was enormously popular in Edwardian days. The game today is just as good as it was then and can be played in most gardens, on village greens or public parks.
Our website provides all sorts of information about Garden Croquet, the rules, how to play, playing equipment and videos too. Please have a look round our site. It is still being developed so will improve with age.
The croquet lawn lies over part of the moating system that was built in built in 1386 and filled in around 1966 and the line of the old moat can be clearly seen. The undulations make this an interesting and challenging croquet lawn.
In 1386 King Richard II granted licence to crennelate two houses. In all 17 acres were moated encompassing Bygrave House which stood roughly where the Moat House stands today and the second house now called the Manor House. This licence was the only one of its kind granted in the 14th century in Hertfordshire, a fact which demonstrates the importance of Bygrave in those days.
In 1551 Lawrence de Warren, a wealthy Goldsmith and Master of the Mint at Canterbury, built a mansion in place of the original house. This cost £5,000 which was a fortune in those days and the house looked similar to the Tower of London. The mansion was put up for sale in 1661 and later acquired by Lord Salisbury. While he was imprisoned in The Tower of London, the mansion at Bygrave was demolished - nobody know why! There are still 7 acres of land adjoining the present house which are moated A new house (the Moat House) was built in 1966 and is surrounded by 7 acres of land most of which is moated although some parts of the system have been filled in. Never-the-less the medieval stew pond still exists and is used as a water supply for the vegetable garden.
Members are invited to attend our regular club meetings as advertised in the member’s area of the website.