Visitors are welcome to watch whenever play is on. The Club Calendar lists formal events; at other times there may or may not be croquet taking place. We have some free leaflets explaining the game to help your enjoyment; please ask someone who is not in play if we don’t “meet and greet” you first. 

Sometimes there are two games happening on a lawn at the same time; red & yellow vs black & blue, and pink & white vs brown & green. Unless you’re already well versed in croquet, this can be quite confusing. It’s much easier to follow if you can watch play on a lawn with only one set of balls in play. 

 

The club was formed in 1929, soon after the establishment of Highfields Park and University College, Nottingham, thanks to the generosity of Lord Trent, better known as Sir Jesse Boot of Boots the Chemists, since when the club has had a varied and often illustrious history. As you enter from University Boulevard, a bust of Boot (facing towards the main Boots the Chemist Head Office site, with his back to the university and park) has the following inscription: "Before him lies a monument to his industry; behind an everlasting monument to his benevolence." We trust that the club will be everlasting, or at least well outlive the current lease (due to expire in 2055).

In a project begun during the "lockdown winter" of 2020/2021, a group of volunteers from the club have been working through a wide range of archive materials and sources to explore the history of the club in some detail. In due course it is hoped they will present a brief summary here. 

 

Image: Aerial view of new playing fields and the new University Boulevard in 1930. Three bowling greens can be seen on the west side, and the former "dancing green" now converted for croquet on the east.