One level down, under the main pavilion
The long evening
From October the sun is gone by six and the wind gets up off the Atlantic. The games floor was drawn for those evenings: a billiard room, a card room, and the casino behind them, a storey below the courtyard.
- Tables
- Three, plus two card tables
- Open
- 16:00 — 01:00
- Level
- −1, beneath the main pavilion
Why it is underground
Nothing on the estate rises, so this one went down
The planning condition that kept every pavilion to one storey left exactly one direction to build in.
The games floor occupies 540 m² cut into the dune behind the main pavilion, a full storey below the courtyard. It is reached by a ramp from the court, and it opens on its eastern side onto a sunken garden held back by a retaining wall — a lightwell wide enough to plant, which is why the rooms are dim by day and lit from the garden after dark.
The floor holds a billiard room, a card and board room, a small bar that serves the floor only, and, behind a separate door, the casino. The whole level sits at a constant 21 °C and 50 % relative humidity, which is a requirement of the cloth rather than a comfort decision.
The floor in four numbers
- 540 m²
- cut into the dune, one level down
- 3
- billiard tables, two disciplines
- 21 °C
- held constant, for the cloth
- 9 h
- open, 16:00 to 01:00
The big table
Russian pyramid
The table at the far end of the room is a twelve-foot Russian pyramid table: 3.55 × 1.78 m of playing surface, which is larger than a snooker table and very much larger than anything most guests have played on.
What makes the game hard is not the length. It is the pocket. The balls are 68 mm across and the corner pocket mouth is 73 mm, so a ball passes with two and a half millimetres either side. On an American table the same ball would have more than twice that. A shot that would drop anywhere else rattles here, and the game becomes one of weight and angle rather than of power.
Fifteen balls are white and the cue ball is the only coloured one, which is the second thing that surprises people: any ball on the table can be struck, and any ball can be potted, including the one you are striking with.
- Free Pyramid, Combined and Dynamic Pyramid are all played here; the marker will explain the difference in about ninety seconds
- Cues are 1.60 m with a 12 mm tip, heavier through the butt than a pool cue
- Eight to the frame is the usual game; a full frame runs twenty to forty minutes
- Playing surface
- 3.55 × 1.78 m
- Ball
- 68 mm
- Corner pocket
- 73 mm
The two short tables
American pool
Two nine-foot tables stand under the windows that are not there, which is to say under the two brightest shades on the floor. Playing surface 2.54 × 1.27 m, 57.2 mm balls, corner pockets at 127 mm — a mouth more than twice the ball's width.
The cloth is a worsted weave rather than the napped cloth a snooker table carries, so the ball runs true and fast and does not drift with the nap. It is the table to learn on, the table to play nine-ball on after dinner, and the one the marker will steer a first-time guest towards before letting them near the pyramid.
- Eight-ball, nine-ball and straight pool; racks and a template are kept in the cabinet
- Cues are 58 in with a 13 mm tip; three house cues are cut shorter for junior players
- Both tables are re-clothed every nine months and levelled every quarter
- Playing surface
- 2.54 × 1.27 m
- Ball
- 57.2 mm
- Corner pocket
- 127 mm
The equipment
What is on the floor
Three tables, specified. If you play, this is the page you wanted; if you do not, the marker will put a cue in your hand and none of it will matter.
| Table | Discipline | Playing surface | Ball | Corner pocket | Cloth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table 1 | Russian pyramid | 3.55 × 1.78 m | 68 mm | 73 mm | Fast worsted, 70 % wool |
| Table 2 | American pool | 2.54 × 1.27 m | 57.2 mm | 127 mm | Worsted, tournament weight |
| Table 3 | American pool | 2.54 × 1.27 m | 57.2 mm | 127 mm | Worsted, tournament weight |
| Card tables | Bridge, backgammon, chess | 1.52 m square | — | — | Baize, replaced yearly |
Slate beds, three-piece, bolted and levelled on a quarterly schedule. Cue racks hold twenty-two cues; a private cue can be left with the marker in a locked case for the length of a stay.
The plan
The games floor
Five zones on one level, with the casino behind its own door at the eastern end, where the floor opens to the sunken garden.
Level −1. North to the top of the sheet; the ramp from the courtyard enters at the west, the sunken garden runs along the east.
- 1
The billiard room
Three tables, 186 m². The pyramid table sits at the dark end, furthest from the garden wall.
- 2
The card room
Two baize tables, bridge and backgammon, 64 m². The quietest room on the estate.
- 3
The floor bar
Serves this level only, 16:00 to 01:00. The list is short and the glassware is heavy.
- 4
The casino
Behind a separate door, with their own entrance control. Eighteen and over.
Also on this level
Three more rooms
The casino
Three tables with croupiers, and a private salon that can be taken for an evening.
The card room
Two baize tables, a chess set cut from the same walnut as the cue racks, and silence.
The floor bar
Twelve drinks, four of them without alcohol, and the only room on the estate where a cue may be carried.
Practical
Before you come down
Yes, between 16:00 and 01:00, and most evenings a table is free. Tables are held for guests of the house first and members second; the floor takes no outside bookings.
If you want a particular table at a particular hour — the pyramid table on a Saturday, for instance — ask at reception the day before and it will be written in the book.
It is the usual case. A marker is on the floor every evening and a thirty-minute introduction is included for guests at no charge: how to stand, how to hold the cue, and the four shots that make up most of a frame.
An hour of coaching, one or two people, is 60 € and is better value than it sounds, because pyramid is unforgiving enough that an hour of instruction is the difference between a game and an ordeal.
No glass on the rails or the frame — there is a shelf at elbow height every two metres for exactly this reason. Chalk goes back in its cup. Jump shots are not played on the pyramid table, and no cue is ever rested against the cloth.
Children are welcome on the pool tables until 20:00 with an adult; three cues are cut short for them. The pyramid table is 1.78 m wide, which puts the middle of it out of reach of most children, so it is kept for adults.
Table time is included for guests of the house and for MERIDIAN and SOURCE members. Day guests and CURRENT members pay 18 € an hour per table.
Coaching, private tuition and the Saturday handicap are charged separately and appear on the room account. Rates are indicative; the figure confirmed at the time is the one charged.
The marker is on the floor from four
Tell reception the night before if you want the big table, and it will be yours.