As we take shade (we can but hope) from the late June sun to enjoy a bowl of strawberries and cream and watch a match or two at Wimbledon, spare a passing thought for the late Victorian tennis fan who had no means of access to the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, or their own tennis court.
Luckily for our late-19th Century forebears, a canny inventor had created a device to ensure a form of tennis for all. Designed to only require a space of 15ft, Spiropole — apologies to any child of the 1970s now having flashbacks to black eyes incurred during a game of Swingball with an overly-aggressive sibling — consisted of a vertical pole with a long piece of cord attached to the top. Tied to the end of the said cord was a tennis ball that was to be struck by opposing players with small racquets until the cord had spiralled itself completely around the pole. It was, at least, advertised as a game for not just men, but also women, which was a rarity in its time.
Other than a gentle game of quoits or croquet, women were deemed too delicate for the rough and tumble of anything more strenuous. Apparently known unfathomably as Bumblepuppy, the garden game, and a — truly terrifying for any crystal glass lovers or porcelain collectors — table top version, appear to have been advertised in the pages of Country Life from 1897 to around 1906, when they vanished as quickly from the public zeitgeist as they had appeared.
The Country Life Image Archive contains more than 150,000 images documenting British culture and heritage, from 1897 to the present day. An additional 50,000 assets from the historic archive are scheduled to be added this year — with completion expected in Summer 2025. To search and purchase images directly from the Image Archive, please register here
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A hoover for goose droppings, a tree-planting battle with the Hilton, and a disgusting banana: Inside Buckingham Palace and its gardensThe summer tours of The King’s residence this year include two new state rooms and a peep inside his private gardens.
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A six-bedroom modern masterpiece mere minutes from Europe's best golf courseVilla Stern catches the eye with its distinctive design, and is imbued with luxury inside and out.
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A hoover for goose droppings, a tree-planting battle with the Hilton, and a disgusting banana: Inside Buckingham Palace and its gardens
The summer tours of The King’s residence this year include two new state rooms and a peep inside his private gardens.
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What everyone is talking about this week: Would you swim in the River Thames?Week in, week out, Will Hosie rounds up the hottest topics on everyone's lips, in London and beyond.
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'I really believe they increase productivity': If you want to get ahead, bring your dog to the officeEnhancing employee morale and increasing productivity is no longer reliant on outdated management techniques. The solution is simple, and on four legs.
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‘She’s absolutely everything to me. She’s my future, my hope, my light’: How Labrador retrievers went from catching fish to saving livesAs International Assistance Dog Awareness Week comes to an end, we celebrate the Labrador retriever, one of the most cherished and versatile dog breeds.
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Reading al fresco: The best places in London to get lost in the written word, according to the Country Life teamIn London, north, east, south and west, there's a public place suitable for all performative acts of reading.
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Marsh Harriers: The wetland-loving bird that defied the odds to reconquer British skiesMark Cocker's first ever sighting of the bird was at Minsmere, Suffolk, in 1976 — and he's never forgotten it.
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Louis Wain: The Edwardian artist who was 'perhaps the best PR cats have ever had'The artist's fascination with cats is the subject of a show at Chris Beetles Gallery which will feature 25 previously unseen works by Wain.
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Killer whales: The perilously rare and super-smart predator we risk loosing from British waters foreverThey’ve recently made headlines for interfering with boats, but intelligent, family-focused and remarkably long-lived orcas–better known as killer whales–contain multitudes.
