Jamie Stars in England Win

With a number of World Cups being fought recently, one that has flown somewhat under the radar was in the world of croquet, in which England emerged victorious for the first time in 10 years, in no small part due to Redhill resident Jamie Burch. The MacRobertson shield is generally held every 4 years, and sees England take on the… Read more →

U League 2023

  There were 2 consequences of winning the SECF U-league in 2022… There was a trophy which had not been seen in the club this century, even though Reigate won several times in that period. Also, we were entered in the CA Secretary’s Shield Championship, drawn as a home match against Winterborne Valley – winners of a similar league in… Read more →

Centenary Tournament

The celebrations of Reigate Priory Croquet Club’s Centenary continue! As we only have a single lawn (not quite full size at that) it is difficult for us to hold home league matches and impossible to hold a conventional tournament. Nevertheless, we wanted to invite as many other players as possible to our lawn in our centenary year, so our committee… Read more →

Video – Jamie Burch v Mark Avery – Exhibition Match

On June 4th 2023, Reigate Priory Croquet Club hosted an exhibition match between two of the top players in the world, as part of their ongoing Centenary Year celebrations. Mark Avery (current world no. 7) came to visit, to play against Jamie Burch (world no. 3) in 3 golf games followed by an Association match. The two had paired together… Read more →

Bowls-to-Croquet Day

On the morning of Thursday 25th May, a small army of bowlers advanced across the cricket ground towards the NE corner, armed with their wheeled bowls trolley bags. But it wasn’t an invasion of the croquet lawn – just a takeover for the morning… As part of our Centenary Celebrations, the bowlers of Reigate Priory Bowling Club had been invited… Read more →

Exhibition Match – June 4th

Reigate Priory has the privilege of having one of the best players in the world as a member, but on Sunday 4th June 2023 we’ll be welcoming a second top 10 player, albeit for one day only! As part of our Centenary celebrations, there will be exhibition matches played out between Mark Avery and Jamie Burch at our own Reigate… Read more →

Centenary Dinner

On the evening of Tuesday 2nd May, members with partners and friends were sipping a chilled crémant watching the setting sun from balcony of the Reigate Priory Cricket Club pavilion as a prelude to dining in the pavilion below. The occasion was the Croquet Clubs Centenary Celebration dinner. After the somewhat haphazard arrangement of the balcony group photo, the 3… Read more →

Dusk to Dawn – Analysis

Weather conditions It was cloudy from Sunrise 06:37 to sunset 17:48, apart from a short 5 minute burst of sun at 1pm. The temperature on the lawn at the start hovered between 0 and -1°C but there was no frost and the back-up lawn on the football pitch was not invoked. By Noon it was 3°C reaching 4°C in the… Read more →

Dawn To Dusk

Just after 6am on March 5th, it was dark on the lawn but members were busy setting out the hoops and tightening them, ready for the long day of croquet – part of our Centenary Celebrations. The chairman was halfway up a pole at the far end of the lawn wearing a head torch and setting up a freeze-frame camera,… Read more →

R&B Sports Person 2023!

Reigate and Banstead put on a bit of a show last Wednesday evening, 1st March. Over 200 people, many of them youngsters, were seated in the Harlequin main auditorium at round tables bathed in purplish light, waiting with anticipation to find out who the winners were. No, the occasion was not was not a re-run of the BAFTAs, it was… Read more →