Table Skittles
Name/Title
Table SkittlesEntry/Object ID
2025.1.590Description
Table Skittles - Also known as 'Devil among the Tailors'Context
Devil among the tailors is a form of table skittles which is usually found as a pub game in England. It is likely that the game emerged between 1675 and 1783 and surged in popularity during the 1920s and 1930s before waning again. Today it is found in scattered pockets across most of the country. On 15 August 1805, a play called The Tailors: A Tragedy for Warm Weather, starring William Dowton, was presented at the theatre, then known as The Little Theatre in the Hay. The London tailors took exception to this satire on their craft, and thousands rioted, both inside and outside the theatre. The special constables were helpless against the overwhelming odds, so a troop of Life Guards was called. Sixteen prisoners were taken and the rest dispersed. The Life Guards did their job so effectively that it was likened to a skittle ball ploughing through the skittles. Thereafter, the game of Table Skittles (or Bar Skittles) was often referred to as ‘Devil Among the Tailors’ (or Devil Among the Tailors) Source WikipediaCategory
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