• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Cricket Table

D

duke

Old Oak
Joined
Dec 18, 2020
Messages
2,805
Reaction score
1,511
Location
Field, Ontario, Canada
Name
Scott
Has anyone made such a table? This will be an upcoming project for me some time next week, that's if I can sneak out to the wood shop.
 
duke said:
Has anyone made such a table? This will be an upcoming project for me some time next week, that's if I can sneak out to the wood shop.
Click to expand...
I made a piece for one, a year or two back. My buddy in the Peak district owns one that's over 300 years old, and it needed a little help.
 
After a quick glance at Derek Jones book there is a lot to digest.
Thinking I will stick to a more rustic vernacular look? :unsure:
 
I have been keen on this table for a while, seeing various styles over maybe the last century. Thanks to the inter web, net, computer shite, call it what it is . The fancy tables I don't like.
Use and setting? Was this table made for one purpose or adapted for a variety of uses ie, commercial, farm or residential use?
OMG, If I research this further I may never make one.
 
duke said:
Back 300 years did these tables originate from a particular region, Mike?
Click to expand...
My reference book on the subject (Oak Furniture: The British Tradition, by Victor Chinnery) doesn't say. It only says that they were common in household inventories from middle of the 17th century (ie 1650-ish onwards). I've seen originals in the West Country, in Staffordshire, in Yorkshire, and here in East Anglia. They were developed from 3 legged stools, apparently, for the same reason: 3 feet means they never wobble. This suggests to me that they were for the poorer households, where uneven floors (pounded earth) were standard, rather than for the grand houses where a timber, stone, tiled or brick ground floor produced a more level surface.
 
I don't think I've ever heard of such... the topic is interesting and 'educational' to me. Out of curiosity I turned to Google and got this AI overview:

AI Overview:

Explore the History of the Traditional Cricket Table Design

Cricket tables are 16th to 18th-century English, three-legged, rustic tripod tables, designed for stability on uneven floors and, historically, for use in taverns or on grass. Often constructed from oak, elm, or ash, they featured a circular top and a lower shelf, providing a durable, practical surface for food or drink.

Key Historical Facts About Cricket Tables:
Origins: Emerging in the early 16th century, these tables were common in rural English homes and taverns, with the three-legged design providing superior balance on stone or dirt floors.

Name Origin Theories: The term "cricket" may refer to:
Their use by spectators on the uneven, grassy terrain of early cricket matches.
The legs resembling the three stumps of a wicket.
The Old French word criquet (meaning "stick"), referring to the leg structure.
A connection to "crickets" or "crackets," terms used for small, low stools in Northern England.

Design & Construction: Traditional cricket tables featured a rounded or triangular top supported by three splayed legs, often connected by a lower triangular tier or shelf. They were typically made by local craftsmen using available hardwoods.

Function: While often called "drinking tables" in the 18th century, they served multiple purposes due to their sturdy, lightweight nature, making them easy to move.

Antique Value: Today, genuine 17th or 18th-century cricket tables are highly sought-after antique items, with elaborate examples featuring turned legs.

These tables are distinct from "table cricket," which is a modern indoor, competitive game developed for disabled athletes in 1990.
 
Last edited:
duke said:
After a quick glance at Derek Jones book there is a lot to digest.
Thinking I will stick to a more rustic vernacular look? :unsure:
Click to expand...
Last year Derek ran a course in the USA in Kentucky ( LAP). He's made quite a few of them and goes into quite some detail on the construction which isn't quite as simple as it first appears. I'never made one but did follow the process on soshal meeja; if you're on Instagram, have a look at his page; search for 'lowfatroubo' - Rob
 
Accipiter said:
A connection to "crickets" or "crackets," terms used for small, low stools in Northern England.
Click to expand...
That sounds most probable.

I am a little skeptical about "cricket tables" being named from the game:

One of the schools I attended as a child, Royal Grammar School, Guildford, has a chained library in it's original, oldest building (circa 1510). That library includes a court record, where in one case a witness mentions "Creckett" being played around 1548--it's taken to be the oldest reliable reference to the game yet discovered.

It strikes me that the table would have the same spelling and pronounciation, if indeed that was its origin. It's plausible that Cricket tables looked a bit like the wickets used at the time, but the Northern England explanation, which Accipiter mentions, seems far more likely.
 
Last edited:
If that round piece is the top, it's more like a side table or occasional table than a cricket table. The ones I'm familiar with are getting on for 3 feet in diameter.
 
Yes you are correct, a side table. A three foot diameter table is to large for the area.
I guess a deminished cricket table.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top