Places to play billiards and snooker in Leeds

[dogduke]

Always a popular game,proficiency at snooker was a sign of 'a mispent youth'.All the working mens clubs/political clubs had billiard tables but there were several billiard halls around the city centre.The Marquis of Granby - Eastgate/Mabgate had an upstairs billiard saloon.The Trades Club at the back of the Headrow(Fountain St) was a popular place which later moved to Chapeltown.My favourite was The Douglas,this was upstairs in the Burtons Arcade.My father had played there on an afternoon between split shifts.Following the death of the owner Jim?? Mahon it was run by his 2 daughters Delia and Lilian,as billiard halls went it was very respectable and well run.I think there were 7 tables,3 on one side of their reception and 4 on the other.there was no booze,but good quality hot/cold sandwiches and tea and coffee.They did not serve crisps because of the risk of transferring grease onto the cloth but you coluld get a fried egg sandwich!!.You could play for as long as you wanted to,that sometimes meant a wait but the list of those waiting was kept,some people waited for a particular table.A lasting memory is killing a mouse with the butt end of a cue as it scuttled under the heating pipes and disposing of it with a brush and pan down the bog.

[Chrism]

The Guildford had 2 full size and 1 half size table upstairs. Rileys on Vicar Lane which I think would have been in the old Windsors club.

[Trojan]

When I was a kid there was a billiards and snooker saloon above Burtons at the junction of Peel Street and Queen Street, in Morley. I think that this was a fairly common thing in other surrounding towns.Morley's multitude of churches and chapels also boasted billiard tables - there used to be a Morley Sunday Schools Billiards League.

[geoffb]

Trojan wrote: When I was a kid there was a billiards and snooker saloon above Burtons at the junction of Peel Street and Queen Street, in Morley. I think that this was a fairly common thing in other surrounding towns.Morley's multitude of churches and chapels also boasted billiard tables - there used to be a Morley Sunday Schools Billiards League. There was a snooker hall above Burtons on Briggate, where Topshop is now, I think it was called the Douglas Billiard and Snooker hall

[volvojack]

There was one on the Headrow "Sloans" on the Headrow near the Vine pub.

Another was upstairs in Kirkgate, roughly near the Golden Cock Pub"

We very rarely played in them as living in Beeston we had a choice of three Billiard halls plus most of the Social clubs around Leeds districts had tables where it was cheaper to play on.


Funny how many snooker halls in many cases were above Burtons Tailors shops.

Even when I was in the R.A.F. in the 1950s down in Bristol we used to play in one above their premises.

[MiggyBill]

I remember The United Reformed Church on Dewsbury Road had a snooker table in a little square extension on the side of the main church building, it's still there now only I think it is now a nursery for toddlers. I used to go to Sunday school in the basement and to the youth club on a Wednesday evening. If you were under 18 but 13 or older, I went there from age 11 to 15, you could play snooker on a Tuesday night, supervised by the Church elders. These were several elderly gents who would sit and watch, make cuppas and smoke pipes etc. and tell lovely funny stories, if you got a fluky shot they would start waving their white hankies or even throw them on the table! They were lovely blokes. May I add,,,,,, if you missed Sunday school you couldn't play snooker that week!
In the late 60's early 70's I used to go to Smith and Nelsons just of the Lower Headrow, you accessed through a little dark yard through a door and up a few steps, then you entered a small coffee bar complete with jukebox. Just off the to the side was the door through to the billiard hall, dark and smoky.
After this I have played snooker in many WMC's, Northern Snooker Centre, Morley Snooker, played a lot upstairs at Middleton Bus Garage too. Happy memories although I'm still not very good at snooker.

[volvojack]

Oops M. / Bill. The one I referred to as Sloans was indeed Smith and Nelson, Sloans was in Kirkgate.

Happy days despite all that cigarette smoke swirling around the tables.

[bgams]

In the late 60's early 70's one of the best snooker clubs in Leeds was St. Anne's Cathedral Parochial Club where I once saw the then up and coming Alex Higgins playing members on a Saturday lunch time. He was introduced into the club by Alf Shaw a very able player himself but also a renowned referee in those days.

[volvojack]

I remember that club as I was a Catholic but how we had to be "Converted" for instance if we went to a Methodist social club or similar on a weekend we went with the flow. If we went to a club down North Street which was students only I would borrow a college scarf and mumble "Physics and Poetry, Second year" to the doorman.

[volvojack]

In the town Snooker halls you would book maybe an hour or more and pay at the end of your session. in the provincial halls like Beeston there were meters, a Tanner (6d.) for 18 minutes. a game usually lasted about 25 mins. which was O.K.if you were staying on you simply put another sixpence in. however if there was someone waiting to come o after your game you played "Lights out" and who ever was in front when that occurred was the winner. There was a trick where if the scores were close and time was running out the person in front would stand by the meter and as his opponent took his shot he then gave the meter a sharp upward nudge with his cue thus causing the light to go out.
Well we were only Teenagers......