It was especially popular in India, reportedly played by The Viceroy himself with a solid ivory mallet, probably made by Jaques as part of their finest set. The attractions of croquet were obvious (in hindsight). It allowed the fashionable set to step outside the claustrophobic Victorian parlour; to "take exercise" and enjoy the fresh air without (heaven forbid) breaking into a sweat; to show off their finery - hence the term, "crinoline croquet". Moreover, it gave young men and women a legitimate opportunity to mingle and wander oft into the proverbial rhododendron bushes, momentarily out of sight of their ever-present chaperones!

"Nothing but tobacco smoke has ever spread as rapidly" commented Dr Prior, an early enthusiast of the game. Certainly Jaques and Son (as it was then called) had no trouble selling its equipment. JJ II was regarded as the greatest authority on the game and in 1864 wrote and published Croquet; the Laws and Regulations of the Game, by which (with some revisions) croquet is still played today.

The origin of croquet is somewhat obscure - John II first glimpsed a version of it in Ireland. And the etymology of the word "croquet" remains "tantalisingly unresolved".' But JJ II's compilation of rules no doubt saved the sport from flying off in all directions, as it seemed in danger of doing during those early years.

Lewis Carroll (an avid player at Oxford in the 1860s) reflected the potentially unruly nature of croquet in his memorable passage of Alice's Adventures Under Ground in which the croquet balls were hedgehogs, the mallets live ostriches, (flamingos appear in later versions), "and the soldiers had to double themselves up and stand on their hands and feet, to make the arches". Above ground in the real world, several firms began making croquet equipment, but only John Jaques has survived from that period and continues to lead the market, offering superior equipment for all levels of play.

Few people today have a championship-size croquet lawn (35 x 28 yards). Keeping to the 5 : 4 proportions is desirable but not critical, as croquet can be played practically anywhere. There are croquet clubs all over the world, with tens of thousands of club members, and literally millions of back garden enthusiasts. JJ II's great-grandsons John V and Christopher are as keen to encourage back-garden croquet, as they are to maintain and update their ancestors' rigorous standards of craftsmanship. Materials and equipment have changed, but not as drastically as in tennis.

Hoops used to be large enough for Arthur Law's (an early player) pet spaniel to run through! Equally, Jaques croquet balls as advertised in the Croquet Association Gazette (1904) were made from "the finest Turkish Boxwood". Neither is now the case. Hoops have narrowed, and paradoxically, only sets of inferior quality include wooden balls.

John Jaques Eclipse balls are requested by the top players for championship play because of their dependable "bounce factor". Selected for every World Championship including the 1994 World Croquet Championships in which Robert Fulford retained his title, Eclipse are of the highest quality composition, double milled, perfectly weighted at one pound, and measuring 3 5/8" in diameter.

Today's hoops are a mere 1/8" wider than the balls and 12" high, demanding far greater skill and making it difficult even for a dachshund to slip through! As for mallets, wood remains a constant, as have Jaques' universally recognised qualities of expertise and patience. Consider the John Solomon Tuftex LV mallet, with a head made of Lignum Vitae, one of the hardest of woods, which has been carefully seasoned for at least three years. Each mallet blank is then handcrafted and hand-fitted with brass rings, Tuftex faces, and is inlaid with a boxwood sightline. Each meticulous step continues, following an unbroken tradition of craftsmanship, which began over 200 years ago with the gifted Thomas Jaques, whose apprenticeship to Mr Ivy proved so fruitful.

At Jaques America, we are proud to be the US Distributor for Jaques Croquet. Croquet players of all levels still beat a path to the experts tucked away in Thornton Heath, painstakingly making croquet equipment that is not only treasured, but in play all over the world.

AE Gill's Croquet: The Complete Guide is available for purchase from Jaques America and is a must for anyone with even a general interest in the sport.