History

Game’s still a hit

Regional beers might have all but disappeared, but local pub games still exist including Kent’s bat and trap, writes Tim Hampson

It’s a simple premise: hit the ball as

it flies into the air as hard and as far as you can. And do it in a pub garden – it’s easy to see why bat and trap has been so popular over the years.

The batsman starts by putting the ball in the trap. The batter hits the back of the spoon on the trap with the bat and this throws the ball in the air. Then with the same bat, they try to hit the ball between two posts.

If it doesn’t go between the posts, the batter is out. If it doesn’t travel a certain distance, then it is out. The non-batting team can also try to catch the ball.

Although the exact origins of bat and trap are unknown, it can be traced back as far as the 13th century, and there is recorded evidence of it being played in the West Country in 1671 – although many believe Kent has always been its true original home.

Today, Canterbury carries the bat-and-trap torch for most of the county, as the game has been played there for many years, but its spiritual home is Shepherd Neame’s Ye Olde Beverlie pub in St Stephen’s Green, where it has been long been played.

Its origins go a long way back, but the game really gathered pace after World War I, when it was used as recuperation therapy for injured servicemen returning from the trenches.

A Canterbury-based expert on the game, Jakey Janes, said: “Bat and trap gave soldiers elements of active competition; quickness of hand and eye coordination, and the beneficial open-air environment that was loved in the Edwardian era.”

It wasn’t just recovering soldiers

who benefitted from it. In 1922, Bill Humphrey arranged a meeting at the pub when the Canterbury and District league was founded – minus the ladies’ team, which was voted out by the men.

Five teams participated in the opening season in the summer of 1923, with Ye Olde Beverlie going on to win the first title. As the season passed, more teams were added and a Division Two was introduced. By 1928, teams could enter various competitions, with cups now available for the winners. In the mid-1980s, the league hit its optimum

Ye Olde

Beverlie

‘In 1922, the Canterbury and District league was founded – minus the ladies’ team, which was voted out by the men’

80 teams – eight divisions of 10 teams – while pre-Covid and its lockdowns it had 31, and 96 competing weekly in the various series across Kent.

The league celebrates its centenary this year and held a tournament at Whitstable Cricket Club with 16 teams and 118 players taking part. Evenhill Crusaders B won the cup and Chislet Club took home the shield. Bat and trap still popular

1950 treble winners Brewers Delight

Find out more at batandtrapleaguecanterbury.uk