Not a door stop!!!
The Billiard Table iron is quite a heavy piece of kit weighing in at approx 8 kilos ( 17.62 lbs). The iron should be used after the cloth has been brushed to help lay the nap. It should not be too hot as this can scorch the cloth and like the brushing is always used from the baulk end to the top of the table. It is also recommended that the start position for using the iron should be varied across the baulk end so that the when the iron is at its hottest (after being taken off the heat) is not always placed on the table in the same position as this could also mean that the cloth could be ‘heat damaged’.
As you will see from the pictures of the different irons in the Heritage Collection the basic , early, irons were cast iron before progressing through to electric (without a thermostat) and currently to electric with a thermostat.
All the early billiard irons required to be heated on a gas ring of some sort and we have an examples of such gas ring in the Collection.
As you will see this gas burner is shaped to suit the irons but usually the irons
were just heated on a standard circular gas ring.
Probably the earliest example we have is an iron that has a separate iron weight which would be heated and then put into the iron. This avoid the problem of having ‘burn’ marks on the base of the iron which need to be removed before the iron was used on the billiard cloth. It probably fell out of use because of the difficulty in handling and putting the ‘hot’ weight back into the iron. So the standard cast iron became the norm but had to have the marks left by the gas ring removed before ironing the cloth.
As you will see all the recognised ‘old’ billiard names ensured that any billiard iron they sold promoted their name.
Thurston & Burroughes & Watts
Thos Padmore & Sons Ltd & Geo. Wright & Co. Ltd
Bayliff & Sowerby two old Liverpool Billiard firms
J. Ashcroft
Two versions of a ‘Clare’ Billiard Iron
Two versions of a ‘Clare’ Billiard Iron
J. Bennett & Co became part of E. J. Riley & Burnley Billiard Works
Even NAAFI had their own Billiard iron. The A.W.Chick iron has a rather unusual handle.
An Orme & Sons Iron complete with the protective/storage shoe. All the irons would have had something similar but they usually went missing. Orme & Sons was taken over by Burroughes & Watts
An Orme & Sons Iron complete with the protective/storage shoe. All the irons would have had something similar but they usually went missing. Orme & Sons was taken over by Burroughes & Watts
Wille Smith & George Nelson better know as Smith & Nelson. Palmer & Sons
The collection even has an Australian Table makers Iron. Alcock & Co. Sydney, Australia. Now part of Alcock,Thomspn & Taylor
F.H. Ayres
This Kent & Cleal iron is a ‘small’ version probably for heavy make 8ft & 9ft tables.
Kenricks were the last company making this type of iron, which was still be listed in the E.A. Clare catalogues well into the 1960’s
The cast iron type of iron was eventually succeeded by the electric iron, but this was still a specialist iron for billiard tables. Again there are few in the Collection. As the old cast irons fell out of use they didn’t have the company names cast into them and just became plain looking and nowadays cast iron ones can be seen being used as door stops!!
Electric irons didn’t give as much scope to having the Billiard/Snooker firms names on them but E.A. Clare did get labels onto some of the electric irons they sold.
a couple of early electric irons
The iron on the left has an ‘eralc’ label indicating it is pre- 1960’s. The one on the right has a ‘Standfast’ label making it a post 1960’s iron. Both were sold by the E.A.Clare group and were made by Dowsing
The above iron is an import from the 1990’s. It didn’t prove to be popular
The above is the current (2015) Dowsing electric iron and it comes with a thermostat. The picture shows it complete with its protective stand. Available from Thurston eshop – www.thurston.co.uk
Currently the iron which is sold is a thermostat type which takes some of the problem of judging the correct temperature to iron the table off the user. BUT it is better to iron the Billiard Cloth twice with a warm iron than once with one that is too hot. As said at the start an iron which is too hot will scorch the ‘Nap’ and ruin the cloth
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© E.A. Clare & Son Ltd. 2018. © Peter N. Clare 2026
Reproduction of this article allowed only with the permission from E.A. Clare & Son Ltd.
Please do not hesitate to ask should need any advice on snooker, billiards or pool or wish to make a purchase. Thurston has the most comprehensive range of Snooker, Pool & Billiard accessories available. Visit our e-shop – www.thurston.co.uk
email – thurston@eaclare.co.uk or Phone – 0151 482 2700
The Snooker Heritage Collection is free to enter BUT as the rooms are just part of a working office and factory a Guide is required. So please make an appointment giving at least 72 hours notice. The maximum number that can be shown round is limited to four. To access the Collection is up two flights of stairs To make an appointment phone 0151 482 2700
