Bromborough Institute

An email was received on 3^rd July letting E.A. Clare & Son Ltd. know that Bromborough Village Institute, built in 1908, had an ‘old’ Bayliff table which had a E.A. Clare remodel plate indicating that the last time it had been worked on was in 1954. Nothing really unusual in that BUT the table was stored under the floor.

Paul Denbigh- Jones a member of the Bromborough Institute Management Committee of the Institute had wanted to see what was under the floor as it was planned to put a new floor down in the hall. Members of the Institute had told him of the Billiard table but he wanted to see it for himself and preserve the table if possible.

So with the help of his colleague he had lifted the boards over the table, moved the joists, found the brace that fitted the square nut under a floor panel and started to turn the brace and to his surprise the table started to appear from its resting place. A week later Peter Clare was delighted to accept an invitation to see the table being raised. Paul had taken quite a few pictures from the first time and on this occasion Paul and Peter went below the table to view the way the lifting system worked.

The [pictures below record how the system worked. It seems that the idea was to enable all the floor space of the hall to be usable for certain events but al;so to allow Billiards and snooker to be played on other occasions.

Note – all photographs, unless otherwise stated,are the copyright of

Paul Denbigh-Jones and can not be used without prior consent.

The two cushion plates. The one on the left is the original table makers/suppliers the one on the left indicated that the cushion rubber was replaced in February 1954 with Northern rubber by E.A. Clare & Son Billiard fitter Richie Littler

The next series of pictures were taken by Paul whilst scrambling under the table, after it had been raised, so that the lifting mechanism could be viewed.

Paul Denbigh-Jones; Steve Hughes: Peter Clare; Linda Hughes
Paul, Steve and Linda are all associated with the Bromborough Institute
Peter Clare is M.D. Of E.A. Clare & Son Ltd

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. © E.A. Clare & Son Ltd. 2026. © 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

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Bromborough Institute

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Bromborough Institute

Share This Post

Related Posts

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