Bromborough Institute
Bromborough Institute
Bromborough on the Wirral
An
email was received on 3rd 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.
©2018 Paul
Denbigh-Jones
The hall - The floor area under which the table is stored can be
seen
by the straight line joints.
When they first attempted to expose the table they had to
remove
some screws etc. that had been used to fix the removable
sections
First section of floor removed
Second section of floor removed and the joist supporting the
floor
an clearly be seen
Third section of floor removed
Fourth Floor panel removed
Final floor panel removed
The first two long joist removed
The three long joist removed leaving the final three short
joists
Once all the joist are removed then the operation to raise the
table
using the lifting system can begin. Here you can see Paul
working
the brace to turn the mechanism
The table slowly appears above the floor
Little bit more to go
Table fully raised at playing height
Table in play
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.
The chains, a set of which are at either end of the 'pit' are
anchored to the base of the pit and raise and lower the table when
the mechanical system is operated.
The mechanism is substantial made as can be seen by the cogs in
this picture
The large cog the drives the whole mechanism can just be seen in
this picture
This is one of four guide rails and wheels that ensure the table
moves straight up and down
This is the locking wheel. When the table is at the correct playing
height by turning this wheel , from a panel in the floor under the
table, bolts situated at both ends of the shaft are sent into
keepers so the table is help firmly in place. There are two such
wheels , one at either end of the table.
The picture shows a close up of one of the locking bolts
The panel removed from the floor under the table showing the top of
the wheel which operates the shaft that moves the locking bolts
into and out of the keepers. There is a similar panel at the other
end of the table.
L- R
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
©Peter Clare
2018
Pictures, unless
otherwise stated, © 20187 Paul
Denbigh-Jones
This article and
pictures can not be reproduced without the permission
