Shove ha'penny board?

[pe2dave]

Piece on TV showed a shove ha'penny board.
I liked the idea, has anyone seen a design (dimensions, # strings etc) for such please?

 

[Argus]

Here you go; somewhere in the 1 st paragraph:

https://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/shove-hapenny-rules.htm
Here's another one:

https://www.instructables.com/Shove-Hapny-board/
I'm not sure that there is a British Standard on the subject, so the sizes may be just that ..... subjective!

Good luck

 

[Droogs]

can you still find half pences. may have to update with 5p as about the same size

 

[Argus]

Some junk shops may have old coins....... the Victorian 'worn smooth' ones were the best, as I recall. First find a junk shop........

...........otherwise it's a set of smoothed washers.

Modern coins with a lot of sharp detail may not have the ability to slip along like old ha'penies.




P.S. My eyebrow did go up a bit when I watched that programme. And there's me saying, "he's got to keep the slide!" The finish on the board was a full-frontal French Polish!

Now, it was a regional thing and not every pub went in for Shove-Ha'penny - just as a lot of pubs didn't go in for Bar-Billiards - but in some pubs the board was Bees-Waxed to death, in others just a load of old spit and beer. Never heard of French Polish on any of 'em. Woe betide anyone who interfered with an established board!

As for the coins - the old ha'penies were called 'coppers' and were actually made of real copper - not a hard ferrous alloy as today's coins are. This meant that a Victorian or Edwardian half-penny that had been in circulation for 50 or 60 years was smooth enough to just about faintly see the outline of the sovereign's head, but not the date. A set of these in an old tobacco tin was used for nothing else.

 

[Mike Jordan]

The,coins or washers of the same size are sold on the net.
There are regional variations of the board I think, I have a board in my roof space which features a semi circular target zone at the top called Annie's Room.

 

[Mike Jordan]

I couldn't resist having a look for mine, here it is. The space between the lines is one and three eighths of an inch wide and the lines are knife marks rather than inlay. The Annie's Room area is a one and a half inch radius half circle.

 

[pe2dave]

can you still find half pences. may have to update with 5p as about the same size

I have some - most pubs (last time I played) had replaced them with .... no idea what,
smooth disks (less likely to be nicked?) of about the same size (must fit between the lines)

Thank you @Argus - much appreciated.

@Mike Jordan - What are the overall dimensions please?
(to me, from here) looks like the gaps would fit a penny!

 

[pe2dave]

I couldn't resist having a look for mine, here it is. The space between the lines is one and three eighths of an inch wide and the lines are knife marks rather than inlay. The Annie's Room area is a one and a half inch radius half circle.

Annies room -... tempted to ask who.. no, I shan't.
How big are the 'scoring areas' (to the side) please...
Were it a bit more dusty / full of cobwebs I'd offer to take if off your hands

 

[Mike Jordan]

Overall width 12 5/8" length 22" distance from bottom to first line 3 1/2"
Side margins 1"
It's made from 3/4" birch ply with hardboard for the curved top edging.
It think it was part of a batch made as Christmas presents for the kids about 65 years ago in the joiners shop where my late father worked.

 

[pe2dave]

Overall width 12 5/8" length 22" distance from bottom to first line 3 1/2"
Side margins 1"
It's made from 3/4" birch ply with hardboard for the curved top edging.
It think it was part of a batch made as Christmas presents for the kids about 65 years ago in the joiners shop where my late father worked.

Thanks Mike.
(And to your dads workshop!)
Do you think todays ply would last in a pub?

Which do you call the bottom please? Far (curved) end, or the 'shove' end?

 

[Woody2Shoes]

can you still find half pences. may have to update with 5p as about the same size

I'd say that the modern 2p bit is closest in size and weight to an old 'ship' ha'penny. You can still find them without a steel core (pre-1993 I think) which is nicer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfpenny_(British_pre-decimal_coin)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_pence_(British_decimal_coin)

 

[Mike Jordan]

The shove end. Annie's room is definitely the Bulls eye.
If the customers can break 18mm birch ply its a rough pub you frequent!

 

[Trainee neophyte]

You piqued my interest, and I found Shove Ha'p'ny Board which has some good (although may be incorrect for all I know) information about play, board sizes and slot widths (which are important, as I have learned today).

I also understand that there are copper disks that can be bought as ha'penny replacements, but someone is selling originals specifically for the game: Shove Ha'penny Coins

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Until two years ago I used to buy half crowns, Thruppenny bits, Pennies and h`'penny coins as umpire counters. They were always going walkabout so I bought them whenever I saw them to replenish supplies. There are plenty to be had, Antique centres are the best place to look, you will usually find a stall holder with a Quality Street tin full of old British coins and usually about 30p-50p each.

 

[bourbon]

Somewhere in one of my very cluttered sheds, There is indeed a quality street tin that has a load of old coins in it.

 

[artie]

Somewhere in one of my very cluttered sheds, There is indeed a quality street tin that has a load of old coins in it.

And in mine.

 

[misterfish]

We have an old solid slate shove halfpenny board, probably about 3 cm thick with all the lines incised into the slate. sad to say it's currently fixed to the kitchen wall and we write stuff we need for our next grocery delivery on it in chalk. The board itself originally came from the 'Black Boy' pub in Fishbourne run by my wife's grandparents. The name of the pub apparently apparently has nothing to do with slavery but was the 'nickname' of Charles the Second and the pub sign was a head of said monarch. According to englishmonarchs.co.uk it states,

"Charles' appearance was anything but English, with his sensuous curling mouth, dark complexion, black hair and dark brown eyes, he much resembled his Italian maternal grandmother, Marie de Medici's side of the family. During his escape after the Battle of Worcester, he was referred to as 'a tall, black man' in parliamentary wanted posters. One of the nick-names he acquired was the black boy His height, at six feet two inches, probably inherited from his Danish paternal grandmother, Anne of Denmark, also set him apart from his contemporaries in a time when the average Englishman was far smaller than today."

Jeff (aka Misterfish)

 

[pe2dave]

The shove end. Annie's room is definitely the Bulls eye.
If the customers can break 18mm birch ply its a rough pub you frequent!

<grin/> I meant wear and tear rather than breaking it!
I'm going to have to look up some rules now!

@Trainee neophyte - beat me to it! Thanks.
Chances are, like skittles, they were set and kept locally. I'd not heard of Annies room for example.

 

[Sandyn]

When you look at the game, you think.....easy, anyone can shove a ha'penny up a board, but play against a skilled player and you soon learn it's not so easy, Good players have a huge amount of skill and tactical play. I'm sure players got to know their coins and boards intimately.
Will on the Repair Shop French polishes anything wooden that doesn't move. I was surprised he rubbed it down, but the owners did want it to be restored like new. They seemed delighted with it.

 

[Mike Jordan]

The knock on effect of your request is that I now rather fancy making one of those skittle games. I've seen one that had self setting pins, you simply pulled on a cord to make the pins reset. If anyone has any plans and sizes please let me know.
In my early married life I made a bar billiards table by copying one in a local bar, I was skint so home entertainment involved home brewed beer and billiards with friends. The arrival of a family ( and colour tv) saw the table sold , it's probably still in use in a spare bedroom somewhere in Derby.