| Where: | Tinsley Green, Sussex - the Greyhound Inn, Radford Road |
| When: | Good Friday |
| Time: | 10 am-5.30pm |
The Greyhound pub at Tinsley Green hosts an annual competition on Good Friday attracting players from all over the world. Marbles is an ancient and skilled game in which competitors aim to knock 49 marbles from a marked circle using their own “tolley” (another marble); two teams of six players take part in each heat and the winning team is the one whose tolley/s stay in until the end (you can probably tell I’m no expert…it’s probably best to check up the rules at the event). The Greyhound has a purpose built platform for the championship which dates back in its current form to the 1930s, though the tradition of a competition here reputedly goes back to Elizabethan times. Expect plenty of unfamiliar technical terms and a serious attitude to the game along with fancy dress and plenty of fun. Marbles of all sizes and colours are on sale at the event.
Helpful Hints
If you want to take part it’s best to register in advance as numbers are limited.
In 2025 the Championships should be held on Friday April 18th. The website link below is temporarily unavailable but will hopefully be fixed soon. Follow the Facebook below link for updates.
Click here for the pub website : https://greyhoundtinsleygreen.co.uk/
and here for the event Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/britishmarbles/
Good afternoon,
I am currently assembling a marbles team and would like to enter it into the british and world champtionship. I was wondering how do i go about it, who is the best person to contact.
regards
will
Hi Will,
Visit this page: http://www.greyhoundmarbles.com/#/contacts-links/4550445493
Here at Calendarcustosm we haven’t any connection with the running of the event but the link will take you to the organisers’ own contacts page. Their wesbite homepage is http://www.greyhoundmarbles.com/
Best of luck!
Kind Regards,
Averil
Hello, I want to participate in this contest
I am the best marbles player in the world
This is one of my videos please watch and watch if you like
https://youtube.com/shorts/_5OStSAD9cE?feature=share
I want to participate in these competitions, is it possible?
Hi Ali,
Follow the link to https://www.facebook.com/britishmarbles/about/?ref=page_internal and you’ll find contact details for the Championships – they should be able to tell you exactly what you need to do to take part (here at calendarcustoms.com we don’t have any connection to the organisation of the competition). Best of luck!
Averil
Are there any Books covering history of marbles? Our High School graduating class of 1961 donates a book to our high school, in memory of a deceased member. We recently lost a great guy who had been the “Champ” at grammar and high school tournaments. We were hoping you could suggest a memorial type book for us? Hardback would be great. Thanks for all the history I found here. We are mid-Appalachian area and close to Standing State Park in TN. Any help would be much appreciated.
Yours most Sincerely
Sharon Ann Massa
Hi Sharon Ann,
Thanks for your inquiry!
I’m no expert on the subject and don’t have any myself, but there are a few titles I’ve found on the history of marbles – try searching for :
Collecting Marbles by Richard Maxwell
Aggies, Immies, Shooters, Swirls by Marilyn Barrett
Antique Glass Swirl Marbles by Stanley Block
Marbles by William Bavin
Children’s Games with Things by Iona and Peter Opie
Marbles: A Player’s Guide by Shar Levine
Popular American Marbles by Dean Six and Suzie Metzier
Most of them seem to be out of print so you might need to search on sites like http://www.abebooks.com or Amazon marketplace to find them. As it’s not something I’m very knowledgable about I can’t say which ones would be any good (which I know isn’t a great deal of help to you!) but if you go to the following link : http://www.greyhoundmarbles.com/#/history-of-marbles/4552604595 you’ll find some information on the history of the game and there’s also a contacts form on their website. As it’s the home of the World Marbles Championships they should be able to tell you which are the best ones (and may well know of other titles).
Best of luck with it!
Averil
We went to this today. I thought it was great! The pub had a barbeque and a stall at the front selling boxes of marbles – they looked as colourful as boiled sweets.
I was told that the tournament is held on Good Friday because it is the end of the Sussex Marbles Season, although a pub in Turners Hill (the Red Lion) has a tournament later in the year.
Apparently marbles is very much a local tradition, and there are other pubs in the area with rings for marbles – flat circular bases, dusted with sand. The Greyhound has 3 – 2 in the garden, where they hold games for the Golden Oldies (over 50s) with a different scoring system, and one in the centre of the car park at the front.
Although it’s popular in the area teams come from further afield. The Yorkshire Meds and the Swansea Bay Snipers were there, and a team from Germany. I was told that a holiday maker from Germany was on a camping trip when he saw the game, and was fascinated. There are also individuals in the teams from Scotland and Arizona – and so it really is the World Championships!
We literally stumbled upon this event, having stayed across the street at a farm-stay (the Greyhound is only two bus stops from Gatwick airport, and served us good Indian cuisine two days before Good Friday, so we returned for the tournament).
SO fun to watch, as participants are friendly, informative, and begin libations as soon as it begins – 10a.m. Each player on teams of 6 plays 3 rounds, and the team that as scored the most points has won that round, by knocking marbles off the ring, or “killing” an opponents Tolley. Only 3 rounds are played, as it could take hours to knock all 49 marbles out, because some teams are literally novices – this year there was a stag party that enrolled, who barely moved marbles with their Tolley till round two. On the other hand, experienced teams have players who can eliminate 10+ marbles each time they take a turn.
One family who competes annually has a grandfather who, in the 1940’s, was nicknamed “The Atomic Thumb”, because he could shatter a stein with his Tolley from 4 feet away!
Hi Jean,
Thanks for sharing – it sounds as though you had a marvellous time!
Averil
my ancestor John constable started this tournament in the 1830s and it’s so great to see it’s still in action. any history of the championship would be appreciated
Hi Sarah,
I haven’t much history myself, but if you contact the official Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/britishmarbles/ I expect they’ll be able to help. I know that one of the longstanding officials who used to look after their website sadly passed away last year, which is why their website isn’t currently updated, but the Facebook link still works. Best of luck!
Averil