OVER the past century croquet has been given a bad rap. Snobbish and restricted to the upper classes with mallet in one hand, champagne flute in the other – this is unfortunately the widely accepted stereotype.

But the Swindon Croquet Club is determined to shake off the sport’s tag of ‘toffs’.

“Legend has it that croquet is a sport for toffs or that it is a vicious game, but neither of these is true,” says Mary Bedells, of Swindon Croquet Club. “Anyone can play and enjoy the game. We have members from all walks of life, admittedly mainly retired, but we would encourage younger people to come and have a go. They could quickly get up to county or even national standard.”

Swindon Croquet Club was formed in 1985 when a lawn opened in front of Lydiard House. The group remained there for 10 years before moving to Moredon Playing Fields.

In 2011 the club was awarded a Sport England Lottery Grant which enabled it to build a new clubroom. Another grant followed in 2014 to fence and reseed the lawns.

The club now has three lawns, which members maintain, making it one of the best equipped in the region.

“The club exists to promote the game of croquet for its members and also to introduce the game to a wider audience,” she adds. “It does this by entertaining many groups on its lawns such as the Trefoil Guild, Wroughton History Group, church groups and several WIs, and by visiting community events and setting up mini lawns at school fetes, the Craft Fair at Lydiard, the Old Town Festival and wedding parties.”

Raising the profile of the sport means educating the wider public about the crucial distinction between golf croquet – where players follow a course contesting each hoop in turn – and Association croquet played with two balls.

“Golf croquet, the basics of which can be learnt in 10 minutes, is great fun to play socially,” explains Mary. “Association croquet is a much more demanding game, akin to snooker or chess, which can take a lifetime to master. Both can be played by both sexes and all ages, do not need great physical strength, and a handicapping system means that (theoretically at least) everyone has a chance of winning.”

Sessions areTuesday, 2pm for Golf Croquet, Wednesday, 2pm for Association Croquet, and Friday evenings from 5.30pm for either.