Holt v Stevenson
Old and worthless ephemera, can sometimes tell a story. Here are a couple of tickets to watch a billiard match in 1905, which the original buyer couldn’t bear to throw away, and have now found their way to decorate the wall of my library in Saltburn. The match in question was between H W Stevenson, and Willie Holt, the latter having just installed a new table at the Brierfield Working Men’s Club.
Willie Holt had only recently moved from Blackpool to Burnley and begun to manufacture tables under his own name, first at his own house in Colne Road, then in the same year as this match, opening a factory in Slater’s Mill, Sandygate, employing 20 men. It was normal practice for him to give an exhibition game on a new table he supplied, but to arrange a match over a full week with possibly the greatest player of the day (barring Charles Dawson) was certainly something special.
The match was reported in the World of Billiards magazine, and I have reproduced this as a cutting above the tickets. It seems that not everything went to plan, with a fire breaking out on the final day, which damaged the cloth and cushions on the table. No doubt those gas-fired table irons took some getting used to!
I am also delighted to report that the club still exists today, and fulfils its original purpose on the corner of High Street/Walter Street, Brierfield. I wonder if they still have the table?
Peter Ainsworth
Originally posted to the Cues n Views facebook page on 14th April 2020
