Potted history

The English games room is thought of as a very male domain. Whether the room is situated in a country house or a members’ club in London, the images that spring to mind are the same: dark wood panelling, after-dinner port, late-night, low-lit snooker games and well-dressed gentlemen smoking fat cigars.

The room seems to serve as a sort of club for men like PG Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster who, having outgrown their tree houses, now congregate around the billiards table.

It may come as something of a surprise that billiards has in fact had many female champions. Marie Antoinette regularly played the game with Louis XVI. Queen Victoria was no stranger to wielding a cue, and she and Prince Albert had a fabulous billiards room at their Isle of Wight residence, Osborne House.

It is also said that Mary, Queen of Scots, bemoaned the absence of her table when she was imprisoned at Fotheringhay Castle. Rather gruesomely, after her execution her headless body was reportedly wrapped in the baize that covered the playing surface.

But it is not man, nor woman, but rather the billiards or snooker table – for here we must acknowledge the sport’s less glamorous and younger cousin – that owns the games room. A full-size table is an enormous, imposing and expensive piece of kit: it demands its own room and the best, slate-bed tables may even require a reinforced floor.

Furthermore, there must be enough clear space around the table to allow the stroke of a cue from all angles. In extremis, billiards tables can be found in smaller sizes, and there are even tables that have a dual purpose as dining tables. But, if this is a games room first and foremost, the table is for playing at, not eating at.

Light with silk shades, £10,105: This light is ideal for placing above a snooker table and, if necessary, extra rows of lamps can be added and the width and height altered. This lamp is made from bronze and nickel with a red pleat gathered silk lamp but other finishes are available. www.charlesedwards.com

Furniture is forced to complement this demanding table and must in no way act as an obstacle to the game. If the games room boasts a table made by Burroughes & Watts, the company awarded the royal warrant by Queen Victoria, it seems only reasonable that the other furnishings should follow suit in style and showiness.

These might include large armchairs or red leather sofas from which to spectate, a dainty card table, an impressive chess set and perhaps a collection of Cuban cigars.

There should be all manner of games available, from traditional backgammon and bridge to modern-day classics such as Scrabble and Risk.

Music can enhance the ambience, although it might distract the more discerning player. There should be a well-stocked bar or drinks cabinet, a good supply of crystal glasses and a decent selection of Scotch and other digestifs to hand.

Despite all this finery, the games room should not be treated too preciously. Port stains on the Chesterfield, snags in the felt from overly vigorous shots and the lingering scent of cigar smoke serve as souvenirs of wilder nights. This is, after all, a room to be enjoyed.

As Shakespeare’s Cleopatra says in Antony and Cleopatra: “Let’s to billiards.”