A big iron ring! The little-known history of Carshalton’s Mill Lane

In the 17th Century, Carshalton had a location with the grand name of Pall Mall – still the name of an upmarket area in Central London.

You may perhaps think it was the name for a grand drive, but no – it’s much more down to earth than that.

The site of Mill Lane was used for an open-air game known as Pall Mall, fashionable with royalty in the 1600s. The game originated in Italy (Pallamaglio), then moved to France (Paille-Maille), before coming to England.

Old maps show Pall Mall marked as the location now known as Mill Lane in Carshalton. There was once a large house close by in The Grove, and the gentry would play the game.

There are differing opinions on what the exact rules and equipment were used in the game. It’s thought to be a precursor to croquet, and perhaps even golf. No one seems sure.

Rather than played on grass it was enjoyed on a flat earth surface. Locals would hit a ball with a mallet to go through an iron ring, placed several metres away. One account says “a 16th- and 17th-century game in which a boxwood ball was driven through an iron ring suspended at the end of a long alley. The street Pall Mall in London was on the site of a pall-mall alley”

One author only knows of four Pall Mall alleys that were in Great Britain. Another author suggests many towns and villages would have had them. Very little is clear, or appears to be written down.

The buildings above are thought to date from the time of Pall Mall.