Tennis ball
Category
Leatherwork
Date
c. 1600 - c. 1700
Materials
Leather, Moss
Measurements
55 mm (Diameter)
Order this imageCollection
Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire
NT 282428.4
Caption
Long narrow halls or galleries were fashionable in Tudor and Jacobean manor houses. They were used for indoor exercise, social gatherings and even games. At Little Moreton Hall, the Long Gallery is perched precariously at the top of the house, and centuries of repair and conservation have revealed clues about how it was used. Since the 1970s, four tennis balls have been discovered under floorboards and behind the Tudor panelling in the gallery. The first find, made of leather and filled with plant material, possibly moss or bracken, was dated by experts to the 17th century. Tudor tennis was an indoor game, with balls played off walls and floors, so the Long Gallery may have been an ideal space. The earliest tennis balls were usually made of soft materials because they were struck by hand, but by the late 16th century tennis rackets were common. Tudor players often preferred specially made French tennis balls, which were crafted with wool wadding and leather. While few written accounts of life at Little Moreton Hall exist, these wonderful survivals give us a glimpse into the history of the house and its inhabitants.
Summary
One of a set of four tennis balls of different sizes. d) is made of skin and possibly moss. Tennis balls LMH/SE/1, a - c are displayed in the Showcase in Exhibition Room 1.