Sporting history in our collections 

Expert curated

Italian marble sculpture, An Athlete (after Polykleitos and restored by Bartolomeo Cavaceppi), Roman, early 2nd century AD, marble copy of a bronze original attributed to Polykleitos. The full-length youth stands resting his left leg against a tree trunk, his right hand raised to his shoulder holds an aryballos from which he pours oil into his left hand lying horizontally halfway across his body — Italian marble sculpture, An Athlete (after Polykleitos and restored by Bartolomeo Cavaceppi), Roman, early 2nd century AD, marble copy of a bronze original attributed to Polykleitos. | © National Trust Images/Stuart Cox

The places we look after are rich in sporting history. With the Trust’s fundamental connection to nature and the outdoors, and as home to informal children’s games and organised sports events, the places in our care continue the sporting legacies woven into people, collections and stories.

Sporting culture and our collections

The collections held at our places are a rich resource for delving into sporting cultures. From sportswear and equipment to photographs of sporting activity, along with sports-themed arts, the items we care for give a glimpse into our sporting past.

Early sports

In its earliest days, sport was closely connected with warfare. Sporting competitions demonstrated individual strength and physical prowess.

The Ancient Greeks are credited with the introduction of organised sport, holding the first Olympic Games in 776 BCE. This event included sports like running and hockey, and grew quickly to include boxing, javelin and discus.

Lead sculpture on a stone plinth, The Wrestlers by Andrew Carpenter (c.1677 - London 1737), 1730. One man pins down the other, who is on his knees with his head lowered and one arm held behind his back by the other man. — Lead sculpture on a stone plinth, The Wrestlers by Andrew Carpenter (c.1677 - London 1737), 1730. | © National Trust Images/Andrew Butler

Wrestling

This 18th-century lead sculpture by Andrew Carpenter at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Garden in North Yorkshire is based on the Roman marble in the Uffizi, Florence. Two young men are engaged in the pankration, a form of ancient Greek wrestling similar to today's mixed martial arts.

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Billiards

A book of 1674, called The Compleat Gamester, described billiards as ‘much approved of and played by most nations of Europe, especially in England, there being few towns of note therein which hath not a public billiard table…’.

We don’t know much about the people who made these tables, but it was a very specialised craft, with a huge amount of skill involved in getting the bed as flat as possible so that balls would run smoothly. 

The billiard room at Knole, Kent, showing a billiards table and large paintings on the wall behind it. — The billiard room at Knole, Kent | © National Trust Images/Andreas von Einsiedel

Knole's billiard table

Very few early billiard tables survive, making this late 17th-century mahogany-framed table at Knole very rare. Early billiard cues, like those shown resting on the table, were slightly curved at the tip.

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Horse racing

The 15th and 16th centuries saw a rise in popularity of equestrian sports. Racehorses were the sports cars of their day and proud owners commissioned artists to paint their horses. Among the 11,000 paintings that we care for, there are many that feature racehorses.

Racehorses

One of the most famous paintings in our collection is Hambletonian, Rubbing Down by George Stubbs (1724–1806), a 12ft-wide painting at Mount Stewart, Northern Ireland. Hambletonian, a racehorse owned by Sir Henry Vane-Tempest, had won a thrilling victory at Newmarket in 1799.

A painting of the racehorse Hambletonian by George Stubbs (1724–1806), at Mount Stewart House, County Down, Northern Ireland. One man in a top hat holds the horse's bridle while another holds a cloth to rub the horse down. — Hambletonian, Rubbing Down by George Stubbs (1724–1806) at Mount Stewart, County Down | © National Trust

Croquet

The National Trust has a special role in the story of croquet. The rules were codified at Chastleton House and Gardens, Oxfordshire, by Walter Whitmore Jones in 1866. Jones was born and lived at Chastleton, and had a passion for inventing games.

Croquet is thought to have been imported from France around this time, derived from the French game ‘paille-maille’ that used wooden mallets to hit balls.

Close up to detailing of angels playing croquet seen on one of the Hatton Garden Tapestries at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire — A Hatton Garden tapestry at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

Early croquet

A set of tapestries at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire depict winged infants engaged in a variety of games, including croquet. They're derived from a series of paintings by Polidoro da Caravaggio (c.1499–1543). The tapestries were probably made for William Cavendish, the Third Earl of Devonshire, in around 1678.

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Tennis

Modern lawn tennis evolved in the late 19th century, and had deep roots in the medieval game, ‘real tennis’, which was favoured by many royals, especially the Tudors.

Allegedly, Henry VIII was playing real tennis on his personal court at Hampton Court when his second wife Anne Boleyn was arrested.

The Long Gallery at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, with a high moulded ceiling, large windows and tapestry hung on the right-hand wall — The Long Gallery at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire | © National Trust Images/Trevor Ray Hart

Indoor tennis

Tudor long galleries, such as this one at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, were used for indoor exercise. Ladies would promenade up and down and gentlemen would practise their swordsmanship.

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A group of Delftware urns at Dyrham Park, Bristol and Bath

Art and collections

We care for one of the world's largest and most significant collections of art and heritage objects. Explore the highlights, our latest major exhibitions, curatorial research and more.

Discover our cultural heritage