Custom
The Tinsley Green Marbles
Giles won Joan with a tolley.
Stand where it happened
- What's there
- Pub with a concrete marbles ring
- Legend from
- Invented tradition / living custom
- Tone
- Light-hearted
A milkmaid, two suitors, a twelve-sport tie and a game of marbles to settle it.
The British and World Marbles Championship is held every Good Friday at the Greyhound pub in Tinsley Green, near Crawley. The legend says it began in 1588, when two young men, Giles and Hodge, competed for a milkmaid called Joan. They tied 6–6 over a week of sports and she chose marbles as the decider. Giles won. Marbles has supposedly been played here since then, though the current event dates from 1932. It was won by the Turners Hill Tollymen on Good Friday, 3 April 2026.