A street in the City of
Westminster borough,
London, England. It is the main thoroughfare of St. James's district. St. James's Palace,
Marlborough House, and a number of private
clubs are on Pall Mall. The name derives from the
game pall mall or paille maille, which was played in front of the palace in the 17th century.
Known originally as Paille-Maille in French, and later as Pall-Mall in English, the name of this game means "
ball and mallet". Like many games dating back in history, the exact origin of this game is difficult to determine. It was mentioned as early as the 13th century in
French texts. It perhaps came into its highest popularity in mid-1800s when the rules developed a set course, started being played on
manicured lawns, added more
wickets and became known as
Croquet. Most likely this name came from the Old
Norman-French word that meant the
crook on a
shepard's staff, referring to the original shape of the mallets.
The game of
Billiards also evolved during the 15th century from Pall-Mall in Northern Europe (probably France). Play of the game moved indoors to a wooden table with
green cloth draped on it to simulate
grass, and edges added to keep the balls in play. The balls were shoved rather than struck with wooden sticks called "maces" that looked very similiar to modern
hockey sticks with small
blades. Originally there was a six-pocket table with a wicket (hoop) for the balls to pass through and a
stake used as a
target to hit before
sending the balls into the pockets. These were removed from use in the 18th century, leaving only the pockets.