A skittle alley is shown on the 1850s Berwick Town Plan at the rear of the White Swan Inn on Castlegate. Skittles was the precursor to modern bowling, where a heavy ball would be through down an alley to knock down a set of wooden pins, generally nine, for the purpose of betting. It wasn't as common in these parts as it was in Western areas of England, but it's likely the railways spread the game as it did others.

To put it fundamentally, the alley did not feature any special amenities or infrastructure for this sport - the pub will have simply owned a set of pins and put them down on designated wager events. The yard was also used for auctions and the like.

The yard still exists in a reduced form after a pub extension in later decades.