Bridport Bowls Club

Celebrating the club’s Centenary Neil Kennedy looks back on the history of ‘the friendliest club in the area’

The idea of a Bowls Club was first mentioned in March 1921 at the AGM of the Bridport Cricket & Lawn Tennis Club. It was announced a green was to be laid at Brewery Field the site of today’s Leisure Centre.

A green was laid within a year costing £200 and a Mr. Heath was appointed the first Secretary of the Bowls Section of the above club. In 1923 it was recognised as the year the club got underway properly when in February they were elected to the South Dorset League Competitions by which time their membership stood at 33. In April that year the club erected a pavilion with one room reserved for Ladies and by the time it had opened a month later the membership had swelled to 80 William Saunders Edwards became the club’s first President in 1925, the owner of a prominent net making business in the town W.S. Edwards products were shipped for use at venues such as Wimbledon and Wembley and who during the Second World War was tasked in constructing anti submarine nets with great success.

By 1929 difficulties developed and friction formed between the three separate elements of the Sports Club initiating, after much deliberation, the departure of the bowls section. It was towards the end of that year that the now homeless Bridport Bowling Club were to receive much needed good news. At the Annual Supper held on November 8th, President W.S.Edwards announced that he wished to donate to the club a parcel of land he owned by the River Brit and it was here on the site where the club now stands.

1930 represents a milestone year in the club’s history when the new green was laid at a cost of £750 and said to be financed by J.C.Hunt who then leased it to the club on a 99 year lease for the princely sum of £3 per annum.

It was reported that 16,076 sq feet of turf each piece one foot square and one and a half inches thick were transported from South Wales where it was laid diagonally from corner to corner on a foundation of six inches of clinker, two inches of fine ash and one inch of sand as a result forming a fast draining surface. Major S.H.Cleal lay the final piece of turf on March 28th 1930 and the green was remarkably ready to be played on by May 9th six months after the site was waste ground. Major Cleal and S.Vaugham together donated the club’s flag and flagpole along with store cupboards and a tool shed. With the completion of the new pavilion the grand opening ceremony on June 6th saw the arrival of a combined England Bowling Association and County team to celebrate the occasion, a photograph of which is displayed at the club today.

1932 saw the untimely death of the club’s founder member and patriarch W.S.Edwards who through his generosity, donations and leadership the club would not be where it is today.

In 1934 at the Club’s AGM it was decided that women should not be allowed membership to the club but in an allowance it was decided that one day be set aside for member’s wives to use the green.

In 1939 at the outbreak of war all league games were suspended for the duration although the club continued to function for its members to use.

A Ladies section of the club was formally introduced in 1965 with inaugural numbers being 16.

The club joined the South Dorset League in 1964 and won it in its first attempt. An upturn in fortunes came about with the popularity of Bridport and surrounding villages becoming a retirement haven and the holiday industry on the Dorset coast experiencing an upsurge in numbers all of which increased the membership to 58 by 1969.

By the beginning of 1970 the clubhouse was refurbished including a fully equipped kitchen and bar. In 1973 with the death of J.C. Hunt and the subsequent death of his wife the freehold of the club was offered to the club which it duly purchased and since that time Bridport is one of the few clubs in the area which owns its own club and green.

In 1978 the club celebrated its Golden Jubilee with an invitational match against the English Bowling Association led by its then President. Further land acquirements occurred in 1981 when a strip of land between the river and club was purchased and then gifted to the club. Around the mid 80s various events dictated that the club would once again change shape when with the Ladies membership allowance increased to 50 and around the same time the Wessex River Board altered the course of the River Brit along the west perimeter of the club new ladies and men’s changing rooms along with a shed and workshop for the mowers were built.

In 1992 a further landmark for the lady members was their acceptance within the club as having the same full rights and votes as the men, apparently one of the few equal joint membership clubs in the County at that time. In 1993 an automatic watering system was installed at the mammoth cost of £16,000.

The Ladies section of the club began outstripping the men’s section providing regular teams competing in National Finals at Leamington Spa. Over a ten-year spell from 1985 to 1995 Bridport provided the County with two Lady Presidents and members selected to play for England.

1998 saw the club celebrate 75 years with the men and ladies playing their respective County sides, and a combined team selected from officials of the sports main governing bodies. It was believed that the collection of teams and representatives had never before been involved in such a match.

The Mayor of Bridport at the time, the recently deceased David Tett bowled the first wood and both the E.B.A. and the E.W.B.A. presented Bridport with a flag to mark 75 years of the club along with rare and much cherished pendants from E.B.A. and World Bowls Board.

In more recent years the club continued its success in team and individual competitions throughout the county with the Ladies side in particular regularly featuring at the National finals in Leamington. Membership numbers hovered around the 140-160 mark with the continued allure of the area as a retirement hotspot.

Since the Millennium the club has undergone changes from the dress code to the structural aspect of the club. In a move to become more modern the club was one of the first to adopt a lightweight sports top as the club shirt moving away from the traditional shirt and tie which was the standard dress code for all bowlers.

The club underwent a major upheaval in when the old original clubhouse was deemed inadequate for the membership and the image the club wished to portray and it was decided that a new clubhouse be built. Aided by grants and the tireless work and fund raising by the members a new modern clubhouse was opened on the west elevation of the green in2006.

The current clubhouse now houses both men’s and ladies changing room as well as toilets along with disabled toilet, a fully functioning large kitchen and bar as well as a large community area where all social functions are held and teas and meals during matches.

A further building was erected almost on the exact site of the old clubhouse which afforded the club a visitors changing room, an equipment shed and a maintenance shed for the Green keeping team. As Bridport is one of the few greens which is entirely owned by the club itself the upkeep and maintenance is carried out by the dedication and care of the Green keeper who follows in a long line of committed members fulfilling the task.

As a result of the personal care and attention given to the green at Bridport it is and has always considered to have been one of the best in the county. The green underwent extensive treatment and overhaul before last season where it was literally stripped back and sanded a process which is expected to pay dividends for the forthcoming and subsequent seasons.

The club, unlike many other sporting clubs and associations managed to survive and come through the Covid pandemic through diligent fund raising and grant approval sourced by the club’s dedicated Treasurer and the generosity of its members who still paid their membership or part of it to contribute to the clubs survival. Further strains on the club have come in the shape of the increased utility charges everyone is facing, but the club as usual met the demands head on and made changes whereby their continuation is assured.

2023 will be significant for Bridport Bowling Club as it represents the club’s Centenary and there are many plans afoot to celebrate the event as one would expect for the oldest club in the West Dorset area. The administrators of the game of bowls in the UK, Bowls England are to play a match at Priory Lane in May and in the same month the County side, Bowls Dorset will also be visiting the club with a team for another game, all of which are seen as a feather in the cap for the club and an acknowledgement of the club’s achievement.

In August there will be a day set aside for the club members to get together on Centenary Celebration Day where there will be a game and hopefully visits by many past members. Apart from the games there will be lasting legacy’s planned for the club that the members can benefit from for years to come.

The club throughout its season play in a number of leagues for both men and ladies, there are upwards of 40 friendlies played throughout the season with neighbouring clubs from Somerset and Devon. Bridport is always high on the wish list for clubs throughout the country visiting the area on tours on account of the facilities and green but most of all the undisputed and widely accepted claim that Bridport is the friendliest club in the area. The club also hosts prestige friendlies between counties on account of its facilities and green. There are also many internal competitions throughout the season culminating in Finals Weekend where these competitions come to a climax.

Taster Days 2023

Monday 8th May 12.00am – 2.00pm

Saturday 13th May 10.00am – 12.00am

Saturday 20th May 10.00am – 12.00am

Saturday 27th May 10.00am – 12.00am Come along, have a try. (Only stipulation is wear suitable shoes i.e. trainers or flat soled shoes)

For further details contact Liz Kennedy on 01308 480930 or email lizneu@hotmail. com

The club are constantly looking out for new members and with that purpose in mind run Taster sessions where residents of Bridport and surrounding villages can come to the club and try out the game in a very relaxed, inviting and jovial manner with club members on hand to show them the rudiments of the game and a tour around the facilities. These taster sessions will be run over three consecutive weekends in May commencing with the Bank Holiday Monday of the Coronation. Anyone interested are encouraged to come along and try the game for themselves, meet the members and no doubt be pleasantly surprised what the game of bowls can offer in both health and socialising to the point that hopefully they will want to become a part of it.

The club also has an informative website visit bridportbowlingclub.org.uk or just search Bridport Bowling Club