A HISTORY OF BEMBRIDGE BOWLS CLUB

The origin of Bowls is vague to say the least but manuscripts from the 13th Century describe a game in which two players bowl at a conical marker. Considered to be a major distraction from the more important skill of archery, laws were passed, banning commoners from playing the game, although Queen Elizabeth, Shakespeare, Pepys and of course Drake played regularly. The last of these banning laws were not repealed until 1845!

Charles I played on what is thought to be the oldest Green on the Island at Carisbrooke Castle in 1648 and although still a grassy area it is now part of the Jousting Ground.

W G. Grace formed the English Bowls Association in 1903, the first County Association appeared in 1904, the basis of the current Constitution was formalised in 1921, sponsorship was introduced in 1970 and Headquarters was moved from Bournemouth to Worthing in 1987. Today there are 35 affiliated Counties, 2,700 member Clubs and approximately 132,000 players, although this number is dropping year by year.

The earliest mention of Bowls in Bembridge dates from the early 1900's, when the games were played, under the auspices of the Conservative Club, on the Social Club green at the junction of Dennett Road and Manna Road. The Bowling Green now has houses on it but the converted Clubhouse still remains as Watton Mews.

Bembridge Conservative Bowls Club Members were not only keen but very good and in 1912 they entered the Baring Shield Competition for the first time, beating Ryde, at Ryde, in the final. Their return to Bembridge Station was met by a large crowd, they were escorted back to the Clubhouse by the local band and a Celebration Dinner was held in their honour a few weeks later at the Bembridge Hotel.

The Mitten Road Club was started by a group of men who broke away from the Tennis Club, presumably because by the 1920's the bowls at the Social Club had ended. The Tennis Club Ladies did not approve of this split but eventually the men were given permission to lay a green on spare ground beside the courts. The breakaway was led by Alan Frampton, Edwin Luff, Reg Pocock and Wref Woodford whose names appear on numerous occasions in the County Handbook and on our Honours Board. They and others lent money for the project which was completed in time for the start of the 1922 season. Who laid the Green is not known, but it was probably done by the Club's gardeners to the best of their untrained ability. They produced a beautiful lawn but the underlying layers and drainage for a Bowling Green were omitted, probably because of cost and time, possibly through ignorance. Then known as the Lawn Tennis and Bowling Club, Major R.S. (Roy) Saville, J.R who lived at Oaklands, Farm Lane, Bembridge, was elected President.

In 1922, by kind permission of a Mr J. Goodall the Club was given free use of the land in Mitten Road. Four Tennis Courts and three bowling rinks were laid out, yet again without proper subsurface layers. One of the members, Captain Brooks, donated a large wooden hut for changing rooms and Bembridge Tennis and Bowling Club was formed.

When Mr Goodall died in 1939, he bequeathed the land in trust to the Village, to be administered by the Parish Council.

By 1933, according to the A.G.M. records, the Club had a combined membership of 71, the subscriptions amounted to £58-15-0, and the accounts showed £8-8-0 profit. However a loan of £880 was still outstanding to 42 people from the 1922 project. Whether this was ever repaid and how long it took is not known. Team performance had slipped somewhat, as they finished third in the Island Second Division.

Club Presidents in this era were usually elected for life. Looked upon as the figurehead, the actual running of the Club depended on the Chairman and Club Captain. Today it is Presidents and Vice Presidents who work tirelessly to run and enhance all aspects of the Club. Life Presidents however were often expected to put their hand in their pocket when things like new mowers or flagpoles were required. Two year Presidencies were introduced in 1966 when Alan Frampton took over after the death of Wreford Woodford.

The Parish Council closed both the Tennis Courts and the Green during the Second World War, and they were allowed to 'return to nature' with animals grazing on them. Some Members were still able to get the occasional game because the Club President, Colonel Murray, who lived at Woodlands in the High Street, created two rinks in his garden.

John Woodford, currently one of the Club's Trustees, still remembers going up there with his father to watch the 'roll-ups' as they were called. Double Summer Time was in force then and play could go on quite late into the evening but members would generally leave early to go on duty with the A.R.E, Home Guard or Fire Brigade. He also remembers that when the sirens sounded everybody abandoned play and ran or biked to their respective posts, leaving him to put everything away before walking home to Dennet Road.

At the end of the war the men were anxious to get the Club back on its feet and resume competitive bowling with other Island Clubs but the green was in an awful state and quite unfit to play on. The Holiday Camp, then run by the Yelland family, but now Warners, had a small bowling green for the use of their campers which they agreed we could use. A game was arranged against the I.WB.A. Executive but much to the disappointment of all, the rinks were found to be a foot too narrow!

Although adequate for Tourist, friendly and Club Competitions, a new venue had to be found for League games and Ryde were generous enough to allow us to play our 'Home' matches on their Green. Due to petrol rationing players had to cycle to all their matches.

The Ryde Green obviously suited our players; during our time there we had great success in the County Competitions. E. J. Hewitt, E.Luff and A. Frampton won the triples in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. The 1948 game was an all Bembridge Final, the losers being E. Pearce, F. Crockford and E.WJones. Also in that year, Frampton skipped his four to a 29 - 14 win over the 1946 National Singles Champion A. F. Baker's rink, to ensure the Island beat Dorset in the Middleton Cup. Several of the Club's players represented the Island in the National Competitions which were held at Paddington, London, in those days and as a result of their successes Bembridge had become known throughout the country as 'The Club without a Green'.

At a Parish Council meeting in February 1945 the Bowls Committee asked the Council to return the Green and Tennis Courts to their pre-war state. The Council called a Special Public Meeting to discuss the raising of a two penny rate to finance the necessary work. At a crowded meeting, with many unable to get in the hall, and after much passionate debate, the motion was passed.

Nothing happened and in 1948 we were still playing at Ryde. No record now exists for the lack of action or where the money went, so the Bowls Club presumably felt they had no option but to do it themselves. Les Dyer remembers turf being brought from Arreton Down and although it made a fine surface, the proper subsoil layers and drainage were omitted as on previous occasions. By 1950 the Club was back home, but the problems for both Groundsmen and Players were immediately obvious. Prone to flooding, uneven and with runs in every rink, many visiting teams made unkind remarks. Nevertheless the renamed Bembridge Bowling Club was affiliated to the County and National Bowling Associations.

In 1949 the ground was leased to the Club by the Parish Council. This has been renewed from time to time, the last occasion being in 1989 for a period of 28 years.

The period between the end of the war in 1945 and the 1960's was a time of outstanding success for the Club. There was an abundance of good players and a look at the County Handbook shows Bembridge won the 'Baring Shield' in 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959, and were runners up in 1963. Only Cowes Medina has equalled our five in a row wins. Frank Crockford lost in the National Singles Final of 1958 but nevertheless this was a wonderful time for the Bembridge Club. More honours were gained by having Alan Frampton in 1948 and Herbert Occomore in 1953 as Presidents of the Isle of Wight County Bowls Association. Ventnor, in 1968, saw the last game by the formidable foursome of E. Luff, C. Woodford, E. Hewitt and A Frampton who played together for over thirty years! With a Bembridge population of only just over 1,000 it was a remarkable era for both Club and Village!

The 1960's brought many changes. Within the Club the First team players were growing older and losing their winning ways, and there were no obvious candidates in the second team (known as the rabbits) to take their place. Things did not look good but Bembridge village was beginning to expand. The Meadow Drive estate was built and soon filled with mainly retired people who quickly began to integrate into village life, joining the many Societies and Clubs. The 'newcomers' who joined the Bowls Club however, soon decided things were not being run correctly and should be changed. Naturally there was some disagreement with those who had started and run the Club with considerable success for the last 40 years, but examination of the books and minutes of that time does show there was room for improvement.

As a result of the new larger membership and progressive Committee it was decided to increase the number of rinks from four to six. Everything was done by hand so Jim Young and his team worked really hard to produce what are now rinks 1 and 2. Still not perfect, they illustrate just how much work is involved in providing merely the basics, but the enlarged green allowed the Club to participate in many more areas. The number of Tourist teams coming to the Island was increasing and Bembridge was now able to entertain their full quota with very satisfactory results for the finances and stability of the Club as a whole.

Although the Club was in a healthy state and enjoying its bowling, County Championship performances were sadly down on the heydays of the 1950's. E.W. Jones won the Singles of 1967 and 1968; R. Levi, S. Randle, G.Chambers and H. Brown won the fours in 1978; Harold Mallett beat Ken Hamblin of Shanklin in the 1980 Singles; Basil Brown beat Barry Croad of Ventnor in 1989 and C. Backer of Newport in 1990 to be Champion two years running; J. Milligan, G. Sothcott and J. Blanchard won the 1989 triples.

The Tennis Club Pavilion in the Glebe Land, now known as Elizabeth Court, next to the Church Rooms, now the Village Hall, was bought for the Bowls Club by Captain Frank Brooks, father of a current member, in 1922 . Vandalism was not a problem in those days and the key was kept in the gas lamp beside the front door. Refurbished and converted to electricity it retains it's place today, the only original item from 1922.

After the game there was always a Captains speech followed by tea and refreshments and Ladies were only allowed into the Clubhouse in order to prepare these. Among the 'priviliged' Ladies were Mrs Luff, Mrs Edmunds, Mrs Woodford and Mrs Carrie 'two pennies' Jacobs, so called because as a layer-out she always put pennies on their closed eyelids. There was considerable unrest and mutterings of "over my dead body" etc., when Ladies wanted to become members, but there were many who thought it a good idea.

Margery Brown, Eileen Deane, Mrs Kett, Doris Ferridge, (who changed her name to Sarah when she joined the Club), Mrs Phyllis Chinchin (Di Vines mum) and Elsie Gulliver, who went on to win practically everything every year, presented a well organised petition which persuaded the Committee to accept them.

The Ladies section was eventually formed in 1967 with their own Committee to run their affairs independently, thus causing little or no change to the Mens activities. The inaugural meeting was attended by thirteen members with Mrs Clark as Chairman. Having become part of the Club the Ladies quickly established a vigorous social side, with Whist Drives, Jumble Sales, Parties etc, introducing a new aspect to the Club life and boosting finances. The bowling was by no means ignored. A quick look at the Honours Board will show they have more than played their part, not only winning a great number of trophies but having the honour of Mesdames Brown, Deane, Wilson, Sothcott, Blanchard and Hedley as County Presidents through to 2004 and Ann Sothcott as President of the English Women's Bowls Association in 1996. Margery Brown was also a founder member of the Isle of Wight Ladies County Bowls Association which became a County in its own right in 1970 having previously been part of Hampshire. In the late 80's and early 90's she was the Ladies Treasurer and led a series of events to raise funds for new kitchen equipment.

With increasing use of the ground generally it soon became apparent that many aspects of the Club needed to be updated and in the mid 1980's a long term programme was started. The domestic mowers and rakes used on the Green, often donated by Members, was replaced with larger professional machinery. Sand from the beach gave way to proper top dressings. Large trees and hedges overshadowing the green causing damp and disease were cut down, raising much concern among Members and Public alike; lively discussions in Mitten Road were a common sight! A replacement fence, hedge and smaller trees were agreed with the Council to give a neater and more easily maintained boundary.

In 1988 the old Clubhouse was taken down and foundations for a new building completed. A second-hand sectional timber building had been purchased from the Education Authority by one of our Members and was erected in 1989. Finally completed, with new equipment and known as the Wooster Pavilion, it was opened in 1990 by David Hamilton-Warwick, then Leader of the Parish Council.

Attention then returned to the green which was extended by 5 feet to enable 6 rinks to be played in both directions and concrete ditches and plastic mats replaced the gravel filled grass ditches. The Green was surveyed and the area by the front gate found to be 4 inches high, requiring about 25% of the green to be stripped and re-laid. Fortunately the work, under the direction of Goff Sothcott, was completed for the start of the next Season.

Under the Ladies expert guidance the Social Section has continued to grow and we now enjoy a reputation Island wide as second to none for Club events and the hospitality we provide at Bembridge Week. First started as a Men's Open Tournament in the 1930's it has grown to become the highlight of the Club year. Now a mixed Tournament run by a dedicated Committee for any bowlers affiliated to the Island leagues, it offers Singles, mixed Pairs, Triples and Fours. Competitions run all day for 6 days at the end of August, with food and drink constantly available, dinners and teas to order. It is hardly surprising we are always oversubscribed.

The enormous amount of effort the Ladies put in every year has been helped by the latest extension to the Clubhouse in 2003/4 which now caters for all six rinks of players to be comfortably seated at the same time, while the enlarged and updated kitchen facilities makes catering much easier. Toilet and changing room facilities have also been improved. Neither the original type of building or any of its sections were available so the two new units had to be constructed from scratch and together with current E.U. regulations posed a few problems. All the design and construction was done by Club Members led by Vice President Mike Woodrow with finance and constant support in the very capable hands of President David Russell. Not everyone was in favour of the change, or of doing it ourselves, but many of our Members loaned the necessary monies and happily we are all now delighted with one of the best clubrooms on the Island.

Apart from its Members, the success or otherwise of a Bowls Club relies most heavily on its Green, and ours has had a chequered history, some of which has already been mentioned. Many people have worked hard on it over the years, from George Cheverton, the local Carrier and a giant of a man known as 'Ten Toes' (because of the 6 digits on his hands and feet), up to today.

In 2002 the Sycamore trees and some bushes forming the bound­ary between us and the Scouts were found to be diseased and had to be taken down. After discussion with the Scout Group and the Local Parish Council a post and chain link fence with new smaller trees and bushes were installed. Although not realised at the time, the removal of these trees also drastically reduced the amount of disease on the Green.

The last few years however have seen a steady and continual improvement with a better understanding of our specific ground characteristics, modified treatments, new equipment, a lot of money, (£3,500 a year min) an enormous amount of hard work and above all a determination to be the best on the Island. We have a mainland Contractor who does the heavy Autumn and Spring Preparations but the day to day - literally day to day - upkeep is done by the work party under the control of the Greens Committee led by Graham Bridger. As well as cutting the green three times a week in the playing season, they look after all the other requirements of the ground such as the buildings, paths, surrounds, hedges, fences etc. so there is plenty to do and help is always needed.

The cost of all the work undertaken by the Club has been paid for by the Club, with money raised from social events, coffee mornings, Village street fairs, and donations from members.

This short resume of our Club gives you an idea of the successes we have achieved in the past. What we achieve in the future is entirely up to you, the Members. Financially secure with a progressive Committee, you have a Club, Premises and Reputation of which you can be justly proud. Be a part of it, enjoy it, look after it, improve it if you can, but remember, you only get back what you put in.