CLUB HISTORY
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Please Click Here to View Our Club Finals Results from 1922 - Present
Please Click Here to View Our Full Archive Photos - To learn more about an image click on it then the i (info) symbol
Please Click Here to View Our Club Finals Results from 1922 - Present
Buntingford Bowls Club is known as one of Hertfordshire's finest Bowls Clubs. The club offers excellent hospitality, has a very friendly and sociable membership, and of course Buntingford Bowls Club is well known for being a fiercely competitive club with lots of success over the years across Hertfordshire and National Competitions..... |
But let's take you back to where it all began nearly 100 years ago...
Bowls in the small Town of Buntingford was first played in 1914 when Mr James Boniwell started the game with a few of his close friends. The venue was a lawn Tennis ground just off Bowling Green Lane in Buntingford. There is a Cul-de-Sac called Bowlers Mead and the very first house is aptly named 'Greenkeepers Cottage'. This Cottage still exists to this day and it is believed this is where the first woods were rolled towards the Jack....... |
In 1919 two rinks were then formed in the grounds of Layston Cottage, River Green in Buntingford. This is where Buntingford Bowls Club began to start to take its earliest form as a club. It wasn't until 3 years later when the club really began to take off and it was then decided that the club would formerly adopt 1922 as our Founder year. After spending just over 3 years at the River Green address, land was purchased just over five hundred yards away in Wyddial Road for a mere £50 and in 1926 Buntingford Bowls Club moved home. The green was then laid down by a few of the existing members. Rumour has it that there was a car buried under the middle of the green somewhere, but sadly no one can confirm if those rumours are in fact true or not. |
Our former home in River Green reverted back to a residential address and years later Jack and Eileen Platt, two of our former long serving members moved in where they lived until the early 21st Century.
In the early years of Buntingford Bowls Club, the Clubhouse resembled something like a garden shed, but over the next 50 years or so a number of improvements were made. This was to allow the members to make refreshments. However, if you had too many refreshments there were no toilets, but just a corrugated 'tin trap' in the open-air for the gentlemen. In 1947 Buntingford were then formally elected to the affiliated organisation of the Hertfordshire Bowls Association. |
33 years into our club's history and a separate Ladies section was formed and founded in 1955, Lillian Owen-Smith was our first Ladies Club Champion and Lillian went on to win it for the next 3 years. It does seem strange nowadays that there was a separate Men's and Ladies section, but that was the case until the early 90s where of course a vote was held to incorporate the whole membership into 'one club'- and rightly so.
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Buntingford Bowls Club is a fully integrated Mixed Bowling Club now and has members ranging in age from the very young to the young at heart..... (It would be impolite to reveal a lady's age, but the youngest bowler we've had on the green this season is just 7 years - and one of the gents has just turned 93 years old!)
In 1974 a number of improvements were made to the Clubhouse with proper toilets being constructed, together with a facility where the Ladies then had a comfortable changing room to use. The Gents still continued to use the wooden shed 'out back' to change, and you had to always make sure to kick the changing room door before you entered - and then wait 30 seconds. This wasn't to make sure that everyone was decently dressed, but to give enough time for the furry creatures and the local wildlife to disappear.........
Over the next 20 years saw more improvements made to the Clubhouse including the building of a kitchen, an extension to the bar cellar, and also a porta-kabin was bought in and placed in the grounds adjacent to the clubhouse. This was then used as the Gents changing room for a number of years until 1997.
With the improved Clubhouse facilities Buntingford Bowls Club were able to put a dartboard up in the Clubhouse and then they entered a Darts team where they competed against other Pubs and Social Clubs from the local and surrounding areas. Buntingford increased to two Darts teams soon after which meant the clubhouse was regularly used throughout the winter months. Darts bought the club some success with a number of trophies and Championships being fought for.
A few years later a Pool table was bought in and again Buntingford Bowls Club put together a team. They had some successful seasons against Pubs and Social Clubs from the local area.
With Pool and Darts ensuring the Clubhouse was regularly used, our revenue increased and every visiting team enjoyed coming to Buntingford Bowls Club as the prices behind our bar were much more favourable that at their own venues.....
Keeping the Bowls Green to a reasonable standard is always going to be a challenge, especially when the 'green' was laid nearly a hundred years ago. A number of members over the years volunteered to take on the role as 'Greenkeeper' and did their level best to maintain and cut the green. Robo and Les Jackson are just two of those members that devoted a number of years to the club.
In 1982 and 1992 it wasn't possible for the green to be at its very best and this meant that in those seasons they were bought to an early close as the green had to be shut to allow time for the grass to recover ready for the following season.
In 1974 a number of improvements were made to the Clubhouse with proper toilets being constructed, together with a facility where the Ladies then had a comfortable changing room to use. The Gents still continued to use the wooden shed 'out back' to change, and you had to always make sure to kick the changing room door before you entered - and then wait 30 seconds. This wasn't to make sure that everyone was decently dressed, but to give enough time for the furry creatures and the local wildlife to disappear.........
Over the next 20 years saw more improvements made to the Clubhouse including the building of a kitchen, an extension to the bar cellar, and also a porta-kabin was bought in and placed in the grounds adjacent to the clubhouse. This was then used as the Gents changing room for a number of years until 1997.
With the improved Clubhouse facilities Buntingford Bowls Club were able to put a dartboard up in the Clubhouse and then they entered a Darts team where they competed against other Pubs and Social Clubs from the local and surrounding areas. Buntingford increased to two Darts teams soon after which meant the clubhouse was regularly used throughout the winter months. Darts bought the club some success with a number of trophies and Championships being fought for.
A few years later a Pool table was bought in and again Buntingford Bowls Club put together a team. They had some successful seasons against Pubs and Social Clubs from the local area.
With Pool and Darts ensuring the Clubhouse was regularly used, our revenue increased and every visiting team enjoyed coming to Buntingford Bowls Club as the prices behind our bar were much more favourable that at their own venues.....
Keeping the Bowls Green to a reasonable standard is always going to be a challenge, especially when the 'green' was laid nearly a hundred years ago. A number of members over the years volunteered to take on the role as 'Greenkeeper' and did their level best to maintain and cut the green. Robo and Les Jackson are just two of those members that devoted a number of years to the club.
In 1982 and 1992 it wasn't possible for the green to be at its very best and this meant that in those seasons they were bought to an early close as the green had to be shut to allow time for the grass to recover ready for the following season.
The clubs greatest player in the 60's, 70's and early 80's was Tom Gray. Tom sadly passed away in the early nineties and as a fitting tribute him, his ashes were scattered on Rink 1 after a memorial service. Any greenkeeper will now tell you that ashes and the grass of a Bowls green don't really go hand in hand. The 'ashes' affected the growth of the grass considerably, and this proved a challenge of a different kind for our greenkeepers to get the green ready for the following season. Tom had certainly left his mark on the club.
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Nowadays, Buntingford Bowls Club pay contractors to do the Greenkeeper work and this has taken much of the burden off the members. However, there are still a number of members that regularly contribute in cutting and maintaning the green.
Over the years the green has improved, and in the most recent years it is clear for everyone to see that the green has improved significantly.
Buntingford Bowls Club have been hosting high profile County matches for the last few years and this is a testament to the success of those members that play at the highest level that initially put the Buntingford Bowls Club on the map, and to those players that regularly reach the latter stages of the East Herts and Hertfordshire County competitions.
Of course on from there, thanks go to the hard work of the many that work on the green, the green surroundings, and for the many members that provide the excellent hospitality - which is second to none. All of this adds up to give Buntingford Bowls Club a very high profile within the County of Hertfordshire.
In the mid 1990's upgrades were made to the green with the ditches being rebuilt and the green 'lifted' along each side. This was at a significant cost, however it was money well spent and improved the quality of the playing surface and surrounds.
In 1998, and with help and thanks from donations from some of the Club members at that time, and with the help of a substantial National Lottery grant, Buntingford Bowls Club were able to upgrade their facilities and build a completely new Clubhouse - and what a building we have now. Buntingford Bowls Club can now boast that they have a magnificent Clubhouse facility that ranks alongside some of the best in the Country. Thanks and gratitude go to Jack Platt who oversaw the building project. The new Clubhouse was officially opened by the Bowls England President at that time.
Over the years the green has improved, and in the most recent years it is clear for everyone to see that the green has improved significantly.
Buntingford Bowls Club have been hosting high profile County matches for the last few years and this is a testament to the success of those members that play at the highest level that initially put the Buntingford Bowls Club on the map, and to those players that regularly reach the latter stages of the East Herts and Hertfordshire County competitions.
Of course on from there, thanks go to the hard work of the many that work on the green, the green surroundings, and for the many members that provide the excellent hospitality - which is second to none. All of this adds up to give Buntingford Bowls Club a very high profile within the County of Hertfordshire.
In the mid 1990's upgrades were made to the green with the ditches being rebuilt and the green 'lifted' along each side. This was at a significant cost, however it was money well spent and improved the quality of the playing surface and surrounds.
In 1998, and with help and thanks from donations from some of the Club members at that time, and with the help of a substantial National Lottery grant, Buntingford Bowls Club were able to upgrade their facilities and build a completely new Clubhouse - and what a building we have now. Buntingford Bowls Club can now boast that they have a magnificent Clubhouse facility that ranks alongside some of the best in the Country. Thanks and gratitude go to Jack Platt who oversaw the building project. The new Clubhouse was officially opened by the Bowls England President at that time.
Our Club Badge has a story behind it and the original design featured a shield with a cross on one side, and a picture of a Water Pump on the other side. Seth Ward was a founder of Buntingford back in the 17th Century and the cross represents Seth as he was the Bishop of Salisbury. The Victorian Water Pump erected on Market Hill ouside of the 'Arms Houses' also links to Seth Ward.
In 1972 the badge was redesigned to the way it looks today to celebrate the Club's 50th Jublilee Anniversary. A banner was added showing the date 1922-1972. In our 60th Anniversary year in 1982 the date banner was amended, and it was amended again in 2012 to celebrate our 90th year. In 2022 it is expected to change again with a completely new design to celebrate our Centenary year.
In 1972 the badge was redesigned to the way it looks today to celebrate the Club's 50th Jublilee Anniversary. A banner was added showing the date 1922-1972. In our 60th Anniversary year in 1982 the date banner was amended, and it was amended again in 2012 to celebrate our 90th year. In 2022 it is expected to change again with a completely new design to celebrate our Centenary year.
Buntingford Bowls Club moved into the 'technological' age with the creation of a website in 2007. Eddie Plume set up this up to help increase the profile and brand of the club. He handed the reigns over to his son Mark the following year who invests hours and hours of his time regularly updating it. In 2019, after over 10 years of regular updates Mark stepped down from his role as website administrator and passed on the reins to Jake Andrews who continues to update today.
In 2022, Buntingford celebrates 100 years as a bowling club. To celebrate we have had a number of celebration matches, a change of logo and a new modernised club shirt.
In 2022, Buntingford celebrates 100 years as a bowling club. To celebrate we have had a number of celebration matches, a change of logo and a new modernised club shirt.