SHERBORNE

SHERBORNE BOWLING CLUB

Words Jo Denbury Photography Katharine Davies

Lawn bowls coincides with some of my earliest memories of the beach. After swimming in the sea off Greenhill, Weymouth, I would grab my towel and, shivering with cold, head to the warmest spot – the foothpath beside Greenhill’s bowling green. There, I’d lay my towel on the baking hot tarmac and let the warmth seep into my body while I watched this extraordinary game. To an impressionable nine-year old, the serenity of these older men and women, dressed in their pristine whites, moving slowly and elegantly around an array of balls, was bemusing. It took me a while to work out exactly what they were doing but when I realised the skill and dexterity it required, I was mesmerised, which is why, when I was invited to visit Sherborne Bowling Club, I leapt at the chance. >

Club President, Henry Paull, joined in 1994 and, as it happens, has played a match or two at Greenhill in his time. ‘That’s a lovely green by the sea,’ he adds. ‘I joined the Sherborne club when I was approached by Jack Dimond, who was one of the club’s originators. I was looking for a new sport after years of playing tugof-war and he invited me to come and play.’ In 2013, Henry had to pull out of playing because of a back injury but the club made him the president and he has attended every match in the last five years. ‘The more I got into bowls, the more I wanted to play,’ he says, ‘I still get the desire to go out there. It’s a game of tactics and depends on the weather; you get to read the green and how it has been affected by the conditions. I urge anyone to come and have a go,’ he adds.

It’s Wednesday night when I visit and that makes it what they call ‘umbrella night’. It has nothing to do with the weather and more to do with the fact that everyone is invited and they don’t have to turn up in pristine whites. In fact, in the club house, it feels very much like a relaxed social evening, with some serious bowls thrown in for good measure. Ian Johnson is here, and, at 91 years of age, he is their oldest member. ‘I have always liked ball games – cricket, football, table-tennis – but now I have macular degeneration. I had a cataract operation two years ago, so I can’t play those games – but I can play bowls,’ he explains, ‘It’s another ball game and very social.’

Lawn bowls has something of a long history. The oldest bowling green is in Southampton and dates from 1299. As many of us know, Drake was reputed to be focusing more on his bowling than the Spanish Armada as it sailed up the English Channel in 1588. In fact, Henry VIII was a keen player, and he would be spitting feathers if he knew about ‘umbrella night’. In 1511, he had decreed a ban on the sport for all ‘low-born’ and imposed a fee of £100 on any private bowling greens to ensure only the wealthy could play. Enthusiasm for bowls in Sherborne however was not to be doused. A few centuries later, after Henry’s decree, a bowling green was created on the floor of the valley (now the lake) of Sherborne castle. Later still, and undeterred following the green’s watery end, the town’s bowling club found a new home on the castle’s croquet lawn.

Since then, the club has played on various sites around Sherborne including one next to Pageant Gardens, where the police station now stands. In 1981, a public meeting was held, and it was decided that the area in Culverhayes would serve them well. A playing surface was offered by Purse Caundle Manor and the gravel for the car park came from the film set of Far from the Madding Crowd, which was being filmed locally. After a lot of hard work from the likes of Jack Dimond and Phil Chidgey, plus the loan of a digger, the bowling club finally had a permanent home. It’s come a long way since the days of a wooden shed for a club house and, today, the green is pristine. ‘The green team do a fantastic job,’ says Chris Jones, the Ladies’ Secretary. ‘Phil Locke runs it with a team of four and they do the cutting every other day. They are the number one most important members of our 90 strong club.’

Coaching is also a strong part of this friendly club. ‘We would happily have juniors,’ says Chris, ‘if they’d like to join – and we are always open to new members. At the moment, we have 11 new players being coached. The beginners start with six lessons, where they learn how to bowl and the etiquette.’ Bowls is a very civilised >

game, and the etiquette is exacting, although much of it is to ensure safety, fairness and preservation of the green from unruly bowls. To be fair, that’s not unlike most ball games but as member, Bev Plympton, points out there are a few quirks: ‘you’re either in with the L’s or you’re not.’ And the L’s are? ‘The ‘line’ you take when delivering a bowl. The ‘length’ you have, which is determined by your arm power, and the ‘luck’ – because on the day, it either goes your way or not.’ As well as being this year’s Lady County President, Bev is also a coach. I ask her what makes bowls addictive? ‘The challenge is pitting yourself against a strong player; it ups your game – a little like in tennis. If your game is perfect, you wouldn’t come back to it but the key is not to feel thwarted by the game.’

The 14th of July is Ladies Presidents’ Day where Bev will be hosting 40-50 lady bowlers and past presidents for a fun social afternoon. Then, in September, the club will be hosting the Ladies County Finals Days no matter what the weather. Bev is clearly proud to be president and wears the chain of office when officiating - ‘although I try not to let it dangle in the soup or cream tea,’ she says. She has also chosen the vital Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance as the club’s charity for the year.

The matches are beginning and Bev and a few others leave the club house to take their place on the green. I bump into Brenda Phillips, who will be taking her spot at the national finals at Bowls England in Leamington Spa this August. You can see by her smile that she and everyone else is glad to be back to the club house post lockdown, to see old friends as well as return to the joy of playing. There’s talk of a tour to Hayling Island this year – ‘it’s very social,’ says Chris, ‘we play three or four matches and we have even had a few romances.’

This is clearly a very friendly club and as John Flynn, Mens’ Captain for the umbrella night, says, ‘My father was a keen cricket man and always said to me that bowls was for fuddy-duddies, so I was reluctant to join the club but after a few days I was hooked. There is tremendous camaraderie here and I’ve made a lot of new friends. We are out on the green all summer and what can be better than that?’ We all agree as he heads out of the clubhouse for the evening’s matches. The day’s sun catches the perfect, shimmering green and once again I am basking in the warmth, watching this extraordinary game.