Southampton Old Bowling Green, situated on the corner of Lower Canal Walk and Platform Road, Southampton, England, claims to be the world's oldest surviving bowling green. It was first used in 1299;
Southampton Old Bowling Green, situated on the corner of Lower Canal Walk and Platform Road, Southampton, England, claims to be the world's oldest surviving bowling green. It was first used in 1299;
The Hospital of "God's House" was founded in 1185 for pilgrims who were going either to the shrine of St Swithun at Winchester or to Canterbury; until 2011, the gateway housed the museum of archaeology. [1]
The green adjoining the God's House Hospital had been established during the reign of Richard I the Lionheart for the recreational use of the Warden, [2] and was first used for a game of bowls in 1299. [3] [4] [5]
The club that plays there now is believed to have been established in the 17th century because of the history of a competition known as the "Knighthood". [3] It is also the only club that has a "Master" in charge, a title carried forward from the earliest of days. [2]
Bowling Green House, now occupied by Wainwright Bros. (shipping agency) [6] and the Consulate Of The Federal Republic Of Germany, [7] is a Grade II listed building. Built in the mid-19th century, it is a three-storey brick building with a green slate roof with a central cupola on eight Tuscan columns, surmounted by a steep weather-vane. [8]
A unique occurrence called the "Knighthood" competition is held annually when the members (gentlemen commoners) compete to obtain 7 points, with the winner being awarded the title of "Knight-of-the-green" and becoming a sir (in lower case). The competition is adjudicated by the members who have previously won the competition (Knights), who adjudicate in top hats and frocked tails suits. [2] Those who win are excluded from future Knighthood competitions.
This is the annual competition of the club with rules which are different from the normal variant of the game. [3]
The competition used to start on 1 August but now starts on the third Wednesday of the month and is open to all members of the club, except the pre-existing knights. [3]
The game is played "roving jack" style in that the jack is placed on a penny anywhere on the green. Each player takes it in turns to bowl his two bowls at the jack. Each bowl when it comes to rest is measured and the distance from the jack is recorded before the bowl is removed. If a bowl moves the jack, the jack is placed back on the penny before it is measured. If the penny is partially covered by the bowl it is a toucher, if totally covered it is a lodger. After all the players have bowled the player with the closest bowl is awarded one point. If he also has the second nearest he scores two. The jack is then reset at a different position and the game continues until somebody has scored seven points. [3]
The winner is made a "knight-of-the-green" and can never enter this competition again. It is a rarity for the knight to be declared on the first day and the competition has been known to last ten days. [3]
Amongst the winners of the competition were the former Burnley and Southampton footballer Tom Nicol, who won the 133rd championship in 1907. [9]
Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball closest to a smaller ball. The bowls are heavier on one side, so that they turn when being rolled. The game is played either in teams or one against one.
Year 1299 (MCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
Underarm bowling is a style of bowling in cricket. The style is as old as the sport itself. Until the introduction of the roundarm style in the first half of the 19th century, bowling was performed in the same way as in the sport of bowls, with the ball being delivered with the hand below the waist. Bowls may well be an older game than cricket and it is possible that it provided a template for delivering a ball with a degree of accuracy.
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
A perfect game is the highest score possible in a game of bowling, achieved by scoring a strike with every throw. In bowling games that use 10 pins, such as ten-pin bowling, candlepin bowling, and duckpin bowling, the highest possible score is 300, achieved by bowling 12 strikes in a row in a traditional single game: one strike in each of the first nine frames, and three more in the tenth frame.
Lawn bowls at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games took place in the Hidden Vale Sports Club in Angeles City, Philippines.
Short mat bowls is an indoor sport in which players attempt to score points by rolling a heavy ball along a fairly flat surface, to gain as many shots as possible by getting their bowls nearer to the jack than their opponents, and so outscore them. The game is a modern variation on lawn bowls, from which it is derived.
The QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup, previously known as the International Masters and AMF Bowling World Cup, is an annual Ten-pin bowling championship sponsored by QubicaAMF Worldwide, and the largest in bowling in terms of number of participating nations. Each nation chooses one male and/or one female bowler to represent them in the tournament, and in the majority of cases, this is done by running a qualifying tournament, the winners of which are chosen.
Southampton is a city in Hampshire, England. The area has been settled since the Stone Age. Its history has been affected by its geographical location, on a major estuary on the English Channel coast with an unusual double high-tide, and by its proximity to Winchester and London; the ancient and modern capitals of England. Having been an important regional centre for centuries, Southampton was awarded city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964.
Carpet bowls is a variant of lawn bowls played indoors. Originating in England, it is played particularly in the South of England, although it is played at League and County level in East Anglia, the Midlands and the North. There are also a few players in Eastern Townships, Quebec, Canada. Despite the name, carpet bowls is not just a trivial indoor game played at home.
Tealby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds and 3 miles (5 km) north-east of Market Rasen. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 593.
Thomas Nicol was a Scottish footballer who played for Burnley first as a centre forward and then as a full back in the 1890s, before later becoming a bowls champion in Southampton.
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins or another target. The term bowling usually refers to pin bowling, most commonly ten-pin bowling, though in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, bowling may also refer to target bowling, such as lawn bowls. Bowling is played by 120 million people in more than 90 countries, including 70 million people in the United States alone.
God's House Tower is a late 13th century gatehouse into the old town of Southampton, England. It stands at the south-east corner of the town walls and permitted access to the town from the Platform and Town Quay. It is now an arts and heritage venue, and has previously served as the town gaol and housed the Museum of Archaeology. The building is Grade I listed and a scheduled ancient monument.
The Melbourne Bowling Club, nicknamed the Demons, and affiliated with Bowls Victoria (BV), is the oldest lawn bowling club in Australia. Founded in 1864, the club has been based at Union Street, Windsor, Victoria, Australia on a continuous basis since formation.
The Bowls Premier League (BPL) is a biannual bowls competition involving teams from around Australia. The competition was founded in 2013 as a way to popularise the sport by presenting in a modernised format, using the term "made-for-television" in its promotion. The competition features faster play, modified rules, colourful clothing and comprehensive television coverage.
This page is a glossary of Bowls terminology.
Crown green bowls is a code of bowls played outdoors on a grass or artificial turf surface known as a bowling green. The sport's name is derived from the intentionally convex or uneven nature of the bowling green which is traditionally formed with a raised centre known as the crown.
Bowls South Africa, (BSA) is the governing body for the sport of bowls in South Africa. Bowls South Africa is responsible for the promotion and development of lawn bowls in South Africa, and is affiliated with the world governing body World Bowls, as well as SASCOC.
The Scottish National Bowls Championships is one of the oldest bowls competitions in the world. In 1892, James Brown of Sanquhar Bowling Club and Dr Clark of the Partick Bowling Club formed the Scottish Bowls Association and organised the first rink (fours) championship the following year at the Queen's Park Bowling Club, Glasgow.
"The Southampton Old Bowling Green was established during the reign of Richard I, and first used for a game of bowls in 1299," said Margaret, who has played at the Lower Canal Walk and Platform Road club.
On the World's oldest bowling green (AD 1299). Sir John Russell installs "Sir" W. Day, 1927's winner over 350 year old competition for honour of knighthood of the Green.
50°53′49.2″N1°24′7.2″W / 50.897000°N 1.402000°W
