​Haddenham Bowls Club

A History of Our Club

Our club was established in August 1912 when 40yd² of the Vicarage Paddock was loaned to the club by the vicar. Our first-ever meeting was held on 19th August 1912 in the Church Hall. In the beginning our President was - A.E. Wright, Vice Presidents - Rev. F.S. Morgan & Dr. Howe, Treasurer - E.H. Robinson & Secretary - A.E. Miles. Membership was five shillings per annum! 

Our first ever game was a tournament against Bluntisham on 18th April 1914. According to the balance sheet for 1914/15 we had 25 members beginning with the Captain, Mr Barker followed by Mr Robinson in 1916. Until 1925 an old tram car was used as the pavilion. In 1930 the Green was purchased from the Church Commissioners for £35 plus expenses and a loan of £40 was obtained from Barclays Bank.

By 1934 water was laid on with members digging the trench and Mr Starkey providing the pipes. In 1937 ladies could become members a decision that had been deferred from

1913 !! In the late 60's the club advertised for lady members and by 1969 we had three!

Play continued during the second world war but it is not clear from the records to what degree. In 1953 we had an invitation by the Coronation Committee to send a member to the ceremony, E. Rolfe was our representative. In 1960 W. Papworth bought a hut for £60 on our behalf. This was to be our new pavilion and we had the luxury of Calor Gas lighting! The Green was re-laid in1965, extended and in 1968 a further 300yd² of Glebe land was purchased for £50.

 
By 1980 we were playing friendly matches at Sheringham and Hunstanton. On 13th June 1982 a new pavilion (a school portakabin) was opened on the present site funded by loans from members, council and parish grants. The Green was again totally levelled and re-sown in 1986/87 and is now considered to be one of the best playing surfaces in Cambridgeshire.

In 1994 the current brick built pavilion was completed at a cost of £56,000. This was funded mainly with a grant of £36,000 from East Cambs Council.

During our existence we have only had 6 club secretaries - A.E. Miles from 1912, H. Collin from 1925, A. Page from 1958, T. Ward from1979, G. Marshall from 2017 and D. Mckenzie from 2023.

We have also had some long serving members!  A. Page was a member for 54 yrs and during that time as well as secretary he also had spells as captain, groundsman and bar steward. H. Collin was also a member from the clubs inception for 50 yrs serving in several roles and S. Hostler served as club captain for over 30 yrs. There have been many other members and characters over the years who have made great contributions to the club but there is not enough space to name them all!

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Our main aim is to provide a facility for the village and surrounding areas so members can enjoy themselves and "remember that David Bryant once said". 

"Bowls is a young persons sport that old people can play"