Inkberrow Bowls Club history
In May 1994 a village meeting decided that a bowling green was a desirable addition to the sports facilities in Inkberrow. A Committee was formed to consider location, feasibility and funding for the project.
The football club, cricket club and cubs were all using a small old and very inadequate hut on the village playing field for meetings and changing. At that time district councillor Gordon Moone realised there was an opportunity to obtain a grant for £100k from the district council to support the provision of a new combined sports pavilion which together with a grant from the parish council of £30k for the construction of a bowling green meant the project could proceed. The bowls club committee was formed and together with the football, cricket & cubs created a combined group to manage the project and drive it forward.
Building was completed in early 1996 and the opening ceremony by Councillor Gordon Moone took place on May 27th 1996, this was followed by the opening game with a joint County Men’s/County Women’s team to recognise that the Club was a fully mixed club from the outset. Sadly the event was clouded by the death, shortly before, of John Tyrrell MBE, the man who chaired the project from the start to fruition.The Club was accepted as affiliated to the County, as the youngest club in the County and this is still the case.
The new pavilion and bowling green ownership was transferred into the village hall trust but jointly managed by the combined football, cricket and bowls clubs
Many members of the Club were new to bowling so that the 1996 season was very much a learning phase both for the bowling itself and all associated procedures. Membership was around 90 and the novelty brought out much enthusiasm to ensure the success of the Club. The ‘bowls tea’ and green maintenance absorbed much of this enthusiasm.
Several friendly games were played in the first season, the opposition being gentle with us! Naturally maintenance of the green was a high priority and a group of willing but inexperienced members worked hard at this. Experience of the drought of 1995 made some form of irrigation system essential and this was installed with the help of an English Bowls Association interest free loan.
The year’s climax was our first annual dinner, prepared and served in the pavilion by a small but dedicated group of members. 1997 was a much busier year, Club competitions were organised and the Club were founder members of the Vale Triples League. Much of the green equipment was old, second hand or borrowed so fundraising was hotly pursued, many members being very generous with loans. The green was improving all the time and praised by visitors, except of course after prolonged rain, when it became very heavy.
A landmark was hosting a Ladies County match on the green.
In 1998 membership held steady, friendly games increased, as we become more widely known. The finances were such we could afford a professional green keeper to oversee winter preparation work. The lack of bar facilities was a drawback, this being due to the cub scouts having use of the pavilion This was overcome by converting the second kitchen into a secure bar (two kitchens were included in the original design) and this helped to boost the Club’s income.
In 2000 the Club initiated a new mixed triples league, the Interberga league, the name is the anglo Saxon name for Inkberrow. This was set up and organised by Tony Lamare.
2004 saw the Club host a full County Match and the green was highly complimented for the playing surface.
One of the problems the club had from the very beginning was a very small and inadequate changing room close to the green. There were changing rooms for the football teams at the south end of the pavilion, well away from the green which were used when there was no football match.
In 2006 to overcome this problem the club decided to erect a wooden building next to the green divided into two rooms. This was funded by members purchasing bonds valued at £25 each. This raised a large proportion of the cost, which together with a grant from Wychavon District Council for the construction of the concrete bases for two buildings enabled the club to erect the first building. The bonds were repaid over a 3 year period as funds permitted, with bond numbers being draw at the AGM and preseason meeting. While this building was of considerable help it was unable to provide sufficient space for all members and visiting teams in which to change, particularly when the match was played in whites. This still meant some members had to change in the pavilion.
From the early days of the club members have played short mat bowls during the winter months, providing some exercise together with an opportunity to socialise with other members.
In 2018 planning permission was granted to build a new estate of 100 houses in the village. One of the planning conditions was that the builder had to make a payment to the council of £3,000 per house. This money to be used to improve sports facilities in the village. The club made an application for £15,000 to enable a second changing room building to be constructed. The application was successful and later that year the second changing room was opened. The original one was designated for visiting teams and the new one for Inkberrow, each having two rooms, providing changing for ladies in one and men in the other.
From about 2000 the football club had been growing steadily with more adult teams and a growing number of youth teams. The football club also took advantage of the above funding and with other grants built their own pavilion in an adjacent field in the same year. They expanded their pavilion in 2020 enabling the football club to move out of the bowls pavilion, leaving it to be managed entirely by the bowls club on behalf of the village hall trust.
In early 2020 the world was struck by the Covid 19 pandemic. The government imposed a lockdown in March to prevent the spread of the virus. Other than one game at the end of August being played amongst our own members and some singles & pairs competitions, no matches were played against other clubs. With the development of a vaccine in late 2020 most adults were vaccinated as we progressed through 2021. Bowling recommenced in early summer and was almost back to normal by the end of the season.
David Willis
March 2022
