The History of Shepton Mallet Bowls Club
In its early days, the club consisted of three sections all operating under one umbrella - Bowls, Tennis and Croquet. The Croquet section ceased to function many years ago.
The Club's official birthday is the 30th May 1919, for it was on this day in the 'Hare and Hounds' pub in Shepton Mallet, a group of gentleman decided that a club should be formed.
The Commitee approached the council asking for a site in Collect Park. Permission was granted and although there is mention of some cutting and rolling operations, it does not appear as if a bowl was ever bowled there. In any case, in December of that year the club approached a Mr Mitchell, who rented a piece of land from the Duchy of Cornwall, with the view to preparing the ground for playing bowls, tennis and croquet. The club has occupied this site ever since.
The next priority was a building of some kind. A Mr Lintern informed members that he had purchased an ex-army hut for £ 32. 10s. He was willing to sell this to the club but it would need to be transported from Salisbury Plain, erected and furnished. All in all this would come to about £ 140. The money was borrowed from 'a lady' at 6% interest. This hut became known as the 'Pavilion' and it remains in use to this day.
At first, the idea of laying out tennis courts was postponed because of the high cost of the surrounding wire and so a croquet lawn was prepared instead. However, by April 1921 there were facilities for playing all three games so in that year the 'Shepton Mallet Bowls, Tennis and Croquet Club' was formed. It was estimated that about £ 150 would be required to lay a bowling green and as this was well beyond the club's financial resources, it was decided that members themselves would level, weed and turf the area. To achieve this, the green was divided up into small areas and each member was alloted a portion to weed. Clearly, some members neglected to carry out their duties and the idea had to be abandoned. For the rest of the season the club used a green belonging to a Mr Rumsey.
Signs of the important part the ladies were to play in the club's history were becoming evident. The minutes of 1922 record that the ladies had raised £ 58 by organising winter whist drives and it was mainly through their efforts that the debt on the pavilion was cleared.
In 1925 the bowls section was affiliated to the County Bowling Association. Also the minutes show that a proposal that a bar be installed in the pavilion for the sale of intoxicating liquor was turned down.
1935 was Jubilee year and as by this time a bar had been installed in the pavilion, members were able to drink to Their Majesties health with something a little stronger than tea.
'A state of hostilities' between Germany and Great Britain was declared in September 1939 and although the minute books reflect this in a number of entries, by in large it was bowling, tennis and croquet as usual. Soldiers stationed in the town could bowl for 1s a day and business men evacuated from London would not have to pay the full subscription because once the war was 'over by christmas' they would be returning home. The military authorities asked if they could billet 16 men in the pavilion, a home from home. The club gave permission but the soldiers caused quite an amount of damage and eventually a cheque arrived from the war office for £ 4. 4s by way of compensation. Many of the young men in the tennis section were called up for war service and membership of the section declined. In a burst of patriotic fervour, part of the courts were dug up for food production. The war ended in 1945 and the dug up tennis courts were re-laid.
1951 was declared Festival of Britain year and as part of the celebrations the tennis section opened its new hard courts after receiving a loan from the Duchy of Cornwall. Croquet was on the decline and there is very little mention of it from this time on.
1953 saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth ll and it was also a good year for the bowlers. They won the Mid-Somerset League and their Triples team reached the county finals. An entry in the minutes of this time notes that ladies were taking the place of absent men on some of the rinks in matches. A increasing number of ladies were taking up the game and this was to prove very healthy for the club in the days to come.
In 1959 the club's metal badge was created with the town's market cross as it's central motif.
In the early 60's the tension which seemed to have grown between the tennis and bowls sections came to a head. The tennis section had incurred heavy debts and they also needed the surrounding wire renewed. At a meeting in 1962, the bowls section had accused the tennis section of not pulling its weight in the club. The tennis section was granted a loan from the club funds on the condtion that they paid it back within a year. They had a successful year and were able to pay the money back.
1976 was the year of the drought and many of the older bowlers recalled similar conditions back in the 20s. The green suffered badly, with matches and competitions having to be abandoned. The season had to be finished early. However, the silver jubilee celebrations went well but the Duchy celebrated by raising the rent from £ 60 to £ 100 a year.
At the 1978 A.G.M. the tennis section were asked to pay half the rents and rates. It may have been round this time that the two sections parted company and it must be said that it all turned out for the good of both parties. The tennis club have gone from strength to strength. They see to their own finances and apart from paying half rent and rates and having use of the pavilion, they are totally independent from the bowls club. Relations between the two clubs are now excellent.
In the 80s some more improvements were made. In 1981, even though the rent went up again from £ 100 to £ 220 the club managed to find the money to install electricity so the gas lamps were turned off for the last time. By 1989 a second portakabin had been bought for £ 1000 and it became, after some splendid renovation work by a band of club volunteers, a new dressing-room for both the ladies and mens sections.
These last years have been good ones for the club. The standard of play in both Ladies and Mens sections is very high and improving all the time. The financial state of the club is healthy, the green is in excellent condition and the fact that you are reading this now, on our own website is proof of the continuing development of the club. But perhaps the greatest compliment Shepton Mallet B.C constantly receives from visiting clubs is that we are, above all, a friendly, welcoming club. That surely is right, for bowls is a game to be enjoyed, a sociable game, a game in which new friends are made and old friendships renewed year after year. This is the kind of spirit of which our 'pioneers' would have been proud.