Bowls
Bowls is played with two teams. Playing alternately, the aim is to get your bowl as close as possible to the smaller 'jack', removing the other teams bowls if they are in your way.
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Roll-up Days
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During the bowls season we hope to play every Tuesday from 1730 to dusk. A further roll-up could be added if the demand exists.
Teams are organised as people arrive, and the less experienced are paired with a partner who can help provide some guidance on the game. It would be helpful if members could register for the roll-up.
For people who are interested in bowls and would like to give it a try, look out for announcements of weekly roll-ups.
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Equipment
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A limited selection of bowls are available but once you're hooked, you may prefer to buy your own.​
Flat-soled shoes are required.
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A Brief History of Bowls
Bowls is a game played by the ancient Greeks through the Elizabethan period, when it was referred to by Shakespeare in his play Henry V11 written in 1495, and on until the present day. It is fair to say that the Elizabethans and the Greeks would hardly have recognised the modern game played with perfectly spherical bowls on flat greens. The flat green revolution took place shortly after the patenting of the first lawnmower in England in 1830. Lawnmowers enable green keepers to set the height of the cut in millimetres, something that was unthinkable 200 years ago. Like all sports, bowls has had its ups and downs. Today it is not a majority sport but that does not diminish its pleasure for those who play and the potential for skill and guile or, if preferred, an excuse to share a nice summer’s day with friends.
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Tisbury Bowling Club
What a night it was in Tisbury on the 28th January 1981 when Tisbury Bowling Club was formed after much fundraising by enthusiasts. From rough ground, the green was laid between February 1st and the end of May 1982. A clubhouse was built and the Club badge, a teasel in mauve and green was chosen. The first bowl was bowled by Mr Dennis Uncles, Secretary of the Wiltshire Association, in May 1982 watched by Mr and Mrs R A S Garrett who were prime movers in getting the Club off the ground. From these early beginnings the Club developed and grew until its membership reached about 100 in the 1990s. The Club competed, with considerable success in local leagues, and had several in-house competitions for which cups were awarded. (We found them all in the loft and have started a page of pictures of memorabilia - please send us any photos, with captions, for anything you'd like to add).
For people who are new to bowls but would like to give it a try, look out for announcements of open days when we will be giving guidance on the rules of bowls and how to play.
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There is a great deal of information about bowls on the internet relating to its history, how to play, and national and regional competitions.
Useful links include: