History of Bowls

The game of bowls has been played in some form or other for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians played a form of the game and it is rumoured that the Mongols and the Aztecs played out a gruesome form of the game using the decapitated heads of their defeated enemies.

We know a rudimentary form of the game was played in England in the 13th century, based on a manuscript in the royal library, Windsor. It contains a drawing representing two players aiming at a small cone instead of a jack.

The game was banned by king and parliament at one point, fearing it might jeopardise the practice of archery, then so important in battle. Statutes forbidding it (and other sports) were enacted in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II. 

The world's oldest surviving Bowling Green is the Southampton Old Bowling Green, which was first used in 1299.

So you could be joining a sport that is steeped in history.