History

Formation of the Club

Like many lawn bowls clubs, Boxford and District Bowls Club is to be found behind a pub; in this case The Fleece Hotel. In 1923, a group of Boxford men leased a piece of land belonging to Tolly Cobbold Brewery, and, with the help of Irish navvies who were working in the village digging trenches for the mains sewer, set about making a bowls green. The green only had 2 rinks, and the clubhouse was a very modest hut, with storage for bowls one end and a bar the other, where the men could enjoy a post-match drink from a cask of ale wheeled up from The Fleece. The men played for a trophy donated by Roy King and this same trophy is still played for today in club competitions.

Originally, membership was men only, as was normal for that era, but in 1945 ladies were allowed to join, but only play in the afternoon while the men were at work! In the 1950s, attempts were made to purchase the land the club was on, but Tolly Cobbold refused. Around this time the green was increased from 2 to 4 rinks.

1960s

The 1960s was a golden era for Boxford ladies with Dorothy Panks, Hilda Rule, Mary Riddlestone, and Mary Williams all representing England.

In 1961, in an amazing achievement, these 4 ladies between them won the Suffolk County 4-wood singles, pairs and triples competitions and all together went on to win the National fours title.

In the late 1960s/early 1970s the original ‘clubhouse hut’ was extended, which allowed visiting teams to be entertained after matches.

1980s

In 1985, the Sudbury Mixed Triples League (STL) was formed, and Boxford fielded a mixed team in league matches for the first time.

In the late 1980s, Brent Walker took over Tolly Cobbold, and surprised the club by offering them the land for sale for £7,500. After some frantic fundraising, the land was bought, plans for indoor rinks were rejected as non-viable, and the club contented themselves with increasing the green to 6 rinks. In 1992, a lottery grant enabled the building of the current clubhouse.

In more recent years, investigation into an area of the green that was sinking uncovered a well. This surprise discovery nearly resulted in the loss of a spade and a groundsman (Malcolm Grimwood), and claimed the phone of George Bullett who leant over to look into it.

1990s

In 1990, the club joined the English Bowls Federation (EBF) having previously only played Bowls England (BE) competitions. Two former members, Les Clark and Ray White are past President and past Chairman respectively of the EBF.

Current Day

The club has routinely qualified for National EBF Finals. In fact, there has only been one year since 1990 that Boxford has not been represented in the Federation Finals. This representation has led to National titles for Malcolm Grimwood (3 times), Doreen and Eddie Josh, Andy Barnes, and Lea Blackham.

Boxford & District Bowls Club is now run as a Community Amateur Sports Club with members, both playing and social, looking after the green, clubhouse and surrounding land owned by the club. It is a vibrant bowling community, with the playing membership standing in excess of 60; fielding 2 teams in the EBF league, 1 in BE League, 2 teams in STL and 1 in STL afternoon league, as well as entering several county knockout competitions.

In 2023 a new club logo and new team shirts were introduced, both featuring the iconic Boxford swifts that can be seen in the summer skies above the green. Also a significant sum was raised from the members to employ contractors to dig up and relay the green to offer a much improved playing surface.

The club has been fortunate over the years to have many members making great contributions to its running, one of whom, Malcolm Grimwood was awarded in 2023 the Bowls England Certificate of Merit in recognition of his services to bowls.

Centenary Celebrations in 2023

To celebrate 100 years of this wonderful club we invited the bowls team from the Royal Hospital Chelsea to come to Boxford to play a match.

The big day arrived, with the clubhouse, gardens and green looking their absolute best, and glorious sunshine to welcome our prestigious guests, who marched to the clubhouse with their piper leading the way. They really made a wonderful spectacle in their distinctive scarlet uniforms, and ITV News were present to capture this. BBC Radio Suffolk also ran an article on the day.

As well as Bryn Hurren, the Local District Councillor and Fr Rob Parker-McGee, the local vicar, we were joined by Gordon Ball (Bowls England County President), Dave Dowman (Bowls England County Secretary), Nick Dykes (NECBF President) and Steve Botten (NECBF Chairman).

After a ‘meet and greet’, George Bullett, the Club President, presented the Chelsea Pensioners with a donation which was very gratefully received. After further formalities and gift giving, the Chelsea Pensioners were able to shed their scarlet uniforms and get down to the serious business of the match.

So many Boxford club members wanted to play, that they had to play in relays, but the Pensioners stayed resolutely on the rinks, taking on all comers. After a hotly contested match, with mixed fortunes on some rinks, an honourable draw was declared, and lunch was served.

The Chelsea Pensioners were very interested in the history and achievements of the club, and many stories were shared. They were particularly charmed by the idyllic setting of the Boxford club, with the church clock striking in the distance.

Finally, before they left, they made the offer of a return match at the Royal Hospital Chelsea next year. Then they donned their scarlets, and with military precision timing, marched off to their waiting coach, and the sound of bagpipes faded away. The following year we made the trip to the Chelsea Hospital for our return match. Visitor numbers at Chelsea Hospital are restricted so a ballot was held to decide who would go to represent the club.  As well as the game, we were given a guided tour of the premises by one of the Pensioners and provided with pre- and post-match refreshments. Another memorable day for those lucky enough to go.