Connaught Bowls Club

In 1982 a small number of members of the Attleborough Bear Bowls Club thought  the town warranted an EBA standard bowling green with a security of tenure to allow a club to benefit from all efforts made by its members. Willingness to work was there but no funds or land to make use of this enthusiasm; it was a case of starting from scratch.

The only hope of obtaining a site was through the help of a generous and understanding public body and this was obtained from Attleborough Town Council who had purchased the former Goods Yard at Attleborough Station from British Rail. This 3 acre site contained no area large enough for a bowling green owing to the existence of 2 sectional concrete buildings and a third red brick building which had already been acquired by the local Football Club. With one of the group a member of the Council, we were able to put our dilemma to its members who agreed to sell off one of the buildings to make available the required area.

The site was derelict, having previously been a Goods Yard and during World War II the railhead  for supplies to local American Air Bases. The surface of tarmac and hardcore set a daunting task for the creation of a bowling green but we were able to turn this to our advantage. On reflection there have been a number of cases over the years where we have turned adversity to advantage.

Five persons attended a site meeting on 17th April 1983 and agreed to obtain a lease from the Council to enable the construction of a bowling green and the formation of a club to be called THE CONNAUGHT BOWLS CLUB (see notes below of that first meeting). The five present were Bill Adcock, Gordon Briggs, Denny Gardiner, Colin Gibson and Roy West; with the co-option of Graham Hobart these formed the construction committee for the project. Of the six two had professional construction skills, one had the machinery and transport and the others, together with the handful of members joining the newly-created club, provided the essential enthusiasm and hard labour, all freely given and setting a pattern that has continued. The lease which the Town Council granted was for 25 years with the option to extend at the end of that period and the first five years were rent free.

The Council contributed half the cost of hiring a tracked machine to excavate the estimated 2,000 tons of spoil to reach the clay subsoil into which land drains were laid. A grader from the local gravel pit was hired to grade the stone from the hardcore which provided 400 tons of stone on site. Much of the other spoil was deposited behind the Football Club to provide the base for their training ground. More stone was donated by a local vegetable packer; we only had to provide transport and then purchase 60 tons of pea shingle to place on top of the larger stone drainage layer. Our good fortune continued as the Attleborough A11 Bypass was being constructed at that time and we were given all the topsoil we required by the contractors, only having to provide the transport for the estimated 400 tons we needed. By the autumn of 1984 the construction and seeding of the green were completed.

To establish a team and entry into the EBA League, we were indebted to Harling Rec Bowling Club who allowed us to use their green and play as ‘Harling C’ whilst our green was getting established. We played there for 3 seasons and began playing at the Connaught in 1987. Throughout this period fundraising events were held and with interest free loans from members we were able to pay for all essentials. Apart from the site clearance grant from our Town Council, the only other grant during construction of the green was one of £600 from Breckland towards the cost of fencing the site.

Our ‘Clubhouse in these first few years was a donated builders hut, which was made very cosy by our ladies, and toilet facilities located in the station Premises where British rail allowed us to bring back into use an abandoned lavatory. The Mayor of Attleborough, Mr Keith Martin, officially opened the green on 2nd May 1987.

In the early years both E.B.A. and Federation Bowls were played with teams entered in local leagues in both Associations. With membership building to just over 100 the club flourished, the green was well used and a warm and friendly atmosphere established which has carried on up to the present day.

It was essential to have a clubhouse suitable for a club of this size and thoughts were given as to how this could be achieved .We were delighted when the Town Council, seeing the efforts made to build the green, agreed to pay for the shell of the building, floor walls and roof, if the club would finance the interior work. A challenge we were pleased  to accept even though we had very little by way of finance. Plans were produced and fortunately for the Connaught, Short Mat Bowls was beginning to take off and the building was designed with this game in mind. Application for grants were made to various bodies but the only one obtained was that of  £4000 from Breckland District Council leaving the club to find the remaining £10,000. A loan of £6,000 was obtained from the Sports Council with the provisos that 10 members act as guarantors and the loan be repaid by April 1994.

Construction of Clubhouse began in May 1988 by local builder E Amos and immediately faced a problem for our building is on the same spot as a former agricultural merchant’s wooden premises and the foundations for that building caused problems in building foundations for the new Clubhouse, Older members who lived locally will remember the merchant that operated from those premises, Brooks (Mistley) Ltd. It may be of interest at this point to record the history of our site.

When work began on our green the ground level was that of the entrance path with a gradual slope towards the Scouts building. It was not until the site was excavated down to the subsoil that the red brick wall and evidence of a rail track were exposed. A track ran parallel to the main line finishing at buffers situated in what is now the Club machinery store; examination will reveal a classic example of L.N.E.R. construction. A short distance in front of the buffers we found the remains of a turntable and parts of a track in front of the red brick wall, evidence that in the past goods wagons would be brought along the siding and turned at right angles to be positioned along the wall where the goods could be wheeled off the wagons straight into the merchant’s store. The goods in question were such things as animal food stuffs and fertilisers destined for local farms.

By the spring of 1989 the Clubhouse was built and furnished, complete with licensed bar, and officially opened on 28th April at a match between Presidents and Captains teams.  Members of Attleborough Town Council were invited to view our joint venture on 11th May at a Social Evening.

Short Mat Bowls flourished and kept the Club in use all year and that, together with fund raising events and bar income, enabled all loans to be quickly repaid and funds provided to build an enclosed veranda during 1991. It soon became obvious that more space was needed so plans were drawn up and submitted for Town Council and Planning Consent in 1995. Applications for grants were made and we were fortunate enough to receive (£7,000) from the Lottery Sports Fund and (£6,000) from the Foundation for Sports and the Arts.

With an extension added in 1995 more room was available for playing Short Mat and a comfortable Bar Area built, once again with a lot of input from members. That extension established the dimensions of the Clubhouse as seen today, but the Club is always conscious of maintaining and upgrading to high standards. Since 1995 and the extension there has been “dull” but necessary work on such things as barge-boarding, wiring and plumbing. The increasing rigour of Health and Safety legislation has necessitated constant work on the kitchen, including a complete refurbishment in 2006/2007. A disabled toilet has been added, the central heating system has been renewed and storage areas extended. The 1991 verandah has been upgraded to a viewing conservatory with a new roof and double-glazed doors and windows. Windows and doors also have been replaced in the main building and double-glazed as necessary throughout. Changing accommodation has been improved with the addition of good-quality portakabins at one end of the clubhouse. A major feature outside has been the refencing of the premises; the Town Council paid for some of the cost of this work. The one disaster since 1995 has been a burst water pipe in October 2003, which caused extensive damage to the Clubhouse and contents, including the short mats. Fortunately the insurance policy offered good protection and the Club suffered inconvenience rather than financial loss. 

A volunteer workforce looks after the green with consultation and advice available from the Club’s supplier of soils and fertilisers. Capital and maintenance expenditure on the green and on associated equipment is considerable but the Club is determined to apply good standards and not to neglect then green in  anyway. Volunteers also look after the borders and shrubberies surrounding the green; these borders and shrubberies are quite splendid but sadly are largely unknown to the citizens of Attleborough!

After some debate the Club decided in 2006 to launch perimeter advertising around and near the green. A good response was obtained from local firms and the result has been a welcome boost to income without real detriment to the appearance of the Club. The Connaught Bowls Club today is the envy of many others and is a shining example of co-operation between a local authority and enthusiastic Club members willing to work for the benefit of all.

(The Club is very grateful to Roy West, one of the founder members, for writing this Club history up to the year 1995.)