Calling all Bowling Anoraks

We take it for granted that Bowls has been around for ever, but in doing some research into Bowling Holidays for TLH Leisure Resort, I came across some very interesting Bowling facts.  Here are some little known facts about the sport that we love so much. (This would make a wonderful bowls quiz).

I wonder how many of us are aware of where and when bowls started, and whether anyone actually knows the story behind the BOWL.

Ancient History

Ancient Bronze Bowl

About 5000 years BC the ancient Egyptians played the game, whilst the pyramids were being built, using Stone Balls, which they rolled up to a stone cone. This picture of a bronze bowl is believed to be Phoenician 8th Century BC – it was found in Nimrud, Northern Iraq by an Italian archaeologist.

The Normans, who invaded our shores and fought the battle of 1066 with the Saxons, also used stone balls to pass the time between rape and pillage. Great fun.

Red Indians in Canada and Maoris in New Zealand also passed their time away playing with stone balls, but there is also evidence of both iron and bronze bowls being used in these areas.

It is commonly believed that the first wooden bowls came into use somewhere about the 15th  Century and were made of Yew, Oak or Boxwood.

Who played Bowls?

In the 14th Century the popularity of the game rose and most people were getting involved, however, it is well documented that the English archers were not practicing their art. It was feared that their effectiveness in battle would be impaired because of bowls, so there was a ‘ban the bowl’ statute. This statute also included Tennis (Real tennis). It forbade artificers, apprentices, husbandmen, servants, serving men and other ‘low born people’ from playing.

How was the bias introduced?

The bias was not introduced to bowls until about 1522 when it is reported that Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk accidentally broke a bowl and rushed indoors and sawed off a ornamental ball from a banister (bet that pleased Mrs Brandon!!). Accordingly, one side of the bowl was flat and the new bowl took a curve at the end of its run.

Good old Henry VIII

In 1541 during the reign of Henry VIII licences were issued for play but during the reign of Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) these licences were withdrawn on the grounds that the game was being used as an excuse for “unlawful assemblies, seditions and conspiracies”. (Nothing new there then, modern clubs are just the same if you ask me) This act was not repealed until 1845, over 3 centuries later, during the reign of Victoria, although I’m sure she would not have been amused had Prince Albert lost.

Sir Francis Drake played bowls

In which case, when Sir Francis Drake played on Plymouth Hoe he was breaking the law of the land, and although we believe that he would not be interrupted in his game by the arrival of the Armada, Sir Francis was really waiting for the tide to turn. This gave him the huge advantage he needed and was a contributory factor in the defeat of the Spanish. (Bowlers are canny)

Old lignum bowl

Other investigations show that lignum vita was not used until the 16th or 17th century. This lignum is a very hard wood and was discovered by Christopher Columbus in the West Indies. It is a wood that will not float. Lignum woods are still used today; here is an old lignum, cunningly disguised as a bookend. Picture: I/Library – Old lignum Bowl 

When was the jack introduced?

The Jack was a development of the early 17 century, the name meaning a smaller version of something else (hence ‘Jack-bowl’)

Wooden Bowls

It was some time later that a firm in Glasgow called Thomas Taylor came into existence. Their main line at that time, was manufacturing wooden legs for soldiers unfortunate enough to lose them in the Napoleonic Wars. They also made musical instruments. Up to 1871 wooden bowls had all been shaped by hand, but in this year Taylor’s patented the first machine for accurate shaping. Bowls were then table tested to ensure the accuracy of the bias.

During the early years there was no bias, and it had became practice to load one side with a weight, usually lead, to make the bowl ‘swing’, but around this time and with Taylor’s system of shaping a bowl to make the bias, the modern game as we know it was born.

After the First World War there was a shortage of lignum vitae so manufacturers were looking for another material to use. Also the limitation of wooden bowls was becoming more apparent, loss of weight, shrinking, cracking and in some cases breaking.

Modern Composite Bowls

It was W D Hensell in Australia, in association with Dunlop the rubber company who developed the first rubber bowl. Then in 1930, operating independently, Hensell and his son Ray produced the first composite bowl, the forerunner of the bowl that we know to day.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

That’s all folks

Signing off
Terri Kennard
TLH Leisure Resort – Bowling Sales Exec.
On loan to the local Library