Save the Chorlton Bowling Green..
Britain’s oldest surviving bowling green is in urgent need of restoration! If we don’t replace the beams in the members’ clubhouse (which are affected by wet rot and dry rot) then the hut may be in danger of collapsing. There are so many other jobs in urgent need of attention, that this crowdfunder is make-or-break for the club, whose origins can be traced back to 1698 (see link below).
Make or break!
The current membership is down to 46 (from 78 four years ago), and this can be increased only if the facilities are improved, which includes re-seeding the green, and providing twenty new sleepers / kicking boards around the green. Grass seed costs £180 per bag; the lawn also requires scarifying and ‘hollotining’; and we need new sprinklers. Our oldest member is 92, and the youngest is 15.
Here’s what we’re doing about it
Up until now, members have been voluntarily working to improve the green and clubhouse, but we now require an injection of cash! £8,200 will save the club for the foreseeable future, and guarantee the continuance of a valuable piece of English heritage, located in the heart of Chorlton (directly behind the Bowling Green Hotel public house on Brookburn Road M21 9ES). If we don’t reach this target, the club may close for good.
You can join us
Please follow our page on Facebook:
Get in touch for press statements or more information: bgchorlton@gmail.com or phone Olive Donohue on 07813 513690.
If we hit our target…
Then Chorlton will continue to be home to the oldest bowling green in the country, and hopefully we’ll put up a plaque recognising this fact.
We have written to English Heritage to ask for recognition of our status as Britain’s oldest bowling green (HE Reference Number: 1472161). See local historian Andrew Simpson’s blog for more details:
Thanks for support!
Particular thanks to Mark, the landlord of the Bowling Green Hotel, for his support for the bowls club. Support your local boozer:
https://www.bowlinggreenchorlton.co.uk
Save the Chorlton Bowling Green.
