We are a community based bowls club in South West Hertfordshire following all Bowls England Safeguarding policies and also offering a year round Social programme.
We are now a Member of the Berkhamsted Sports Grounds Charitable Association (BSGCA)
We have recently joined the Berkhamsted Sports Grounds Charitable Association (BSGCA); this was reported on page 14 of the Summer 2025 edition of Berkhamsted Living (www.livingmags.info – a magazine distributed free to, and informing, Berkhamsted residents of events and activities within the town).
Additionally, the Bowls Club is having a massive recruitment drive this season with the main aim to engage enthusiastic new members to help the club to continue to thrive. The good news is they have already signed on 18 new members and still have further taster and recruitment opportunities for interested parties.
“Most people are time challenged these days, so we have to think of enterprising ways to make the game appealing to those in that situation” said Chairman Kevin Clarke. “We are now offering pay & play, weekend membership, full membership and social membership along with group taster sessions to help keep the game as accessible as possible” he added.
Annual Gala: 40th Anniversary Special – Monday, 26th May 2025.
What an amazing day of bowls!!!
Thank you to every single one of you players for making the day such a huge success. It was wonderful to hear so much laughter and lighthearted banter both on and off the green. Berkhamsted Bowls club were privileged to be able to welcome so many incredibly talented bowlers, from district to county to international players.
The day started with the smell of bacon in the air and dark clouds looming in the distance, however the luck of the bowler kicked in and the clouds made way allowing the sun to shine, almost until the end of the day, with only the last session having to dash off to get raincoats and jackets.
There was a buzz of anticipation after each round, with the scores being added on the big screen. With the first prize of £1000 within reach for the top 6 teams going into the last session of the day; it was all to play for!
The “Top Bananas”, comprising of Jerry Rumball, Stuart Anderson, Sam Tolchard and Alan Hutchinson, claimed maximum points on their final game to take the top spot and finished first. Coming close behind and claiming 2nd position and taking home £250 was “the 2023s”. Third place and taking £150 home after a day of battling bowls was the ‘Bletchley Bandits’. Coming a respectable 4th and taking home a breakeven £75 was ‘Yard Short’, which included Marco who we would like to thank for sponsoring one of our junior teams (The Young Guns who ended the day in 6th position.)
We would like to thank Dinita and Jack for supporting the day in Tony Barr’s memory. He was a much-loved friend and a huge character at our Gala’s year on year. We hope to think he would have enjoyed the laughter and joy throughout the day.
With the biggest prize fund we have ever offered at our gala, we would like to extend our thanks to our local sponsors for making this possible. QCS Staffing and Hansons Valuations for sponsorship towards the total prize fund. We also had two junior teams sponsored, one under 18s team, thank you Marco from Linslade, and one under 25 team, thank you to the anonymous backer.
Last but not least, we would like to thank all of the Berkhamsted Bowls Club members, who without you the day would not have been able to run smoothly. Marcia thank you for being a superb umpire, Kevin and Colin for the organization and smooth running out on the green, Gary for being a brilliant score keeper. Kay and team for the delicious bacon Rolls, Jackie and team for the plentiful buffet lunch. All the bar workers, tea and coffee suppliers, parking attendants, cake stall helpers, raffle organizers, photographer Brian and all the green team for their hard work. (If we have missed any one sorry but know we are so hugely appreciative of your help!)
It was an honour to be able to watch such exciting and highly skilled players play such incredible bowls matches throughout the day.
For detailed results and some images of the day, go to our 2025 Gala page byCLICKING HERE.
***We hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did.***
40th Anniversary match: The Friends of English Bowling 13th May 2025
As part of the events to celebrate our 40th Anniversary, we played a match on Tuesday May 13th against The Friends of English Bowling (FoEB).
It was the first game of the FoEB bowling season, and the sun was out in full force for a 6 Rink match. ‘Friends’ had travelled from 10 different counties to take part in this event and were welcomed with cool drinks & rolls before the game began. A warm afternoon so plenty of sun screen was needed as players readied for the game.
It was a 6 rink, 18 end match but with no trial ends, so only 1 shot for each of the first two ends. We won the match but the score was irrelevant as all players seemed to enjoy the competitive but friendly spirit, both on and off the green.
The clubhouse was impressively decorated with bunting, and the tables laid out beautifully. The meal provided was perfect, homemade beef or chicken pie, with lots of veg. and to follow a selection of delights. Also a very big thank you to all who donated prizes for a very successful Raffle – congratulations to all who were successful.
The afternoon concluded with the two Captains delivering their thanks to all of our worthy helpers, and Captain John Thompson presenting David Brown. on behalf of our club, with a Friends Certificate as a reminder of their visit.
To learn more of The Friends of English Bowling, and possibly join, click on the logo below.
Some Events from 2024
Berkhamsted Bowls Bridge Club Christmas Party 2024
After 12 boards of Bridge came the important part of the morning – the mulled wine and nibbles!
Liz gave a big thank you to those who had scored and directed during the year with each person getting their choice of wine. Then Dee presented both Liz and Lesley with a bag of goodies as a thank you for all their hard work during the year.
Sadly Alan, David, Steve and Terry did not win a prize for the best dressed man!
A great time was had by all but definitely more sausage rolls required for next year!
A few more images are available by clicking here, which will also direct you to the Berkhamsted Bowls Bridge Club’s own web site.
2024 Presentation Evening: 16th November
Our annual Presentation Evening Dinner was held at Berkhamsted Golf Club on Saturday 16th November. Approximately 70 members enjoyed an excellent three course meal, followed by the presentation of trophies to the various Competition winners & finalists and the evening finished off by dancing to live music provided by Lee Rivers.
Congratulations to all – Some of the images taken during the evening can be viewed by clicking on the following the link .
Images taken during the Competition finals weekend can be viewed by clicking on the following CLICK HERE.
***A big thank you to all who made this its usual successful event in the Club’s calendar***
2024 Club Competition Finals:6th/7th/8th September
Our Club Competition Finals were played over the period 6th, 7th & 8th September.
31 members played in these Finals and they were all hoping to lift a Trophy (or more in some cases!)!
Congratulations to the winners – Images taken during the weekend can also be viewed by following the link above.
***A big thank you to all who played, officiated, organised, watched and contributed in any way to making a very successful weekend***
Watford & District Vets League – Division 1 Champions for Second Season running
Our ‘Red’ Veterans Squad has completed a meteoric rise from joining the Watford & District Veterans League in the bottom division five years ago to retain the 2024 Division 1 Championship after winning it for the first time in 2023.
The 2023 squad (pictured left) enjoyed a celebratory ‘Fish & Chip’ supper in the Clubhouse on the evening of Friday 15th September, no doubt washed down with a ‘few’ samples of strong beverages! The 2024 squad awaits news of this seasons celebratory event!
Congratulations; we look forward to another title retention in 2025!!!
W&D Bowls Association: Griffin Cup 2024 – WINNERS & Cup Double
It’s a magnificent double for Berkhamsted Men as they completed the double this season winning the Ray Cup and now the Griffin Cup at Herts Bowls Club ON Sunday Aug 11th. They beat Bovingdon B.C. 48-7 in the morning semi final and beat Bushey B.C. in the afternoon final 41-32. Huge thanks to Watford & District Association for staging the comps and to Herts for hosting the Finals games.
🌞✌✌🍾👑👑
W&D Bowls Association: Ray Cup 2024 – WINNERS
Berkhamsted Captain, Chris Gray, receiving the Ray Cup from W&DBA President Arthur Deveraux
2024 Ray Cup winning squad (Tony Howard unavailable)
The Watford and District Ray Cup has returned to our club for the first time since 2011.
In Sunday (21st July) morning’s Semi-Final against Hemel Hempstead, we came out with all guns blazing and quickly established a commanding lead across all 3 Rinks of about 25 shots by the halfway point. Despite a slight lull in the second half of the match which allowed Hemel to reduce the gap, we maintained a sufficient gap to secure our place in the afternoon’s Final against Garston.
In the Final, predictably, Garston players were loud, in our faces and playing their usual confident aggressive bowls. For some of our players, this was a new experience taking them slightly by surprise, resulting in a few slightly dejected heads in the opening Ends; after 5 Ends, we were losing 1-9, 2-6 and 1-8 on the three rinks.
However the team rallied significantly in the middle & later stages, coming back fighting. David Brown’s Rink stuck to their task well, though eventually losing 17-13. Kevin Clarke’s Rink won 21-19, though having picked up a ‘5’ on the way, conceding a ‘5’ in their last end set up a significantly more nervy intense finale than Captain, Chris Gray, was hoping or expecting!
Chris Gray’s Rink, who had won 10 out of their last 13 Ends, was left to decide the match. The Garston BC Skip tried unsettling tactics by deliberately playing slower, to try and determine what he and his players needed to achieve in their last few Ends and it all came down to the very last End. Going into it we were leading by 2 shots – A second wood would suffice! Keiran Davis played perhaps, if not his best 2 woods of the match, definitely his 2 most important – 1 toucher and the other extremely close to the jack. From that moment onwards, our Skip’s job was to try to ensure that the rest of his players played good positional woods – Brian Livesey and Louis Sear did that to perfection. Though the Garston skip tried his utmost, including moving the jack, we held firm to win this last End by 1 shot, winning the Ray Cup by 3 shots overall.
The relief and joy (celebrations) by our players and supporters was a memory that we are sure Captain Chris Gray will treasure for the rest of his life.
100 Club Draw – May 2025
1st prize – Jane Low (31);
2nd prize – Emma Gratton (18);
3rd prize – Anne Furlong (13);
***Congratulations to these lucky members***
Reminder – One ticket costs £12 for the year, i.e. £1 a month, and your collective participation raises approximately £1,000 each year for club funds, while the other half is paid out in prize money. Further info, or to purchase extra tickets please contact Jackie Healy (07752 479336).
Bowls England – Keep up to date
Information on Bowls England activities and initiatives can be obtained from their web site www.bowlsengland.com or by subscribing to their YouTube channel which they have launched as part of its commitment to inform and entertain its members. This provides Bowls England with a ‘one-stop shop’ for all its multimedia content where you will find the ‘Extra End’ Podcast, ‘Keep Active’ videos and other audio-visual content.
Information about the next Social event, when known, will be posted below.
However remember Friday Night is Club Nightand Pete Batchelor is doing his best to arrange for food to be available on most Friday Nights– he will relevant post information on the Noticeboard and circulate info via the Club’s WhatsApp channel. Keep aware and, even if you don’t want to have a roll up on the green, then please come down for some convivial company.
After the Pub Games evening viz Carpet Bowls for knockout competitions plus various board games – typically Shove Halfpenny, Dominoes, Sequence, Jenga, Draughts & ‘Brainbox Senior Moments’!!!!!. A great evening click here for more details and Darts – click here for more details we then had back by popular demand Skittles – click here for more details.
The 2024-25 winter programme has concluded and the next winter programme is likely to appear in the Autumn
