BRIEF HISTORY OF PADDOCK WOOD B.C. 1992 to Date
1991 to 2000
In the summer of 1991, Andy Anderson approached the Sports Association, proposing that Paddock Wood should have its own Bowls Cub. The Sports Association agreed to explore whether there was sufficient interest and this resulted in an article being published in their Newsletter. June Cookney, a member of the Sports Association, was asked to organise a Public Meeting which was held in February 1992 attended by 35 people, resulting in the formation of the Paddock Wood Bowls Club. The first AGM held in November 1992 recorded 53 members.
Many local clubs were contacted and, not having a green of our own, agreed to our home matches being played on their greens (a “home match” would entail PWBC providing teas and raffle prizes et cetera). Arrangements were made to play 23 games, and we are still playing some of these clubs including Cranbrook, Pembury, Wadhurst, Marden and Tonbridge.
The Committee then turned its attention to getting a green and in order to apply for funding from the Lottery and others we had to raise money ourselves, so a Social and Fund Raising Committee was formed to undertake this task. Events included jumble sales, quizzes, race nights, boot fairs as well as many other activities and a five figure sum was raised. This enabled Peter Swaite to obtain substantial funding from the Lottery and Sports Direct as well as the Borough and Town Councils and the Sports Association.
The Town Council was contacted to establish where we could build a bowls green and after reviewing sites at Nursery Road, Badsell Road and Putlands the latter was agreed on.
The next important decision to make was, should it be a lawn green or an artificial surface. Arthur Cookney, George Haynes, Brian Reeves, Ron Dadson and Don Covel travelled many miles to view grass greens, artificial surfaces, the different types of bases and of course the overall cost of installing a green. This Committee also had to ensure that the surface chosen met the Bowls England standard. The information collected and the Committee’s recommendations were then presented to the members, who after a great deal of discussion voted for an artificial surface. Shortly after this a contract was signed with Greengauge. Installation work commenced in October 1995 and in April 1996 the green was opened by Andy Thomson MBE, who won 3 World Indoor Championships, and Sir Patrick Mayhew MP.
Fund raising had to continue for some time, because although we would shortly have a green, the clubhouse, when it was erected, would be an empty shell. Male members, overseen by Syd King, spent many hours fitting out the clubhouse. Meanwhile the ladies collected all the items needed to provide the club teas for the visiting teams, with many items being donated by members. Somerfield supermarket was running a scheme at the time, allowing customers to choose an item of crockery, provided they bought their groceries in the supermarket, this enabled the club to obtain sufficient crockery to cater for approximately 60 people.
The official opening of our green in April 1996 was covered by a bowls magazine. The article was read by two members of a Dutch bowls club in Schouwen, Zeeland. These two people, Bep and Fons Stapels, visited Sussex for a holiday and contacted us to book a rink.
Brian Reeves and Andy Anderson welcomed Bep and Fons to our green, and after their roll-up they invited them to a drink at the bar, which at that time was in Putlands. During the conversation Brian and Andy invited the Dutch club to visit us later that year. Our invitation was accepted and fourteen Dutch bowlers arrived in September for a five day visit, which was successful and enjoyed by all. We were invited to Holland in 1997.
2001 to 2010
The exchange of visits with our Dutch friends continued until 2013. Over the eighteen years we played together, personal friendships have been formed and many enjoyable competitive games played.
For several years we also held very successful Ladies Days. These one day events were very popular and involved entertaining 42 ladies, who had travelled from clubs in and around Kent, to a lunch as well as an afternoon of bowling.
The original green had a woven carpet surface, but after 12/13 years this needed to be replaced. In 2010 members of the Committee, David Woodward, Barry Weston, Brian Reeves and George Haynes investigated the newer types of artificial surfaces available and decided on a ‘needle punch’ carpet from Dales. This type of carpet mimics bowling on dry grass, but without the disadvantages of grass cutting, watering
et cetera. The same surface was used for bowling at the Commonwealth Games.
2011 to 2020
In 2010, Sandra Dacre was elected as Club Captain and oversaw the growth of the Club on our new carpet. During this time was expanded our League teams which played on Tuesdays (Weald League) and Thursdays (Tunbridge Wells League).
In 2017, the Club started seeking Sponsors to partner with the Club. This presented obvious benefits to the Club but also commercial benefits to our Business Partners who were able to extend their reach to our Members and guests.
in 2019, a deal was done with Attrium Independent Financial Advisers to sponsor our Club Shirts which was hugely successful.
Sandra decided to stand down after 7 years and in 2018 was succeeded by Keith Merrin who, along with other members of the Management Committee introduced a number of new processes to modernise the administration of the Club. This included computerising a lot of the processes which were previously done by pen and paper.
Our Annual Finals Weekends were also elevated to become a major Club Event. In the past, although Finals had been scheduled for our Finals Days, very often, they were played on random days. One of Keith's aims was to make the Finals Weekend an event to aspire to. The Management Committee agreed to fund free food and wine to attract Members and families to come along and support the event and this has now developed in one of the highlights of the Summer Season.
A Captain v Chair Annual Challenge was also introduced into our Fixture Calendar which always produces some 'friendly' rivalry.
The Club took the decision to play our strongest teams in the Leagues, rather than rely on player rotation and this started to make the Club more competitive on a consistent basis.
Up until this time, the Green was not used during the Winter periods as those Members who wanted to continue playing moved indoors. However, a small group of hardy Members decided to start making use of our all weather surface and play throughout the winter. What started as half a dozen people quickly expanded to around 30-35 Members playing regularly throughout the Winter.
in 2020, along with the rest of the world, Paddock Wood Bowls Club were affected by the Global Covid Pandemic. The Club was closed during the various lockdowns and there was a fear that, along with other Bowls Clubs, we would struggle to recover, especially with the demographic of Bowls Clubs.
2021 to date
With Covid continuing, Management Meetings moved to virtual platforms like Zoom and we were grateful to Government Grants for small businesses to cover the loss of revenue during this period.
A small group of Members devised 'Covid Playing Processes' which enabled us to re-open the Club safely whilst maintaining 'social distancing'.
Thankfully, as the Pandemic slowly passed, we were able to restart 'normal' operations. We focused heavily on recruiting new Members and were one of the few Bowls Clubs in the area to increase Membership post Covid.
In 2022, we introduced formal Winter Competitions and now organise successful mid-week and weekend leagues together with a winter handicapped competition.
After four years, we agreed a deal with our new Shirt Sponsor, Berry & Lamberts Solicitors and in 2025, our new Sponsor, SeventySeven Wealth Management agreed to provide Blue and Red Shirts for our Finals Weekend which elevated this Club Event to a new level.
The social side of the Club also expanded during this period and we now have a very active Social Committee organising monthly events and catering for our Club Events. This also raises funds for the Club where are reinvested in our facilities.
In 2024 our 'A' Team won the Tunbridge Wells Bowls League for the first time in the Club's history and in 2025 the Club repeated this feat with our 'A' Team winning the Weald League in a similar fashion.
in 2023, improvements were made to the Clubhouse. It was decided that with the change to how Members played, we did not need dedicated Mens and Ladies changing rooms. So a small working party of Members took on the job of re-modelling the interior of the clubhouse to relocate the kitchen into the Ladies Changing Room which gave us more usable space in the main body of the Clubhouse.
A unisex changing room was purchased and added to the patio area adjacent to the clubhouse for all Members and visitors to change shoes before playing.
In 2024 the Club's Management Committee decided that the carpet which was laid in 2010 was approaching the end of it's natural lifespan and decided that we would get one more season (2025) out of the carpet before replacing it. Quotes were obtained from the two carpet suppliers and due to prudent financial Management, our reserves were sufficient to pay for this.
A week after our 2025 Finals Weekend, Greengauges arrived to dig up our old carpet and replace this with a new carpet which we hope will give us another 10 - 15 years of enjoyable bowling. Time-delayed videos of the week's work can be viewed in our Gallery.
In 2025, the Club applied for a Bar Licence which means we can reciprocate the hospitality of our opponents when they come to us.
Summary
We have always encouraged people to try bowling, irrespective of their age. Children as young as 5 and 6 have enjoyed games at our club and we have members who are well over 80 and still playing in matches.
We are now an established friendly club. We offer members the chance of playing in friendly matches, league games, club competitions and informal roll-ups. In the autumn, at our annual dinner, we present the finalists of club competitions with trophies and prizes. We also organise various social events. In the past we have enjoyed ten pin bowling, barn dances, quizzes, walks, bar-b-ques, summer garden parties and group holidays. We now have a committee who oversee all our social events as well as promoting the club by various forms of advertising.
Members would like to thank Arthur Cookney, June Cookney, George Haynes, David Woodward, Brian Reeves, Syd King, John Parks, Pauline Parks and Barry Weston for their hard work establishing Paddock Wood Bowls Club. Our club secretary holds a photograph album showing various events during the years we have been in existence.