Bowling
Bowling in Harrogate
Black Swan Bowling Club – Visit the website here
Location: Rear of the Swan on the Stray public house, access to the green is via Devonshire Place. Harrogate HG1 4DU. – Phone: 07896679547
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Knaresborough Crown Green Bowling club – Visit the website here
Location: Knaresborough
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Ripon Bowling Club – Visit the website here
Location: 26 Bondgate Green, Ripon HG4 1QW – Phone: 01765 602971
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Bowls, a variant of the boules games such as Italian Bocce, has its roots in ancient or prehistoric origins. Historical records show that the concept of throwing objects as far as possible and aiming to get them as close to a target as possible existed in various forms. In ancient Greece, people engaged in variants of this activity by throwing light objects like flat stones, coins, and later stone balls to achieve maximum distance.
The idea of tossing balls with precision to approach a target closely is also documented in ancient Rome. This game was introduced to Roman Gaul, possibly by soldiers or sailors, and even a Roman sepulchre in Florence depicts people playing the game while stooping down to measure points.
The history of bowls in England can be traced back to at least the 13th century, with conjectures suggesting it may have been played as early as the 12th century. A biography of Thomas Becket written by William Fitzstephen, who lived around 1190, provides a glimpse of London’s summer amusements at the time. Fitzstephen describes how young men engaged in various activities during holidays, including “Leaping, Shooting, Wrestling, Casting of Stones, and Throwing of Javelins fitted with Loops for the Purpose,” which they tried to fling before the mark. It is believed that the term “jactus lapidum” used by Fitzstephen might refer to an early form of bowls, possibly played with round stones. There are also records of iron bowls being used for the game, though at a later date, during festive occasions in Nairn. However, “jactus lapidum” could have been more similar to shot put.
Regardless, it’s evident that a basic version of the game was being played in England in the 13th century. A manuscript from that period in the royal library at Windsor contains a drawing that shows two players aiming at a small cone instead of an earthenware ball or jack. The oldest surviving bowling green, the Southampton Old Bowling Green, was first used in 1299.
Another manuscript from the same century presents a vivid image that closely resembles the modern game. It features three players and a jack. The first player’s bowl has come to rest just in front of the jack, the second player has delivered his bowl and is following it with a characteristic contorted posture, and the third player is depicted in the act of delivering his bowl. In a 14th-century manuscript, the “Book of Prayers” in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, two people are shown bowling, although there is no specific target they are aiming for. This suggests that the concept of a “jack” as we know it today may not have been established at that time.
These early illustrations of the game are intriguing in the sense that each player is depicted with only one bowl, and the delivery stances vary, with some players kneeling, stooping, or standing upright. These variations in delivery positions have persisted over the centuries