History (Continued)
What kind of people were members of the club in the nineteenth century?
They tended to be business men, prosperous tradesmen and professional
people. The lists of new members of the club during the decades of the
second half of the nineteenth century show the names of grocers,
contractors, coachbuilders, writers (lawyers), doctors, ironmongers,
merchants, brickmakers, plumbers, clerks, joiners, teachers, drapers,
cashiers, accountants, builders and tailors. From the 1850’s onwards the
club associated itself with some of the most influential people in
Hamilton. The Duke of Hamilton became the patron of the club; various
provosts of the burgh were appointed as club presidents and several
local landowners and industrialists such as Sir John Watson of Earnock
and Captain Aikman of Ross were given honorary positions in the club.
Membership of the club itself became somewhat exclusive, despite the
expansion in numbers. To join the club in the nineteenth century, as
well as being male, you had to be acquainted with other members,
reasonably prosperous and able to pay a subscription of ten shillings
and sixpence by the 1860’s, rising to one pound one shilling by the
1880’s.
The most important members were, of course, the office bearers and
“masters”.
By the 1860’s the term “masters” had been dropped and the committee
members were described as “directors”.
The condition of the bowling green itself remained a major preoccupation
of the office bearers, directors and members. For several years they
paid local gardeners to cut the green regularly. By 1868, however, a
greenkeeper was being appointed to take permanent charge of the
almost-sacred turf.
Nothing, however, is totally sacred and in 1865 members of the club
agreed that new turf should be obtained for the green. After due
investigation and negotiation they were able to obtain the quality of
turf required from Ardeer in Ayrshire and the complicated arrangements
were made for lifting, transporting, delivering and laying the new turf
on the Hamilton green. This major task was completed by the beginning of
the season in 1866 and the office bearers reported with some
satisfaction:
“Your committee are now happy to report that they can present the club
with a new green, complete in every point, which will rank with the best
in the country, and cannot but afford pleasure and satisfaction to all
good bowlers. The whole cost of these improvements to the club amount to
sixty two pounds four shillings and ten pence as shown by the
Treasurer’s accounts; but which, for the handsome gifts of His Grace the
Duke of Hamilton and Mr Merry would have cost upwards of one hundred and
sixty pounds”.
By 1875, however, some members were talking of the need for a new green
in a new location in Hamilton. This was to be the beginning of an
important new chapter in the club’s history.
Meanwhile the game of bowls went from strength to strength in the
Hamilton club. With the expansion of bowling throughout Central
Scotland, the Hamilton club received regular requests, invitations and
challenges for matches with clubs in Glasgow and other parts of
Lanarkshire. Regular matches were arranged with an increasing number of
clubs:
|
GLASGOW WELLCROFT |
GLASGOW ALBANY |
|
COATBRIDGE VICTORIA |
AIRDRIE |
|
LANARK |
PARTICK |
|
BRIDGETON |
WISHAW |
|
LARKHALL |
BOTHWELL |
|
CARLUKE |
STRATHAVEN |
|
BURNBANK |
|
|
GLASGOW WELLCROFT |
GLASGOW ALBANY |
|
COATBRIDGE VICTORIA |
AIRDRIE |
|
LANARK |
PARTICK |
|
BRIDGETON |
WISHAW |
|
LARKHALL |
BOTHWELL |
|
CARLUKE |
STRATHAVEN |
|
BURNBANK |
|
Within the club an annual programme of competitions was established with
prizes donated by local notables such as the Duke of Hamilton and James
Merry MP. These prizes were for competitions for the best rinks, pairs
and singles although the idea of a club champion was not formally
recognised until the middle of the 1860’s.
The rules of the game as played in Hamilton Bowling Club were revised in
1864 in accordance with a new set of national laws which had been drawn
up by William Wallace Mitchell of Glasgow. These laws were published in
1863 and 150 copies were ordered by the directors of the Hamilton Club
for distribution to present and future members.
For Hamilton Bowling Club members the season began, usually, in early
May and ended by the middle of October. The annual opening was a notable
event, attended by the provost and bailies of the burgh with music
provided by a military band such as the Scots Greys, the Hamilton
Militia or the Hamilton Town Band.
Hamilton Bowling Club, then, had become an established association
within the town with members drawn from Hamilton’s established citizens.
The club, however, was changing, just as Hamilton was changing.
By 1881 the population of Hamilton Parish had leapt to over 26,000, more
than twice what it had been in 1841. Coalmines and iron works were
appearing all around the old burgh and railway lines sliced through the
countryside, and through the town of Hamilton itself.
It was at this time that Hamilton Bowling Club was re-established in its
new green and began a new phase in its history.
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