…a thousand years of Castle and Club

Walk up the path from the car park of the Ellesmere Bowling Club and you will arrive at the top green. You are now standing on what was the motte of Ellesmere Castle. You will be rewarded with a 360 degree view which takes in Welsh mountains and English hills, church spires, villages, and meres. A truly splendid vista from the highest point in the town; the site of a Castle built at the end of the 11th Century, which played its part in controlling the border between England and Wales – the Marcher lands.

Close your eyes and you will be transported back eight hundred years and among the many personalities who lived in the Castle, you will see Llewelyn the Great, Prince of Wales walking from the keep with his wife Joan, the daughter of King John who had given them the Castle as a wedding present.

There are always arguments about historical matters but there is no question that the Ellesmere Bowling Club is unique. It is among the oldest crown greens in the country, one of only a handful to be built on the site of a castle and it has a large, rare circular green (the “motte”) of the Castle. Add to that its location and the rich history of the site, and you have a truly special bowling club.

Although Ellesmere Castle fell into disuse sometime in the 15th or 16th Century its story continued in another guise. Close your eyes again and you are back in the late 17th Century and a game of bowls is now taking place. Then, the site was owned by the Bridgewater Estate who built a pavilion for the bowlers but that fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1763 for £39 13/6d! The core of the pavilion remains today as part of the extended clubhouse.

The Bridgewater Estate continued to manage and own the Castle site and its bowling activities until 1921 when the Ellesmere Bowling Club was formed

In 1956 the Club purchased the Site from Lord Brownlow for £350, thus ending over a thousand years when the Ellesmere Castle site was owned by the Lord of the Manor.

The Ladies Bowling Club was formed in 1959 and they were able to play on Tuesdays and Thursdays!

In 1987, the Club purchased additional land at the foot of the Castle site which enabled a second green to be created. This green is much smaller than the original “top green” as the whole site is a scheduled Ancient Monument with strict controls to preserve its historical integrity . The bottom green has a reputation among visiting clubs as being “tricky”.

Crown green bowls has been played continuously on the Ellesmere Castle site for over 300 years. During that time membership numbers have fluctuated but today the Club remains vibrant with male and female members of all ages. Teams play in local leagues against Clubs in Shropshire, Cheshire and Wales.

So an active Club, playing on a unique site, in a special location. And to cap that we are one a small number of clubs who don’t have a Chairperson or a President but rather a “Mayor of the Green”. A very special Club.

Contribution by: Nick Cull