Century of bowling at popular club

For Claude Tomlinson, there are a few things that have kept his bowling club running for 100 years – trust, good beer and, most importantly, no women.

Lichfield Road Bowling Club started in 1910 with almost 50 members, all of them men.

Today, the club is still run to the same rules, and they have a bar but no barman – everyone helps themselves to drinks and knows how to use the till.

Every member also has his own key so the facilities, such as the two full-sized snooker tables, can be used any time of day.

The idea for the club was formed more than 100 years ago when a man called Mr Power, who lived on Lichfield Road, Walsall, decided to create a bowling green at the back of his house.

Mr Power was interested in letting the bowling green out to local clubs so, on March 11, 1910, a meeting was held at the Hatherton Arms and those present agreed to set up the bowling club.

Today the green is hidden away in the middle of a quiet residential road and Claude says there are a lot of people that don't even know it exists.

"In the early 1900s bowling greens were used by professional gentlemen," says Claude, aged 77, who is president and treasurer of the club.

"In 1910 the club agreed to rent the green and an adjacent field at a cost of £6 a year. We have records going back 100 years and they show that the first entrance fees were 10 shillings and six pence."

Claude says at that time the green was surrounded by hedges and fields and there was only a small shed which resembled a pavilion.

"There have been a lot of changes take place on the green over the years," says Claude, who lives next door to the green on Somerfield Road, off Lichfield Road. "It wasn't long before a timber building was created. We have a picture from the King's Coronation showing the original building with a sign saying 'God Save The King' across the front."

That club building from 1911 is still standing by the green today although there have been a number of changes to it including a new roof, a bar, storage rooms and toilets. The club plays in four leagues – Walsall League on a Sunday morning, Cannock League on a Thursday, Lichfield and District on a Tuesday and Willenhall and District on a Monday.

They play on a home-and-away basis and assistant treasurer Bryan Roberts says the trick to playing a good game of bowling is to know a green very well. "Bowling is easy to learn but it looks deceptively simple and to get reasonably proficient takes around three years," says Bryan, aged 71. "The key to playing is to know the green well. We have bowlers that know every blade of grass on the green and how the woods will roll." To mark its anniversary the club is having an open day in summer and a ladies night in November.