.

ABOUT US

CLUBS HISTORY

Blackbird Leys Bowls Club was founded in 1966. 
 

The Founding Members were:

Keith Forster
Ron Moore
Les Aldridge
Ken Painter
Gordon Roper
Doug Bradley
Ken Norton
Jo Byrne

Click here to see a newspaper clipping from the Oxford Mail on
June 4th 1966

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Click to see the first fixture card in 1966 Outside / Inside

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IN THE BEGINNING
Originally there was no Clubhouse, just the green and the Club members. The Blackbird Leys Community Centre, on Blackbirds Leys Road, was used for entertaining visiting bowlers. This meant after the game all players had to either walk the length of Cuddesdon Way with their bag and woods or drive and park up outside.
The arrangement was OK for a while, but as the club grew in members and requirements, it was soon realised that a dedicated Clubhouse was needed.
 
NOT ENOUGH ROOM AT THE INN
In 1975 the Oxford City Council agreed to lease part of the Blackbird Leys Pavilion to the Club. With the remainder of the Pavilion being used for Football. All the Members joined together to convert the pavilion into a useable clubhouse. This took many weeks and lots of hard work from many members, but the end reward was a dedicated facility next to the green.
 
GROWING CLUBHOUSE
There were tremendous benefits of having a Clubhouse, but by the early eighties it was soon realised that there was not enough room in which seat 48 bowlers for the after match meal (a full 6 rinks of players). In Addition the Kitchen space was too small to prepared 48 meals.
So in 1983 the Oxford City Council agreed to extend the Clubhouse at a cost of approx. £40,000. The original plan was to extend the lounge and kitchen, and also to build new changing and toilet facilities solely for the Bowls Club use (currently the men's changing room and toilets are shared with the football club). However the money ran out after the lounge and kitchen had been extended.
The extension that was completed was opened by the then Councilor Mr. Andrew Smith - now MP for Oxford East, and Councilor Mrs. Barbara Gatehouse - Chairperson of the Recreation Committee of the Oxford City Council.