Dawlish and District Indoor Bowls Club
Unlike outdoor bowls which can trace its origins back to Elizabethan times, indoor bowling is a relatively recent sport which started around the 1930s.
Prior to the opening of the indoor club at Dawlish, the nearest facility was at the old Carlton Theatre in Teignmouth (now the Pavilions). In the winter, the carpet, which was stored under the stage was rolled out and players would use this.
Gradually in Devon one or two dedicated indoor bowling clubs began to open. The first was at Budleigh Salterton, followed by Sidmouth and the Mayflower in Plymouth. Locally a group of interested players got together and organised the funding for a club in Dawlish. The local council allocated them the land adjoining the Marina Bowling club, and they employed the architect who had designed the club at Exonia.
Dawlish & District Indoor Bowls Association first opened its doors in 1970. There were some teething problems including damp, which could potentially have damaged the fine felt carpet; also, the toilets were incomplete, meaning members had to dash across to the conveniences in the neighbouring car park. The building looked different from today, with windows along the front and quite a grand entrance. There was also a bar for members, where the seating area is now.
The club had the great honour to be officially opened in 1971 by pipe-smoking David Bryant, legendary bowls superstar and often acclaimed as the best bowler there has ever been. He later returned after 25 years for a special re-opening ceremony following a £30,000 upgrading of the building and its facilities. The works at that time included a replacement of the flooring and carpet for the 3 rinks.
He can be seen here delivering a bowl, but by this time in his career, minus his trade-mark pipe.
Dawlish and District Indoor Bowls Club became affiliated to Devon County Indoor Bowls Association, Devon County Ladies Indoor Bowls Association and the English Indoor Bowling Association in 1972.
In the early days there were up to 400 members and anyone wishing to play in a roll-up had to take a ticket and wait their turn to play. With only 3 rinks there was also serious competition to play in national matches, with the club holding knock-out games to decide who won the right to play.
Nowadays the club offers indoor bowls for all levels and abilities from the ladies and men’s leagues and County competitions to friendly matches against other clubs. There are in-house competitions for ladies, men and mixed teams as well as regular roll-ups for those who enjoy a more informal game or want to practise for matches.
Coaching is provided by qualified coaches for new players, and there is a growing youth academy for the bowlers of the future.
With grateful thanks to Betty Springham, one of the founder members and Gerry Turner for their help with this account and for also providing some of the early pictures.