Shrewsbury bowls club set to close after 120 years
A bowls club which has been running for more than 120 years has been forced to close due to a lack of members and increasing costs.
Severnside Bowling Club, which has its base on land below Town Walls in Shrewsbury, was formed in 1896 and has been a mainstay of the Shropshire Bowling League for decades.
But it’s membership is dwindling due to the ageing players.
Terry Sambrook, who has been involved with the club since the early 1960s said it was a sad decision that the club had been forced to close.
He said: “I am 77 and I’m considered the boy of the club.
“The reason that Severnside has folded is that we just can not get any young members.
“We rent ground from Shropshire Horticultural Society and that’s just the situation we find ourselves in.
“This has been on the cards for a while but it is sad that this has happened.
“It is all old people here now. For some reason we just can’t attract new young players who are prepared to take on the jobs a club requires.
“We also haven’t been doing too well in the league. Over the years, we have been a very successful club but that has fallen away over the last 10 years.
“When we were doing well, we took part in tournaments all over, had many visiting teams and we were highly regarded as an example of how a bowling club should be run.”
The club had three greens on grounds adjacent to the River Severn in St Julian’s Friars.
The club was formed in 1896 by well known Shrewsbury businessman, John Dellaporta who also paid £309 for a half timbered pavilion to be built.
Mr Sambrook added: “We pay rent to the Horticultural Society and they have lots of clubs in that area such as the tennis club.”
Michael Burton, chairman of Shropshire Horticultural Society’s buildings and land sub committee said: “We do not want to see Severnside Bowling Club go and our ears are open.
“We are willing to discuss all aspects and do whatever we can. We are due to meet with them and are just waiting for them to come back to us with a date. We want to see if there is some flexibility in this.
“At the moment we have not been told that they are leaving.”
