Brockham Bowls Club - What's in a name?
What's in a name?
The name of the club has changed several times over the years and this appears to have happened more by accident than design. The minutes of the inaugural meeting are headed Brockham Bowling Club and include the statement "The Executors had given permission to the Brockham Bowling Club to use the green for this season, also use of equipment subject to their representative William Capon having control of the green." The specific mention of the name occurred at the seventh annual general meeting that was held in the Royal Oak in March 1958 when the record of the meeting reads "On the proposition of Mr Treagus, seconded by Mr Bright, it was decided to call the club Brockham Bowling Club."
Sadly records for the years 1967 to 1975 are no longer available, but the next surviving set of minutes - those for the annual general meeting held in the pavilion in March 1976 - are headed Brockham Green Bowling Club. There has long been dispute as to whether the correct name of the village is Brockham or Brockham Green. The author of the minutes clearly believed that it is Brockham Green.
During the 1980s there seems to be vacillation: Brockham Bowls Club, Brockham Green Bowling Club, Brockham Bowling Club - officers seemed to take their pick until the shortest (Brockham Bowls Club) moved into regular use, even though the club constitution confirmed on 19 November, 1988, declares "The organisation shall be called 'Brockham Bowling Club'."
The records also show confusion over the name of the club's landlord, the Sidney Michael Poland Charities, but this does not appear to have affected the relationship. Throughout the years the charities' trustees have been very supportive, both by word and deed. They have encouraged the club in its endeavours to improve its facilities and backed their support with cash grants.
The latest agreement was signed in 1992 and this gave the club greater security. Until then the notice period was only 28 days. Now it is "one year's notice to 30th September in any year". The rent is "one peppercorn if demanded payable on first day of October", though past treasurer Bill Beesley recalls paying an annual rent of one shilling.
Membership has often been a cause for concern, both through lack of numbers and the evergreen problem of members not putting their names forward for matches. Membership stood at 28 when the club began and at the first annual general meeting (autumn 1952) it was "agreed to make an effort to bring in more members and to invite ladies to join". In April 1953 a minimum age limit of 21 years was imposed.
The first mention of lady members is made in the minutes of the fourth annual general meeting in November 1954 that state "There were 20 present including two ladies who were especially welcomed."
Over the years the club has not always been very welcoming as it is today and has turned down or deferred applications despite the need to run recruitment drives.
In spring 1957 Mr Sherlock offered to give newcomers tuition. Whether this resulted in a flush of new bowlers is not recorded but that summer two applications from non-residents were turned down as they "would not be able to offer them games if locals wanted to play". Bans on non-residents have been imposed and lifted on several occasions and at times prospective members have had to make formal applications in writing after having visited the green in the company of a member. By 1982 there was concern at low membership with only 20 players in the club but fortunes changed again during the decade for by 1989 the club had 60 members and a waiting list.
Fluctuations have continued but the club has always produced enough support for a continually widening range of matches, the result of more leagues and invitations and Surrey competitions - all of which make maintaining the green in good condition a greater challenge.
William Capon had care of the green during the club's first year when he was still employed by the Poland estate. The following year a different arrangement had to be made and members J Dudley and F Street took on the work for an honorarium of £5 for the season. Mr Dudley seems to have soldiered on alone the next season and at a committee meeting held in Sherlock's Stores that autumn it was agreed that he deserved a thank-you gift for his efforts and members were asked to subscribe. They did, generously, and at the annual general meeting Mr Dudley was presented with a clock.
A succession of grounds-men received honorariums until at least 1966 (the honorarium was £20 that year) and possibly beyond that time. When the work became a labour of love it is not now known.
But there was one routine ground-keeping job that all players had to lend a hand with, recalls Reg Glanfield. "Before each match we would roll the green," he says looking back to the early days. The roller used was one that formerly belonged to Mr Poland and had shafts, since it was made to be drawn by a horse that would have had leather mowing shoes fitted over its hooves to prevent hoof prints marking the ground.
Reg is a member of long standing and a very successful one too. He first joined the club with his wife Margaret in 1962 but left in 1987 after she died. He rejoined in recent years and had the rare distinction of having a son (Roger) and grandson (Christopher) playing for the club at the same time. In addition, Reg's name appears on the club's honours boards more times than that of any other member. Besides being captain in 1973 and 1979, he has won 20 championships over the years.
While a six rink green can be played up and down and across and back, a four rink green like Brockham's can only be played up and down. So in order to spread the wear and tear the 1993 grounds-man, Martin Russell, announced a scheme by which play only took place on the usual rinks for mixed club matches. All other matches, roll-ups and practises were to be played on three rinks, moved regularly through the season. "We have to 'bite the bullet' and give this ago," he told members.
The following season grounds-man Don Clinch refined this system with coloured markers placed at the ends of the green so that the centre of each rink is moved a little each day. Play takes place on the "colour of the day", although those playing in Surrey competitions, the Mole Valley Cup and other games in which they represent their club, may choose their rink.
The green has also suffered from vandalism on occasions. The first mention of wilful damage to the turf and buildings is recorded in the minutes of a meeting held in April 1955 when the club agreed to approach the Poland trustees "for a chain link boundary fence with concrete posts to keep unauthorised persons off the green in view of damage that occurred over the previous winter".
Most damage has been fairly trivial but on at least two occasions it has been costly. At the beginning of the 1980s £404.21 had to be spent to make good the effects of a fire and theft at the pavilion.
Dorothy Beesley tells of Peter Shaw (club member and later vice president) looking from his home at Penholm (by the entrance to Brockham Court), and seeing smoke rising from the bowling pavilion.
In 1983 a sum of £289.48 was recorded as being "Dorking Court Compensation". Again Dorothy Beesley fills in the story: Vandals had had broken into the pavilion and the cupboards, smashed crockery and spread black pitch everywhere, but this time the culprits were apprehended and some recompense was received.
The mower shed, tool shed and ladies' changing-room were damaged in July 1988, and at a special meeting to discuss this matter it was agreed that a battery operated alarm system be installed on the pavilion and wooden bars be put across the other buildings. To pay for the work it was suggested that a levy of £5 a member be raised (£3 for OAPs) as an advance on the following year's subscription, but no action appears to have been taken.
When the River Mole overflows its banks the green is usually flooded. Spectacular flood photographs displayed on the club wall not only record the events but often make a talking point with visiting players during match teas.
Any damage is usually taken care of without too much trouble. During the winter 2000/2001 the green was flooded many times to the depth of several feet but by the start of the 2001 season looked none the worse for it. But there was one thing missing - the heavy metal box which contained the keys to the buildings, the mats, jacks and sundry items.
This had regularly sailed across the floods, going with the flow of the river from one side of the green to the other, to be held against the far fence. This time the fence was badly damaged but Don Clinch secured it to the remains of the fence and later he and Geoff Collins hauled it up beside the pavilion, cleaned it out and left it where it was safe from flood water with only the freshly re-labelled keys inside. Unfortunately, when the water rose again, vandals managed to get into the grounds and tip it down the bank. With the fence still missing, it floated away. It is sad, not only for the loss of a useful item, but for sentimental reasons too as it had been a part of the club scene for so long - almost 50 years. The minutes for the third annual general meeting (October, 1953) include the following item: "Mr Friday had kindly obtained a metal chest which he had transported to the ground and fixed in position with a substantial lock, and had presented it to the club. For this the club's best thanks were offered."
The question of a move to enable the club to have a six rink green and better facilities has been discussed many times during the past decade and practical steps have been taken. Back in 1996 the club sought planning permission with a view to developing bowling green in a small field off Middle Street but this was turned down with the explanation that the sight lines were not good enough with regard to the traffic that would need to come in and out of the club car park. The exercise cost the club £3,000.