Founded in 1897 

Note the date of our Open Day when you can try bowls for free - Saturday April 27, 10am to 4pm

Latest News 

Sunday 17 March – the short mat season is coming to an end

We are building up to Final’s Day on Saturday 23 March.

But one trophy is already determined and that is the winners of the keenly fought Monday Night Triples League. Despite losing one of their team through illness at the start of the season, the Fir team romped home winning 13 of their 15 matches with a shot difference of 143. So congratulations are in order to Maureen Dilnot, Margaret Nevell, Bill Hillman and Bryan Nicholson of the Fir team.

The Mid Week 2 Wood League is still in progress and the winners of the three sections will not be determined until the close of play on Thursday. The winners will then compete against each other on Finals Day.

In the knock-out competitions the position is much clearer.

Novice Singles

Peter Fawcett will play Peter Smith

Singles Championship

Phil Denny will play Bob Moore

Drawn Pairs

Bryan Nicholson and Karen Owen will play Phil Denny and David Anderson

The first match of the finals will start at 10am on Saturday. Arrive in good time to secure your seat and enjoy what will undoubtedly be some close contests. 

There will be a 45 minute break for lunch.

                                                                                                         

Friday 15 March - evolution of the sport of bowls

It is said that Sir Francis Drake was playing a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe as the Spanish Armada was sighted in the English Channel. Undaunted, he insisted on finishing his game before taking on and defeating the powerful Spanish fleet in 1588.

From this we learn that bowls is an activity to which we can all become addicted. It is not a game to be hurried. Historians say that he lost the game and despite that he was clear-headed enough to go on to perhaps a more important victory.

As the sport of Bowls becomes more popular, led by Bowls England, and the coverage of the game becomes more widely known on television and YouTube we have a part to play at our Club to introduce as many people as possible to this game that we love.

We know that it has a whole range of health benefits; it is a highly social activity; it often creates lifelong friendships; it can be played by people of all ages, genders and abilities (and most disabilities); you can choose to play highly competitively at international level (as some in our Club do, if you have those skills) or just as a social roll-up a couple of times a week.

Joining a Club like ours opens up a range of other activities throughout the year. We want to show people who have not sampled these possibilities a way to understand the benefits. That is why we have introduced Just Try Bowls Roll Up, a series of occasions when you can sample, for free, the delights of the game. This starts with our Open Day on Saturday 27 April this year.

We think it is a natural evolution for most people to give this activity a chance.

Tuesday 12 March - another unsung hero

When you are a large Club with large grounds you need many volunteers amongst the membership with special skills to do the myriad of tasks that are needed to keep those grounds looking immaculate. Not every club can count amongst their number a tree surgeon. We are very fortunate to have extensive protective hedges surrounding our grounds, but even more lucky to have a highly skilled and enthusiastic tree surgeon in Andy Matthews who, almost single-handedly, has trimmed the hundreds of yards of hedge this winter.

Saturday 9 March - Short Mat Triples

Continuing our focus on short mat bowling, it might come as news to many outdoor bowlers that towards the end of the short mat season there are Kent-wide competitions. One of these is the Kent County Domestic Triples competition which was held today at the Ashford Indoor Bowls Centre. Many teams from across Kent competed across 16 mats in this all-day event.

Canterbury entered a triple of Jenny Anderson, David Anderson and Carleton Horner, their first experience of this sort of event. We would like to report that they had brought back another Cup to Canterbury, but it was not to be this year, even though they were on a winning streak when they lost in the knock-out stages.

Importantly, they had a good time.

David, Jenny and Carleton

Wednesday 6 March - Tough for Canterbury Choughs

Having led the East Kent Short Mat League Division 3 for most of the season the Canterbury Choughs lost out on the top spot on shot difference as the Leagues came to a conclusion. Minster Abbotts had 138 shot difference whilst we had 135. We can comfort ourselves that we had the moral victory of winning more matches than any other team in that league. The Choughs will also be getting promoted to Division 2 as two teams are in the promotion spots from Division 3, so the friendly rivalry with Minster Abbotts will continue next season.

Meanwhile the Canterbury Bells ended in a comfortable mid-table position in Division 2.

The full tables can be seen here.

Finally, an enormous debt of gratitude is owed to Canterbury's Bryan Nicholson for his creation of the impressive website for the East Kent Short Mat League and for acquiring sponsorship which has enabled the full functionality of the website to be utilised.

Wednesday 28 February - Another date for your diary

Following hard on the heels of one successful Saturday night out, another comes into view.

Names to go on the sheet in the Clubhouse (or ask a member of the social committee to do it for you). Minimum bets will be £1 per race. Pay your £10 on the night or see the noticeboard for the preferred alternative.

Monday 26 February - Another Wine & Wisdom Success

The Social Committee's Wine and Wisdom Quiz Night on Saturday proved to be a great success as a fundraiser for the Club, and as a very enjoyable evening for an entertained crowd of close to 90 people, divided into 11 teams. Thanks are due to the aforementioned Committee plus Mandy Catt and Jenny Anderson who were co-opted to deal with the tricky adding-up and the like.

Table Six were the worthy and cheerful winners. Table Three took the wooden spoon and declined to stay and be photographed.

Sponsors of Canterbury Bowling Club

We are fortunate to have various high quality organisations that sponsor our Club in a number of ways. Some advertise their brands by placing boards on our Clubhouse - click on the expanding images and the hyperlinks for Burgess Hodgson, Chartered Accountants,  Choose Leisure, Motorhomes, Canterbury Specsavers ,Hearing and eye health, Mickle Creative, Design, printing and websites, Boys & Maughan, Solicitors, Chaucer Hospital ,Private hospital and McCarthy Stone ,Retirement homes.

Some firms sponsor our fixture book

In Action Bowlswear, bowls equipment suppliers, Mark Cosgrave Wealth Management Ltd, financial planning services, Tim Gower Building Services Ltd, extensions, renovations and conversions, Woollard & Kent, funeral services

Our fixtures will appear on our Competitions page

Some firms support our tournaments








Some just support us in other ways