Welcome to Barton Bowls Club

Happy to report that Barton Bowls Club won the Final of the Kenzie Cup today (1.9.24) against Trumpington 78:52. Its the first time Barton have won the trophy since it started in 1977, so we are pretty chuffed.  Well done to the team pictured left to right - Richard, John L, Margaret, Holly, Anna, Ken G, Ken J, Malcolm, Steve, John W, Nick and Bill (not in photo as he had to rush off). A perfect ending to our bowls season.

Although the club will be closing for the winter, we will be holding some open sessions in 2025 for anyone who cared to pop along to give bowls a try.  Dates will be posted in the New Year.  Although not greatly supported this year, we still welcome anyone to come along to meet us at our roll up sessions on Tuesday mornings or Thursday evenings . The only thing we ask is that you wear flat soled shoes (to protect the green) - all equipment will be available to borrow on the day. If you would like to book a secured space at either session please drop a line to Margaret Seymour on 07577 638480 or email her at margaretseymour79@gmail.com The Club looks forward to welcoming new members in 2025 who, with a little coaching, will prove to be as talented as our intake last season!

Our club subscriptions have not changed for many years and remain at 

Full playing member  =  £40 per annum

Social member     =  £10 per annum

Special offer this year to new joining members - you can join for just £10 and get full playing rights in all leagues in your first season, so grab a bargain!

There are rink fees of £3 per game when playing in the leagues. 

2024 season kicked off on 17th April with our traditional away match against Foxton bowls club.  It always proves to be a lovely friendly game and the weather held for us till the end.  Congratulations Foxton on your win this time - we look forward to the rematch later in the season.  Our first match in C&D on 2nd May was a win for Barton (67:52 - 6:1) which we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Similarly, the FML team did much better in their second match against Melbourn winning 62:38 (5:0).  Looking forward to the BHL first result!  Catch up on all results on the match results link above.

The season is set to be very active - see the fixture list for detail - both in the three leagues we participate in, as well as on the social side .  On top of all that we also have the club internal competitions running to find our champions and the County competitions - so you will never get bored that's for sure! However, if you just want a gentle roll up on a Tuesday morning or Thursday evening with no pressure to compete, and a nice cuppa with a biscuit, that is also very much available to you.  

So we have teams playing in the Foxton Afternoon League (FAL) , The Cambridge & District League (C&D) and the Business House League (BHL).  C&D and BHL matches are all played in the evenings whilst FML play in the afternoons at 2.15pm.  

We are a very social bunch at Barton and hold lots of social events with local bowls clubs and other organisations.  We work closely with our sponsors Wallis & Son Ltd of Barton who also can field a pretty fair team to play in our annual competition/BBQ social event.  (see social events page)

Wallis and Son Ltd of Barton www.wallisandson.co.uk  have very kindly offered to support the Bowls Club once again for the coming season (2024) We look forward to  our great partnership and some fun along the way!    

All our members pulled together in 2023 and did us proud in the leagues.  We did our best in C&D in our 3rd year of competition there.  Good news is we are not relegated in 2024 ending middling in the table!  The FML league fared better and we ended up in 4th position.  BHL fared very well ending in 4th place, which is pretty good in their 2nd season there.  Well done to all the players and their Captains.  

Our grounds team have continued their hard work on maintaining the green and surround over the winter months.  Last year we hosted another Groundsman Forum open to all clubs in the Region as a gathering place to discuss the issues arising with greens care and the problems and solutions available.  The meetings initiated by our groundsmen Ken Jones and Bill Hollins are very well attended and always a great success.    

We are located in the village of Barton, just outside Cambridge on the recreation Ground by the Pavilion.  A warm friendly club environment where bowls is played in a safe environment. We welcome all ages from 11 to 100 and are happy to provide coaching.  Check out our Facebook page "Barton Bowls".

NEWS:

7th September 2024 - CLUB FINALS DAY

A very successful Finals Day with some great bowling from all competitors.  The event was well supported by members who all enjoyed a wonderful luncheon.  Congratulations to all our 2024 winners who will receive their trophies at the presentation dinner shortly.

The results were as follows:

Novice Champion

Alex Wilson  

- runner up: John Bebbington

Ladies Champion

Anna Jennings

- runner up: Laureen Wesley

Mens Champion

Ken Jones

- runner up: Steve Fordham

Open Champion

Anna Jennings

- runner up: John Watson

Pairs Champions

John Lee & Dick Kingshott

- runners up:  Sandy Fernand & Ken Gifford

1st September 2024 

Barton won the final of the Kenzie Cup against Trumpington, played over at Foxton.  After many years of trying we finally get our club name on the trophy!

August 2024

30th saw the final FML match which rounding off the league season for the club for 2024.  

May 2024

We have several dates for your diary this month. 

9th -    Etiquette classroom session in the pavilion at 6pm as requested by 

             several new members.

16th - Coaching session by Clinton Tweed (England Bowls) 6pm

30th -Coaching session by Clinton Tweed (England Bowls)  6pm

20th April 2024

The green is now open for members to come along for roll ups and practice.

17th April 2024

The new season kicked off today over at Foxton Bowls Club in the Foxton League.  We had an enjoyable day, but considering the team had only had an hour of practice the day before (our green not yet open) we were rather taken apart!  We lost the match 26:81 but did gain a point on one rink!

Open try sessions

Sadly our public open sessions on 23rd & 25th April were poorly attended this season.  The club is still open to enquiries from potential new members so do get in touch.

March 2024

We held our quiz night which was very well attended.  Ken Gifford was out quiz master and catering was managed by Anna Jennings with the help of John Chance and Jane Whibley.   A fun evening and we look forward to another in the autumn.

February 2024

We held our annual social luncheon which was well attended.  As usual the committee members provided hot food choice and desserts followed by tea and coffee.  A raffle also helped boost club funds a little.

19th September 2023:  Sad to report the death of Philip Seymour, a valued member of the club who passed away this evening following a 10 month battle with ill health.  His funeral was held 11th October at the West chapel of the Cambridge Crematorium (Madingley) followed by drinks and nibbles at the White Horse pub in Barton to celebrate his life.  We gave him a great send off.

4th May 2023 :   OPEN EVENING    6-8pm

This year we restricted advertising this event to just Barton village and had a very disappointing turnout by the locals.  Not one person came along.  Therefore the club has opened the doors to non Barton residents again.  If you would like to try the sport then call 07577 638480 to speak to Margaret who will arrange a training session.  Simply wear flat shoes to protect the green.   All equipment will be supplied by the club.

AUGUST 2022

The Lord of Barton competition was held on 4th August with all members, both social and full allowed to participate.  We had a wonderful evening of bowls.  This year our Lord of Barton (person who scored the highest score on the night) just happened to be our FML Captain Margaret Seymour.  The last female to win this trophy was Meta Greenfield back in 2008 so it was fitting that Margaret (who was Meta's pairs partner) won it back on the evening that Meta's family presented a bench in her memory to the club!

JUNE 2022

The internal club competitions have been drawn.  See lists on side of shed - top draw contacts their opponent and pop the result on the sheet.  Leave score cards in shed for Competition Secretary to verify results.  GOOD LUCK EVERYONE, especially the new novices who have a great competition ahead.  

25th June 

Happy 50th Birthday to Anna Jennings our Treasurer

TELEVISION APPEARANCE

The long awaited edited video was published today (14th June) by the BBC.  See the links on our members corner page.  The link is also on our FB page and the Bowls Cambridge FB site.

4/5th May Jubilee weekend

The bowls green opened to the public for the celebrations and many people had a go at bowls and the kids enjoyed our newly built target game (built by John Boocock and David Hodge).  It was lovely to see so many happy faces all celebrating Her Majesty's 70 years on the throne.  See our photo gallery for memories.

MAY 2022

25th May 

What a cracking game we had over at City ground tonight in C&D.  Captain Hugh Greenfield led his team to a 7 point victory on all 4 rinks winning 89:41 shots.    It has to be noted that City were one player short which was to our advantage on one rink.  However, an enjoyable game with the public spectating that makes it all the more enjoyable!

BBC interview

On 19th May BBC Cambridgeshire came along to interview the club members following our successful recruitment drive .  The audio was broadcast on 25th May on the morning show and we are hopeful that the video will be accepted by BBC Look East for broadcast in due course.  A link to the radio interview is below for those who missed it..

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0c8ywr4

22nd May

Presidents Day was held at Barton where our team played against the creme de la creme of the C&D League.   We are very happy to report that Barton won the match overall 83:79 but in the tradition of these games declared a draw! Ken Gifford played for his C&D team (as he is President) and put up a mighty fight but met the wall of Anna, Margaret and Hugh who held him and his team off on their rink (18:13).  It was a lovely game played in great spirits and a new term was created for bowls - "smash it" - which Hugh did on several occasions!  The whole green enjoyed action on all five rinks and afterward a sit down meal was enjoyed.  Huge thanks go to Pat Gifford who prepared the meal for the 30 participants with her team.  

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The C&D individual competitions are

 well underway now and several of our members are moving up through the legs.  We wish everyone taking part all the very best in their journey and hopefully we will be cheering on a Barton player at the finals in September!

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The club were recognised by local media this month following our recruitment drive.  We were filmed and interviewed by BBC Cambridgeshire on 19th May so watch this space for broadcast dates.

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Meta Greenfield, lost her fight against Motor Neurone Disease on 7th May 2022. Meta was and still is to this author, a legend in the bowls club and around the village of Barton.   She was always willing to help out whenever and wherever she could.  She was ladies champion many years over in the club and, with her ladies partner Margaret, managed to get to the final of the C&D Ladies Pairs competition in 2018 - the first members to get that far in the competition.  We will always remember Meta's red bowls being on or very close to the jack as she played in number one position.  An ACE player.  She will also be remembered fondly for her wit and keen eye on the green!

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The first league tables of the season for the FML have been issued and very happy to report that Barton have remained in the no. 1 slot for three weeks running.

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The Club opened its doors to welcome beginners to the sport at our open day and 2 open evenings.  22 people came along to trial and several of them have now joined the club, the youngest at just 13.5 years of age.  Clinton Tweed, England Bowls Coach came along on 5th May and coached 6 of them, whilst our FML Captain and other committee members took a further 6 under their wings.  It was a great night to see all 5 rinks fully occupied and fun across the whole green. We look forward to Clinton returning on 19th May.

APRIL 2022

April 2nd we have our annual social luncheon where the committee provide hot food, dessert and coffee to members and local people.  A way of spreading the word!

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We hosted the first ever Groundsman Forum, brainchild of our groundsmen Ken Jones and Bill Hollins, this month.  It was a well attended event offering the  opportunity for bowls groundskeepers from around the region to discuss issues relating to the job and possible solutions.

MARCH 2022

The Club Committee (picture at top of this page) met to finalise plans for the coming season and our busy year ahead.  

January 2022

Well the grounds team have been hard at work through the winter.  Back ditch board has been completely replaced and the green is looking lush.  Your committee have their first meeting of 2022 later this month to discuss the upcoming season and social events, amongst other topics.  

November 2021

Club presentation dinner

4th September 2021

FINALS DAY

Winners

Novice Cup: Jean Watson

Men's Cup: Ken Jones

Mixed Pairs:  Margaret Seymour & Hugh Greenfield

Ladies Cup: Margaret Seymour

Open Cup:  Ken Jones

Runners Up

Novice Cup: John Watson

Men's Cup: David Jennings

Mixed Pairs:  Ken Jones & Claire McGowan

Ladies Cup: Claire McGowan

Open Cup: John Watson

We had a lovely day at the above with a great luncheon provided by the ladies of the club and Chairman.  Hot and cold beverages were on hand all day and I think the finalists gave a good show to our visitors. 

July 2021

Our Lacon Cup triples team are doing extraordinarily well in the competition.  They played in the quarter final against Isleham this week and managed to beat them in a close fought match over 18 ends, winning 18:17.  Congratulations to Ken Gifford, Ken Jones and Steve Fordham and good luck in the semi finals in the coming weeks.

May 2021

Our FML Captain Margaret Seymour is doing another charity fundraising activity for Diabetes UK.   This year she has taken on two challenges for the Charity: Swim 22 and One Million Steps.  The swim is the English channel  (21 miles) and the Steps is to take One Million Steps in 12 weeks (average of 10000 steps per day. If you would like to sponsor her great efforts please go to her web pages on Diabetes UK :

Swim :   https://swim22.diabetes.org.uk/fundraising/margaret-seymour2020?fbclid=IwAR1FevHnfYUB9G0oVSqVsdXsXamGLQ3LYrphX8wcJ_qndHH7u-1e04uMJng

or Walk :

https://trk.justgiving.com/f/a/_f7MqTQB6pv6xak0RS10kg~~/AAME8QA~/RgRiLkvaP0Q0aHR0cHM6Ly9zdGVwLmRpYWJldGVzLm9yZy51ay9mdW5kcmFpc2luZy9tYXJnYXJldDQ2N1cDc3BjQgpgR9rGS2DZZBBxUhttYXJnYXJldHNleW1vdXI3OUBnbWFpbC5jb21YBAAAAAM~

Any donations to her great cause would be greatly received.  Click on, or cut and paste the addresses above, to access donation pages.  

April 2021

Our first match of the season on 21st April resulted in a good win for the FML team.  Well done guys battling against the odds and winning through on all three rinks.

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Our preparations for the upcoming season were rained off in the early part of the month, but not to be deterred we had another bash at it and the place is looking like a bowls club again! 

Covid is still a threat so we are making it as Covid safe as we can for the upcoming season.  

We look forward to welcoming guests to our Open Day on Saturday 1st May from 10am.  Due to Covid you must register by emailing philipjdiver@gmail.com and book a reserved time slot. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee time on the rink if you do not book in advance. 

Sierra Bridgman (16) and her pairs partner Jordan did well in New Zealand.   Sierra joined our Club at the age of 12 and we were very happy to have been involved in her early training.   She moved back to New Zealand with her family and has done very well in her bowls.  Last week (April 2021) she won, with her pairs partner Jordan, the Judy Howat Cup at the College Sports Wellington Championship.  The Cup was presented by Judy Howat herself, the Gold Medal Winner for New Zealand in the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Aukland.  Huge congratulations Sierra - we follow your bowling progress back here in Barton. 

February 2021

We are forever optimistic at Barton Bowls Club and as such we have set a date for  our annual Open Day.  Keep Saturday 1st May 2021 free to come have a go and meet the members. If you can't make that date, or want to come and have another go to be sure you like the sport we have open evenings on Thursday 6th & 13th May also.  Places must be booked in advance this year so let the organiser (Philip Seymour) know if you want to reserve a place via email philipjseymour@gmail.com

Obviously this is all subject to the Covid regulations being eased by that time.  

January 2021

We are seeing some changes in personnel this season.  Our FML Captain Meta Greenfield has stepped down for health reasons.  Meta has led this team over many years and in 2019 we ended up 4th in the league, a vast improvement on the previous year!  Thank you for all your hard work Meta.  

The new Captain of FML is Margaret Seymour who has big shoes to fill.  Good luck to her and the team in 2021 (hopefully if we get back on the green)!

Changes in the committee are as follows:

Chairman  -  Ken Gifford

Secretary  - Laureen Wesley

Treasurer  - Anna Jennings

Hon Pres:  - Hugh Greenfield

Grounds  -    Ken Jones

without portfolio ;  John Page & Meta G

5th September 2020 - FINALS DAY

Despite Covid we managed to get most competitions played this year.  Finals day was played in the sunshine.   A great day with quite a few spectators turning out to watch through the day.  See picture to right and caption above for the results. 

Our Lord & Lady of Barton cups were not played this year due to Covid restrictions.

28th August 2020

Our new shed extension was officially opened by the Committee.  All work was undertaken by two wonderful chaps; John Boocock and David Hodge, who did a wonderful job.  The extension has doubled the size of the shed and makes storage far easier. They also rebuilt our side access gate and built a ramp to make access easier.

Summer 2020

We have been active despite Covid - 19. Club internal competitions are well underway and finals are rapidly approaching. Social distancing on the green has been adhered to throughout as well as good hygiene practice. Watch this space to hear who are our 2020 Champions.

1st June 2020

We are opening up the green tentatively for practice sessions on 1st June.  The rinks will be on a bookable system.  Only 6 persons allowed on the bowls club grounds at any one time. No visitors or spectators allowed. Social distancing will be adhered to at all times and sterilisation of all equipment used will occur before and after each session by the user. 

28th March 2020

Presentation to Elliot Wallis in recognition of his company's support to the bowls club over recent times.  A framed first day cover to include "Little Nellie" from James Bond film You Only Live Twice.  Elliot's grandfather had great involvement in the development of Little Nellie and our member Philip Seymour who studies philately felt it an appropriate gift for Elliot to place on his Wall of Fame at the garage!  

26th March 2020

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak sweeping across the country, the bowls green will be closed with immediate effect.  Our grounds team will continue to maintain the green and surround so it is ready for us all when we recommence bowling.

22nd February 2020

The C&D Presentation Dinner for 2019 trophies at Girton Golf Club.  Hugh Greenfield (Club Captain & President) will collect the trophy on behalf of Barton Bowls Club for Division 3 Runner up, and Margaret Seymour will collect her trophy for Runner up in the C&D Ladies Singles.  Our Chairman Ken Gifford will also be present as the new Junior Vice President of the C&D League.

15th February 2020

We had a very successful social luncheon in the pavilion which was well attended and the committee served up a wonderful meal.  A great start to our year. We welcomed a new member to the fold, Jane Whibley, and know she will be a great asset to the Club!

January 2020

All hands on deck to get the green ship shape.  Contact Ken J, Bill H or Philip S to see where your offer of assistance can be best utilised !

December 2019

Although we are all concentrating on our indoor bowls at present, spare a thought for our groundsmen Bill, Ken and Phil  who are beavering away through the autumn and winter to get the green and surrounds in tip top shape for the coming season.  New boards will be  needed so be prepared to get a call to help dig and replace some of the boards!

November 2019

We had our Annual Presentation dinner on 9th November which was well attended.  Our thanks to guest Alan Clarke who assisted on the evening!  We had a wonderful hot meal followed by the presentations and raffle.   It was nice to see so many ladies receiving prizes this year! Well done to you all (see photos in our gallery).

October 2019

Busy month fundraising this month with our jumble sale and quiz night both well supported.  Thanks to everyone who attended and helped on the events to earn a nice little profit for the club. 

August 2019

We had a great end of season 

July 2019 social BBQ and bowls game with the staff from Wallis & Son.  (see picture opposite)

July 2019

We are having a cracking month in both the FAL and C&D leagues this month.   On 28th we won the semi final of the Kenzie Cup and then, on 29th, we beat the league 3 C&D champions at their home ground, convincingly.  We are slowly creeping up the league and if we play like this we could be in 4th position  by the end of the season.  Not a bad effort again.  Keep it up team.  We also have a member of the club (our secretary) through to the Ladies Singles Semi- final on 14th August at Girton. 

June 2019

Our season is  going very well with more wins than losses under our belt. (See match results page).  Keep it up team.  We are through to the next round of the Kenzie Cup and look forward to the first round of the Gilbert Cup (rearranged due to the bd rains).  Many of our members are participating in C&D competitions this season and fairing okay.  Our internal club competition matches are well underway and we look forward to a great finals day on 7th September.  Our Lord of Barton Cup was won this year by Steve Fordham and our Lady of Barton is Anna Jennings - well done to you both.  

May 2019

Unfortunately, we have been the victims of an apparent theft.  Last season we loaned a visiting lady team member a set of our 00 woods, as she had forgotten her own.  Trustingly we assumed she would replace them in the shed.  However, unfortunately these woods have not been returned and we are now short of a set of 00 woods.  These were purchased at a cost of over £160 from grant money received for our youth project and were specifically purchased for the youth members of the club to train with.  It is a very sad day when bowlers cannot trust that a good deed is rewarded with honesty.  

If you have any information on the whereabouts of our woods please contact us, as we are struggling to keep on top of training our youngsters with inappropriately sized woods.  

February 2019

C&D Ladies Pairs Runner Up trophy awarded to Barton  BC at the recent Presentation Dinner in Bar Hill.  Margaret & Meta accepted their shields and the Lingham Trophy Rose Bowl. See photos in the gallery.

Sponsored swim 21st November 2018

Margaret Seymour, our Secretary, undertook the sponsored swim at Royston Leisure Pool and successfully swam 2500 metres (100 lengths).  A fantastic £317 was raised by this effort.  Thank you to all who dug deep in their pockets and to Philip for being the length scorer on the day!  This money has already been spent on the upkeep of the Green.  Anyone else fancy doing something fun to raise money for the Club?!

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Our ladies pair got through to the FINAL of C&D Ladies Pairs Championship 2018 at Great Chesterford Bowls Green.   Margaret & Meta came second on this occasion against very stiff opposition from Comberton Bowls Club. Next year perhaps?!

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The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) sent along a reporter to interview members of the Barton Bowls Club (BBC) following the successful recruitment drive of 2022, including youth members.  The radio interview aired on 25.5.22 and the TV interview is to be broadcast soon.  Pictured left are some of the members present:

Back row L-R:   John Chance, Philip Seymour, Margaret Seymour, Ken Jones, Martin Yeadon, Jean Yeadon, James Sadler

Front Row L-R:  Clinton Tweed (England Bowls Coach), David Jennings, Ken Gifford, Sandra Fernand, Sandy Fernand

We continue with our 10am roll up on a Tuesday for those of you who wish to get in some practice or just pop along for a social cup of coffee.  Let's hope the weather this season will be kind to us! 

Of course our normal club night on a Thursday evening runs from 6pm throughout the season.