Lawn Bowling Open House April 20
English Game Dates to the 13th Century
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 12, 2013) – The Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club hosts its annual open house at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 20 on the lawn bowling green behind the Williamsburg Inn, 136 E. Francis St., in Williamsburg. Club members will provide free lessons to visitors of all ages interested in learning more about the game that dates to 13th-century England. Refreshments, games and prizes are included in the fun.
The sport resembles the Italian game of bocce and the French boules and pétanque. Folklore indicates there was a bowling green in Williamsburg on Middle Plantation as early as 1632, but the first clear evidence of a bowling green appeared in the 18th century. In 1954, Colonial Williamsburg recreated a green near Chowning’s Tavern, with Colonial Williamsburg tradesmen demonstrating how the game was played.
In 1966, Colonial Williamsburg built a professional lawn bowling green behind the Williamsburg Inn for guests and visiting teams. In addition to hotel guests, members of the Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club play regularly and hold tournaments. It is the only professional lawn bowling green in Virginia. The club has 60 members, making it second in size only to New York’s Central Park Lawn Bowling Club in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Lawn Bowling Association. The club’s season is from April through October. A club member is on the green daily between 3 and 6 p.m. to provide free lessons to anyone interested.
For more information on the Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club, tournament schedule and membership, visit www.williamsburglawnbowling.org or contact club president Jim Halter at 757-645-0954 or james_halter@msn.com.
