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THE MARGARET CATCHPOLE BOWLS CLUB
The renowned Cobbold family who owned the Cliff Brewery which was situated adjacent to the lower end of Cliff Lane and for many years the family resided at Holywells Mansion situated on what is currently Holywells Park. The Cobbold’s eventually moved to Glemham Hall near Saxmundham in 1923 and sadly the house then had a chequered history before it was demolished in the 1960’s.
The story of the club’s foundation goes back to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire in 1919 when Lady Blanche Cavendish, the daughter of the Duke of Devonshire married Captain John Murray Cobbold, who was known as Ivan. Upon her marriage Lady Blanche moved to Suffolk and she was accompanied by Mr Cecil Farr, the Butler from Chatsworth House. Cecil was obviously a loyal and valued employee as when in his later years he was given the custodianship one of the company pub’s as a reward for his service and he also promised to provide him with an adjacent bowling green. Mr and Mrs Farr plus their son Derek, eventually became the licensees of The Margaret Catchpole pub in Cliff Lane in 1939. The bowling green project was put on hold during the war. Unfortunately, Captain Cobbold was killed during the war, whilst he was attending a service in the Guard’s Chapel in London.
Ivan’s nephew, Alistair Cobbold, became the chairman of the brewery in 1947 and duly had the bowling green built on the site of the old Rose Garden, behind the mansion and immediately beside the pub. Alistair lived at Belstead Brook, which is currently a well known local hotel, and he was a great friend of the Farrs’ and the club. He donated the impressive Cobbold Silver Cup for the Club Singles Championship. He passed away in 1971. The Margaret Catchpole Bowls Club was formed in November 1948 and work commenced on constructing the green in 1949 in time for bowling to begin in 1950. The original clubhouse was a shed at the park end of the green and the mowers and other equipment were kept in a former corrugated iron Aid Raid Anderson shelter for many years. The original members mainly came from the nearby Rivers estate, the local area and friends of the Farrs.
The first of many County Competition wins was in 1960, this was followed by the golden era during which we were one of the top clubs in the county. A new clubhouse was constructed ion 1962 by WW Meek Ltd, club member Billy Meek being the owner. During this halcyon period our top players were Derek Johnson who was an England International, Derek Farr, Ralph Gage, Ron Gage and Chick Halls, although many other hard working and ambitious members helped to establish the club. They were instrumental in the club winning twenty six county and Eastern Counties championships, whilst the national semi finals were reached twice.
After Derek Johnson had moved to the Norfolk border to open a retirement home and most of his contempories had melted away, a new generation of younger members, including Ian and Glynn Clouting, Neil Maxwell, Robbie Baker and Mick Johnson, enjoyed some success during the 1980’s. Then yet another dynasty came along in the 1990’s and some of these loyal members are still with the club today. The club was originally a men’s club with just two league teams up to the mid 1980’s when the Mixed Leagues were formed and the ladies were invited to join, increasing our league teams to four. In the early 1980’s Volvo BC negoiated a deal with the club so they could play their EBF league and cup matches on our green. As time went by a substantial percentage of both clubs members became members of both clubs and after the demise of the Volvo works in 1994, the Volvo club was eventually absorbed into the Margaret Catchpole in 1998. This proved to be a succesful combination and the club membership grew to around sixty and since then we have always had eight league teams. Over the past twenty years many improvements have been made at the club. These include taking on and cultivating the wilderness area between the clubhouse and Cliff Lane, plus the extension and refurbishment of the clubhouse. We are especially proud of our association with the Cobbold family and the legendary Margaret Catchpole.
We are a friendly family orientated club, with a vibrant membership, where all members are treated equally. We always have a willing army of volunteers in all areas of our activities. During the winter we hold several social events which are very well supported. Our most important asset is the bowling green which is usually one of the very best in Suffolk.