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Discover the joy of crown green bowls.
Old Trafford Bowling Club
Discover the joy of crown green bowls.
About Old Trafford Bowling Club
Our Mission
At Old Trafford Bowling Club, we are dedicated to preserving and promoting the rich tradition of crown green bowling, while fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and vibrant community, with a shared passion for the game.
We provide facilities and opportunities for players of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels to enjoy this historic sport, develop their abilities, and connect with others in a spirit of camaraderie, respect, and fair play.
Club Facilities
Our club is open all year round, and our bowling green is open from March through to September. During this time we have league matches every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Our Bowling Green is available for hire most Saturdays and some Sundays during the bowling season.
Bar Facilities
Our Clubhouse features a fully licensed bar, offering a selection of beers, wines, and spirits, and is available for private functions.
Club History
Old Trafford Bowling Club (OTBC) was incorporated as a limited company on 26 January 1877, and a new club was established on a site acquired from Sir Humphrey de Trafford on land between newly erected villas on Talbot Road and the Manchester - Altrincham railway line. Before 1856 this had been part of Manchester Cricket Club, but the lease had been terminated and the land repossessed for the 1857 Art Treasures Exhibition of Great Britain. Manchester Cricket Club never returned to its former ground, instead it merged with Lancashire Cricket Club in 1864, and established the county ground further along Talbot Road at its junction with Warwick Road where it remains today as Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
In addition to laying out one of the largest greens in the area, OTBC erected what was considered 'One of the most substantial clubhouses in amateur sport'. The foundation stone was laid in July 1877 by Councillor Hampson, the then Chairman of the limited company, whose offices were in Manchester’s Barton Arcade. The building was built in Tudor Revival Style according to designs by John Bowden, (Architect and Surveyor to the De Trafford estate). Although not quite to the original plans, which are on display in the clubhouse.
The pavilion is a slate roofed, polychromatic brick building, of two stories, with blue brick stone dressings to the ground floor, and half timbering with elaborate barge boards above. The upper floor houses a largely unaltered billiards / snooker room (currently not in use), with decorative timber and plasterwork, which opens out onto a balcony that overlooks the bowling green. The ground floor of the main pavilion retains the members room and bar, which opens out on to a covered terrace, where it is understood that the original butchers used to have hog roasts looking out on to the green.
Despite constant use for nearly 150 years, the clubhouse survives relatively unaltered internally and we retain numerous original features. An unusual clock gifted to the the club by former Chairman of the Manchester Ship Canal, Sir William Bailey hangs in the members lounge commemorating the coronation of King Edward VII and his wife Alexandra as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions on August 9th 1902.
Memories of Old Trafford Bowling Club: A Photo Gallery
