Owlstone bowls

I think the bowling angle may be a bit of a red herring but there are interesting parallels between bowling greens, village greens and one of the possible fates of Oldton.

Viewers of Championship Bowls on the BBC may have heard commentator, Geoffrey Mantle, referring to the ‘Awlstone line’. This is the flattest, smoothest part of the green, but, in bowling spiel, it applies less to the topography of the playing field and is more an admission that a player has found their form and is pitching consistently accurate bowls.

The expression is derived from the Owlstone Estate – a legacy of the colonial occupation of India by the British – whose history is inextricably linked with the sport.

Owlstone manor is located in Northwest India, a short distance from the village of Tarapith. The estate occupies what is officially recognised as one of the flattest areas of the world. I don’t think you can really understand the concept of flatness until you’ve stood on the extensive grounds and looked towards the distant horizon.

Lord George Monroe moved the manor, brick by brick, from it’s original setting in Somerset to its new location, over the course of a decade. Even the outbuildings were dismantled and reassembled.

Originally bowling greens were provided for the entertainment of colonists. The region soon became famous for its competitive bowling league to the point where English newspapers would give it coverage in their sports pages. In London, bookies took bets on the outcome of matches, although it was often weeks before news of the final result reached England. Upon his death, The Times credited Lord Monroe with “carrying the pluck of Sir Francis Drake to the most distant shores of our mighty empire.”

While the popularity of bowls may have diminished, the Owlstone legacy remains: Traditionally, natural outdoor bowling greens incorporate a square foot of grass taken from the grounds of Owlstone manor. Other more exclusive clubs will pay for an entire green which will be grown to order and then transported in sections to the desired location.

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Jonathan Kepple