Club History

Bowls by the railway

Worthing’s indoor bowls story began in 1933, in a building quite different from today’s club. When a mineral-water company vacated its premises opposite Worthing Central Station, a group of local professional men saw an opportunity. With smoke from steam trains drifting across the road, they set about turning the old building into the area’s first indoor bowls venue.

The club made inventive use of the space. Two full-length rinks were laid on the ground floor, with a shorter third rink upstairs. There was also a bar, tea rooms, a secretary’s office and two full-size snooker tables. The walls were painted to evoke the Downland countryside, and even the radiators were painted green to match.

The club soon became a home for bowlers who went on to represent England and win national titles. Its secretary had won the first National Indoor Singles championship in 1961 while playing for Ascot. In 1967, he partnered one of Worthing’s international players to win the National Pairs.

That first home came to an end when a compulsory purchase order required the club to leave Railway Approach. In December 1962, Worthing Indoor Bowls Club moved to its new purpose-built, five-rink venue at Field Place, Durrington. 

Its first carpet was hand-stitched jute, remembered as a beautiful surface to play on. A glass roof and side windows brought daylight into the rinks and provided light for daytime play.