Third time lucky at King George V Bowling Club
It must come as a shock to find yourself kicked out of what has been your historic home for seventy-eight years... only to be kicked out of your second home just a few years later. This is exactly what happened at King George V Bowling Club.
The King George V public house, a Grade-II listed building in the Northfield area of Birmingham had been the home of the Bowls Club since 1937. Their predicament began when the pub was sold to a new landlord back in 2014, when it became clear that the new owners were not interested in supporting the bowling club. After many internal meetings with the new landlord, and even a public protest gaining much coverage in the local press, the club found themselves homeless.
A new venue was found at the Tally Ho - the West Midlands Police Sports & Social Club. The venue is situated opposite Edgbaston County Cricket Ground and nestles in six hectares of prime land adjacent to the busy Bristol Road and Pershore Road.
Fast forward to 2023 and the club were notified that members of the public would be unable to access the facilities at the Tally Ho any longer. The landlord wanted all bowling to stop with immediate effect but, thankfully, further negotiation gave seven months grace for the club to find another venue.
Mike Pritchard, greenkeeper at the club, said; “The major problem was trying to find another venue, as we obviously wanted a green in a reasonable condition… and so the Selly Park Tavern journey commenced.”
A new challenge begins
The conditions at Selly Park weren’t as ‘reasonable’ as Mike had hoped, as the green had been unattended for five years. Last year, they started renovation and rejuvenation in August, with multiple cuts of the green to get it down to a good level.
Mike explained the process: “We verti-drained and verti-cut the green, then, in early September, we started the process of adding 20 tonne of rootzone and 5 tonne of topdressing. We covered it with germination sheets and saw the first signs of life within a week.”
Left Andy Hartwell, middle Mark Allen and right Mike Pritchard
The green at Selly Park wasn’t the only thing that needed a glow-up. The pavilion needed plenty of work to allow for use and Mike praised his wife for her contribution: “A few members have renovated it and painted it to make it more welcoming.”
An outside helping hand
Mark Allen from Agrovista Amenity has supported Mike for over twenty years at various bowling greens. He was full of praise for the work that had been done and highlighted how he had contributed to the project: “Mike is a committed volunteer, and he has worked extremely hard. It was dilapidated and overgrown and that’s not something that volunteers often have to deal with, so I wanted to offer some professional guidance. This has been much more than maintenance; the club have had to go back to square one and create a bowling green from scratch.”
Mark brought in renovation techniques more usually used in other sports such as football and cricket; “It is rare to carry out such radical operations to a bowling green because clubs aren’t usually placed in this situation. It was nice to oversee the project from a blank canvas.”
Contractor and friend of the club, Andy Hartwell of Lush Lawn Care, also praised the work that has gone into restoring the green: “There has been a lot of work to get the green to where it is today and I have supplied machinery, help and advice. Most bowls clubs can’t afford to have heavy duty kit because they don’t use it enough, but we needed to hit it hard and create a completely new green. We slot-seeded as much of the green as possible, but we had to do everything twice; double scarified and double overseed.”
You need strong resilience
Mike had doubts from the moment he stepped foot onto the Selly Park venue and never imagined the green being at such a high standard. “I just couldn’t visualise the success. It was Mark and Andy who pushed me to believe that we could get a decent green. After the first month, I realised that we were going to produce something great.”
The club have had sponsorships and donations from several sources and Mike reflected on the boost this has given: “The Central Co-op and British Crown Green Bowling Association helped us a lot, plus we have received donations from members and compensation from the WMP Sports and Social Club. It all helps. We have spent £9,000 in total and it wouldn’t have been possible without the kind donations.”
Despite the challenges with the green, Mike feels lucky that the venue was available: “If you are prepared to put the effort in, you will end up with a good green. It has been a team effort with many members helping but, in particular, Geoff Bagnall who shares greenkeeper duties with me - who I couldn’t have taken on this task without.”
Success on and off the green
Mike was worried about losing members due to the move: “I wanted to have the green in the best condition to keep members, which we have achieved, as well as new members and the club has won the Warwick and Worcester league for the past two years.”
“When the previous Selly Park Club folded a few years ago, quite a few of their members came and joined us at the Tally Ho. I think a few of them were concerned about returning, however, the feedback has been positive… which is unusual from bowlers.”
The club had their first game on the green in a friendly against Tanworth in Arden Bowls Club and Mike was pleased with the reaction from the visitors: “They were complimentary of the work and a few of them even posted on social media about the quality. It’s a credit to the club.”
Mike and his wife Bev have decided that this is their ‘last move’. He thinks that they have managed to turn Selly Park into their home again and laughed as he summarised: “We will see how the season goes and then judge the surface.