Bicester Bowls Club was founded in 1862..... Even in those days it was becoming a young person's game.
Bicester Bowls Club originally played their games on the green behind the King's Head pub on the London road, but they relocated to their present location The Garth in 1951, the barn that was already on site was converted into its present day club house. The offical opening of the green took place in 1951 when Bicester played against the OBA with the president from Bicester that year, his name was W.F. Baughan.
Bicester Bowls Club First OBA President W.F.Baughan, became president in 1951, the same year as the opening of the current green location.
Bicester Bowls Club had to wait 79 years before winning the County Fours again, this was achieved by J.King, J.Nicholls, M.Workman and P.Hooley in 1995.
Bicester Bowls Club had to wait some years for our next OBA President which came in 2003, this time Bicester Bowls Club was represented by M.Workman.
Bicester Bowls Club has been well represented with the OWBA over the years with three Presidents
Mrs.V.M.Plater in 1988
Mrs.C.Douglas in
Mrs.R.Nash in 2003 making Bicester Bowls Club have both OWBA and OBA Presidents in the same year.
Badge details
The information below is a possible explanation of the detail in the BBC badge.
A local historian is aware that over the years (going back to 11th Century) the town of Bicester has been called various names – here’s just a few of them.
Berencestra
Bernecestre
Burnecestre
Bissiter
Bisseter
Bister
Burcester
Burgcestre
Biciter
Biscester
Bicester
And back in the 1940/50s there was a café situated in Market Square called the Burne Ceaster Café
“Burne” meaning river or stream and “Ceaster” or Ceastre” meaning encampment
The name Burgcestre might have derived from St. Eadburg – the Patron Saint for the Parish church (now called St.Edburg’s Church) and the Priory (destroyed during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries period). The priory was the living quarters of Augustian monks.
So the presence of the monk(s) on the badge is relevant (there was shrine in the Priory which supposedly held the remains of St. Edburg), and people would come from far and wide to visit, worship, pray at the shrine.
He thinks the “Burne of Aster” on the badge is going to be a misspelling of Burneceastre/Burneceaster.
The relevance of the fox on the badge may possibly be due to the fox hunts that started from the Market square.