DEVIZES Bowls Club are celebrating their centenary this year, the 14th club in Wiltshire to reach this milestone in their illustrious history.

The official opening of the club's greens take place on Saturday at 2pm by local MP Claire Perry, kicking off a five-month programme of matches and events.

Devizes begin the celebrations on Sunday April 23 with a game against the oldest club in England, Southampton (Old) Bowling Green. Games are scheduled versus Bowls Wiltshire Men as well as the ladies plus a county mixed team will visit Devizes in August.

The Bowls England presidential team will visit on Tuesday June 13 for a special eight-rink match while the Barbarians visit the following month and Friends of English Bowling a week later on July 19 for a nine-rink game.

A theme day is planned for May while June sees a visit from the Chelsea Pensioners.

Sunday, August 13 sees Devizes stage a special Centenary Gala. They have invited 12 local teams to each send a rink (four players) to compete against the club.

Presidents Day will take place on Sunday, September 17 which coincides with the closing of the bowling greens and a celebration dinner.

The Devizes club has a membership of 140 with the ages of members ranging from 12 to early 90s, playing both competitive bowls (league and cup competitions) and social bowls.

Bowls was firstly introduced to Devizes in 1917 when a group of residents decided to form their club.

One of their number, L. H. Ferris, owned a large house known as The Ark in the grounds of which was a tennis court just large enough for two bowls rinks.

After a failed attempt to rent the tennis court at Hillworth House, in 1919 the club approached Mr. R. S. Gundry who owned a large house on the corner of Hillworth Road and Long Street. Alongside was a kitchen garden and tennis court.

Mr. Gundry gave permission to use the tennis court and after some hectic work early in the year they were able to play on it in 1919.

Opposite Mr. Gundry’s house in Long Street was Wilsford House, which was formerly a boys’ school known as Rumsey’s School, later to become the Conservative Club, and alongside it were playing fields which were bought by Mr. Gundry when the school closed.

The land consisted of three plots. In February 1920 he offered the bowlers one of these plots for conversion into a bowling green, generously paid for it to be made into a four-rink green and gave it to Devizes Bowls Club.

The first clubhouse was a small wooden construction on the side of the green overlooking Southbroom Road and used from 1920-1950.

The club had already bought a replacement single-storey building in 1948 for £1,000 but it took the members many months to convert it and was not officially opened as clubhouse number two until 1951.

The popularity of bowls in the early 1980s caused increased difficulty in members being able to get on the green at Devizes to play.

Consequently, the club bought some land opposite and converted it into a second green and eventually opened it in 1987 but four years later problems were experienced and the green had to be closed down until 1994. A well underneath had sprung into life again.

A third clubhouse that required lottery funding was needed with two greens and rink rinks available for matches.

After several setbacks and the final costs rising to over £300,000 of which £186, 000 was covered in funding the new facility was officially opened on June 18, 1999.

On the honours front one Devizes player has been national president, Gwen Budd in 1984, and the club have supplied six county men’s presidents and eight lady presidents, with Rita Gardiner holding the post twice.

Two Devizes ladies have been capped by England – Margaret Perrett in 1979 and Rita Gardiner in 1976, 78 and 79.

Two Devizes ladies Marguerite Alexander and Jean Cooper skips in the Wiltshire that won the John Trophy (inter-county championship) in 1995.