About Us

History of Menstrie Bowling Club

Menstrie Bowling Club was formed in 1925 when Hillfoots District Council purchased a field from a local farmer to provide a park for the people of Menstrie. The south east corner of the field was subsequently offered to the village to establish a bowling green.

James Johnstone Esq. of Broomhall, the owner of Elmbank Mill in Menstrie, one of the many woollen mills which were to be found along the Hillfoots at that time, funded the project. To keep the cost down the men of the village volunteered to lay the foundations.

Much of the rubble and stones required for this task were supplied by the local distillery at Glenochil, where most of the men worked. There was an overgrown cart track, which was cleared to allow the horse drawn carts access to the construction site. The General Manager of the distillery, Bob McGregor, took a keen interest in the project. When the foundations were complete a specialist company were called in to lay the Cumberland turf.

The green was officially opened in 1925. In recognition of his contribution, James Johnstone was awarded the title of Hon. President. The first President elected by members was the afore mentioned Bob McGregor, who served the club in that capacity from 1926 until 1938.

Competitive bowling started soon after the club was formed and the first Club Champion was J. McMillan in 1929.

A number of members past and present, have been fortunate to have won the Club Singles Championship on more than one occasion with George Syme (6), Steven Allan (8), and Peter Baird (9) among the multiple winners. Danny McCormick has the honour of recording most victories with 12 wins.

The first club house was of wooden construction and served the club well until it was replaced by the current building in the 1970’s

The Club is a member of Clackmannan & Kinross Bowling Association and many of our members over the years have represented Clackmannan County in the Hamilton Trophy, the Scottish Championship for Bowling Associations.

In addition, club member Steven Allan has had the honour of representing Scotland at both Indoor and Outdoor level and has also won three World Indoor Bowls Council singles titles, two at Senior Level and one at Under 25. This is a notable achievement for Steven and a source of pride for Menstrie Bowling Club.

At local level, club members have had many successes at County and District level but the Balfour Trophy, the County Club Championship, eluded Menstrie until 2013 when the trophy finally arrived in the village for the first time after victory over Dollar B.C.

The Club repeated this success recording their second Balfour Trophy win in 2019 after defeating Patons B.C

Menstrie Bowling Club looks forward to celebrating its Centenary in 2025, an achievement only made possible by the support of members past and present and intend to host a variety of special events to celebrate this milestone.