Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club

The Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club hosts lawn bowling Sundays from April through the fall at the lawn bowling green behind the Williamsburg Inn. In 1966, Colonial Williamsburg built a professional lawn bowling green behind the Williamsburg Inn for guests and visiting teams. In addition to hotel guests, members of the Williamsburg Inn Lawn Bowling Club play regularly and hold tournaments. It is the only professional lawn bowling green in Virginia. The club has 60 members, making it second only in size to New York’s Central Park Lawn Bowling Club in the Northeast Division of the U.S. Lawn Bowling Association. Lawn bowling is a game that dates to 13th-century England.

Welcome
We heartily welcome all visitors to our green.  We enjoy bowling with different people, and we learn a lot in the process.  So please join us when you come to Williamsburg.

Williamsburg residents rolled lawn bowls almost three centuries ago.  Documents show bowling here in 1720, and there is some evidence it occurred even earlier than that.   The game was also played in the streets in nearby Jamestown, the first permanent English speaking settlement, which celebrated its 400th birthday in 2007.
Still, we are latecomers when compared to England.  Kings Henry VIII and Charles I enjoyed bowls.  In the oft-told story, Sir Francis Drake was playing bowls when he was informed the Spanish Armada had been sighted.  He said he would finish his game and then deal with the Armada.  While the story may be apocryphal, it well describes the enthusiasm lawn bowlers have for their game.
If you are a lawn bowler, you know what we mean.  If you haven’t tried it yet, join us in a game that is as much fun as it was many centuries ago.  Or maybe even more fun.

For information about our club, click here.

For information about becoming a member, click here.

Who said Lawn Bowling can’t be exciting? Watch this

Events:
We have a full schedule of events from April 1 to November 1, our primary season, including:

•     A program every Tuesday and Thursday, in which we draw for pairs partners
•     About a dozen tournaments and matches on weekends
•     Matches on Independence Day and Labor Day
•     Some purely social events

Directions
Coming from the WEST (Richmond) on I-64, take EXIT 238 (VA 143) toward Williamsburg.  Follow 143 1.1 miles, then continue straight on to RT 5.  Continue 1.2 miles to the second light.  US 60 goes left and VA 5 goes right, but you continue through the light onto Francis Street.  The restored area is on your right.  Go  0.5  miles, turning left into the Williamsburg Inn (136 East Francis Street).  In the parking lot, turn left and park in the far east side of the lot.  The green is behind the Inn.
Coming from the EAST (Norfolk) on I-64, take exit 242A (VA 199).  Travel 1.8 miles and exit right on to US 60.  At the bottom of the ramp, take a left on US 60 toward Williamsburg.  Go 1.9 miles to the first traffic light.  Turn left onto Francis Street.  Go 0.5 miles, turning left into the Williamsburg Inn (136 East Francis Street).  In the parking lot, turn left and park in the far east side of the lot.  The green is behind the Inn.

When?
The green is open every day, 3-6 p.m., from April 1 to November 1.  Each day a member of our club serves as a green keeper, setting up rinks and helping anyone interested in trying the game.
We have a program every Tuesday and Thursday when we draw partners for a pairs game.   We have most of our tournaments and matches on weekends.  Club events are limited to club members. See our schedule for details.
We bowl throughout the year, weather permitting

Location:
The green is located behind the Williamsburg Inn at 136 East Francis Street.  Parking is available in the tennis court lot (turn on Bucktrout Lane) or in the far eastern part of the lot in front of the Williamsburg Inn.