Mr Robert Ramsay - Founder Member & Donor of the Green

A chinese lion statue

Excerpt From 'Alloa Journal' - Dated July 18th, 1936: Saturday was a notable landmark in the history of Clackmannan Bowling Club, when the members, together with a large company of invited guests, celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the Club's institution.

The principal feature of the celebrations was the gift by Mr Robert Ramsay JP; "Woolmet", Gilmerton, Midlothian, of the Title Deeds of the Clubs Greens. Hitherto the club has rented the green from the Kerse Estates of Lord Zetland, and there was some danger that the green might ultimately be absorbed in the rapidly extending housing schemes in the immediate vicinity. Mr Ramsay's generous gift will therefore ensure that the green will be the rent-free property of the club for all time.

Ceremony on the Green: The first part of the celebrations took place on the green at three o'clock, at which hour there were present a large company of invited guests, including many bowlers from the various clubs in the Clackmannan & Kinross Bowling Association and other clubs in the Scottish Midlands. As the company assembled, music was discoursed by a radio apparatus, operated by Mr James Simpson Jnr; Alloa, and the speeches were also amplified by this means.

Unfortunately rain began to fall just prior to the ceremony and continued throughout its duration.

Mr James A. Hunter, JP; President of the club presided, and at the outset, submitted several apologies for absence, including one from Mr JT. McLaren; Stirling, one of the three surviving members of the original club. Continuing, the President called upon Mr Ramsay to read the Minutes of the inaugural meeting of the club held on 12th July 1886. Mr Ramsay having done so.

The President referred to the record of the Clackmannan Club in the Balfour Trophy competition , they having been ten times in the final of that competition, and had won the Trophy eight times. He also referred to the many good friends of the club who had gifted Trophies for Competition amongst the members. He then called upon Mr Ramsay, to proceed with handing over of the title-deeds to the green.

After several speeches the company proceeded to the Town Hall for a High Tea that was served by the Catering Staff of Alloa Co-operative Society. Again several speeches and presentations were made. In the course of the proceedings songs and duets were sung by Mrs JS. Mackie & Mr AS. Harrower, Mrs Mackie presiding on the piano. These musical items were greatly appreciated.

A memorable day's proceedings terminated with the singing of 'Auld Lang Syne' and the National Anthem.

The full extract from the Alloa Journal is pasted into the 'Minute' book.

Clackmannan Village

Clackmannan Main StreetClackmannanshire emerged from the last reorganisation of local government in Scotland as by far the smallest and least populous local authority area in the country. A town in the Clackmannanshire parish of Clackmannan, Clackmannan is situated to the north of the River Forth, 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Alloa. The village continues to grow in population year on year. Mannan Stone

Dominated by its church and tower, the settlement lies on a ridge that rises out of the surrounding carse land. At the centre of the town stands the stone or 'Clack' that gives the place its name. Thought to have been sacred to the pre-Christian sea-god Mannan, the stone has been moved from its original site. Adjacent to the stone is the ancient Mercat Cross and a bell tower, all that remains of the Tolbooth built in 1592.

The parish church, said to have been founded in the 5th Century by St Serf, was rebuilt to a design by James Gillespie Graham in 1815 and on the King's Seat Hill stands Clackmannan Tower which has a commanding view over the Forth Estuary. Occupying a strategic site, the fortified tower was built in the 12th century to serve as one of a number of royal residences for King Malcolm IV.Clackmannan Tower

In the late 14th century the tower was given to the Bruces who built the present structure and extended it in the 16th and 17th centuries. In a later mansionhouse occupied by the Bruce family until 1791, but later demolished, Mrs Bruce of Clackmannan, the last laird's widow, is said to have 'knighted' Robert Burns in 1787 with the sword of King Robert the Bruce.Amongst other favoured guests, she is also said to have dubbed the lexicographer the Rev John Jamieson, editor of the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. Clackmannan was the county town of Clackmannanshire until 1822 when it was superseded by the faster growing Alloa. The merchant and minor poPitet, William Burns (b.1825), was born in Clackmannan.

Clackmannan like most villages in the local area was a mining village, and supplied a steady stream of young men willing to risk their lives to put food on their families table. Initially, the workings were Clackmannan Colliery and the belief is that coal was wrought from this colliery nearly 250 years ago. In reference to the Clackmannan colliery, it is indicated that the main seam was "wrought in the last century". The main seam was terminated in 1763 and the "Cherry and Splint seams" began to be wrought at this time. It is believed that mining began at Westfield before 1670. Young children were often sent underground in the early days of mining - In 1826 for example, the Clackmannan Colliery employed 226 people of whom 25 were still children aged less than 13 years old.

Latterly, Scotlands last remaining coal mine was Castlebridge Colliery (Gartlove on the border of Clackmannan) which supplied the Longannet Complex (Power Station).A terrible tragedy led to the premature closure of the Longannet complex. Millions of gallons of water flooded into the underground workings, effectively ending coal mining in Scotland. Fortunately, there was no loss of life, and those who were down the mine at the time escaped safely.

Bowls & The Scots

As with golf, the game of Bowls, with more or less the same world-wide Laws, owes its existence to the Scots. Following on a meeting in Glasgow in 1848, attended by about two hundred players from various clubs all with different Laws for playing the game, W.W. Mitchell of Glasgow, drew up a "uniform code of Laws", and these are the basis of all subsequent Laws.
In 1892, the Scottish Bowling Association was formed and in 1893, it drew up rules or Laws based on Mitchell's Code and also published a Code of Ethics.
In 1903, the English Bowling Association was formed, the first President being Dr. W. G. Grace, who is much more acclaimed and remembered for his fame as a cricketer.
The International Bowling Board was formed in 1905, the foundation members being Scotland, England, Ireland, and Wales.
New Zealand was first admitted in 1928, as also were Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the United States of America