The History

The Hatfield Bowls Club is based in College Lane Hatfield and is a non-discriminatory, non-profit making sports club that has been in existence for over 100 years and is open for membership to all members of the community regardless of age, sex or disability. 

The club originally began in the Town Centre as the Hatfield Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in the 19th Century. In the 1920’s a flat green outdoor bowls green was added and from that period the Croquet section seems to have disbanded. 

In the 1950’s the New Town Commission moved the club to its present location in College Lane and in the early 1960’s the club built the first 4 rink indoor bowls green in Hertfordshire. In the 1980’s the club lost a considerable amount of land and grass tennis courts by compulsory purchase when the A1 Motorway and the Hatfield Tunnel were being planned and constructed. The tennis section within the club has waned since that time. 

We have a good Outdoor Green and the Indoor Green has been maintained to a high standard. Our Club House has its own bar with Stewards, a fully fitted kitchen, dining area and there is ample car parking.

Due to its location in the centre of the County the club plays an important part in the administration of bowls in Hertfordshire and is used to a large extent as the central meeting place for all the Hertfordshire County Bowls Associations, both indoors and outdoors, the Hertfordshire Short Mat Bowls Association, the St. Albans & District Bowls Association and the Hertfordshire Bowls Coaching and Umpires Associations. 

Club membership at the present time is approximately 105 lady and men outdoor bowlers, a further 200 indoor bowlers and about 180 social members. 

We have a very good social section committee who organise various functions, Quiz Nights, Race Nights, Bar-B-Q’s and Disco’s and more recently outings to London shows. The club also has three Darts teams, 2 Men's teams and 1 Ladies team who play in the various Hatfield and District Darts Leagues.

The bowls sections are very well respected within the County and in their history several members have been elected as Presidents of the Hertfordshire Bowls and St Albans District. (See our Honours Board) Our club members are community minded and arrange a number of charity bowls and darts matches within its programme and offers support in fund raising for the local Isobel Hospice.