The Millenium & Beyond

In 1995, B J Wheeler was elected Men’s County President and again in 2001 while later he had also served as the Men’s County Honorary Treasurer from 1998 to 2003

Around the Millennium, there were further improvements to the Club House comprising a new entrance area and doors while the existing bar was moved . The  windows were double-glazed, a suspended ceiling installed, a ventilation system fitted and  the kitchen and bar cellar were moved and renovated incorporating an improved temperature controlled system in the bar cellar.

The cost of this work was £32,000 which, along with the earlier project in the pavilion, had been financed by an appeal to the members whose loans were repaid in 2003, various fund-raising events, and a loan from the English Bowling Association long since repaid, too.

It was during this refurbishment work that a member happened across a “Jacob’s Biscuit tin” containing an 8mm film and when serviceable sections of the film had been spliced together and transferred to a modern DVD, it was realised that the content of the film had historical significance for the Club.

During research for the centenary celebrations, it became clear that this was the same film that had been shown to the South African Tourists more than 60 years previously and although some of the film had inevitably been lost, there still remained a momentary glimpse of the opening of the green at Morningside in 1927 and the visit of the South Africans in 1935 .

In the closed seasons of 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, the green edges were levelled again and the Club House roof was retiled for the respective sums of £3,900 and £11,562 while in the winter before the 2011 season, pre-formed ditches were laid costing £9,100. 

All of that work could not have been achieved without the endless hours of voluntary work from committed members and once again, despite the considerable capital expenditure amounting to £77,500 over the previous 25 years, the Club’s finances remained in an exceedingly healthy condition thanks to prudent financial husbandry over recent years.

In 2003 on the playing front , L Hammond was the winner of the County Under 25 competition, a feat that   he repeated in the three succeeding years whilst he was also a runner up in the Midland Counties Under 25 Singles in 2003 and the winner of the County Indoor Competition in 2004. He earned an England Under 25 trial in 2006, 55 years after H E Beard had been a Senior Trialist in 1951 .

It was clear that bowling was in the Hammond DNA because his father , M. Hammond , was a multiple club singles champion following in the earlier footsteps of Messrs W. Hamilton at County level and later H Sutton , S. Rogers , J. Garrett and P. Bergner at club level .

P. Bergner had , in fact , enjoyed a glittering bowling career having played 63 times for the Middleton Cup team and 86 times for the Midland Counties  . Hammond Senior’s success was recognised by his selection for the County Senior Squad from where he , too , represented Warwickshire in the Middleton Cup .

In the Ladies Section , the stand-out singles bowler was Mrs  E. Beard in the 1950s while after the Millenium , Mrs P. Moore was a multiple club Singles winner . She also represented Warwickshire in both the crown and flat green codes and in 2013 Mrs Moore also reached the last 16 in the National Mixed Fours Championship partnered by C. Sheldon , K. Hornsby and Mrs M. Grosvenor ( of Lillington ) when the National Championships were last played at Worthing before moving to Victoria Park in Leamington .

In November 2011, G S W Willcock was elected President of the Warwickshire County Bowling Association for the 2012 season following in the footsteps of his predecessors W Ivens, W Hamilton, W G Francis, F Moore, D L T Williams and B J Wheeler before him.  How appropriate, therefore, that in the Club’s centenary year, one of Three Spires’ members should represent the County given that they were one of the Clubs instrumental in its formation in 1922.

All the Three Spires’ members were eagerly anticipating the 100 year anniversary in 2012 and, in particular, all the special celebratory games that had been arranged. There was, however, not a little competition from the Golden Jubilee of the rebuilding of Coventry Cathedral that year and all the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Olympic year as the Games returned to London after an absence of 64 years.

G S W Willcock later became Assistant Secretary then Secretary to the County from 2012 to 2015 while another club member , M. Jackson , had first been County Treasurer from 2009 and later Assistant Secretary and then Secretary from 2012 holding both positions to the present day .

The Centenary came and went in the “ blink of an eye “ and bowling life at Three Spires returned somewhat to “ normality “ although in those years afterwards , the club invested successfully in the installation of the website in 2016 .

From the time when the Club was first established  at Morningside in 1926 , it had always enjoyed the enviable reputation of having one of the best greens in the county holding the occasional International event , more frequent County games and hosting many later rounds in County Competitions .

Over the years Three Spires has been fortunate to have been able to call upon dedicated and , in the main , volunteer greenkeepers along with a team of members  more recently known as “ The Green Team “ committed to the quality of the playing surface . In more recent years , however , the age profile of the membership had increased to such an extent that members found the end of season work too arduous.

For that reason , the club turned to outside contractors to not only perform this “heavy lifting” but also to provide planned monthly maintenance together with occasional technical advice leaving club members to mow the green on weekdays and occasional weekends when important games were taking place .

All went well initially albeit at a not inconsiderable cost to the club until the end of the 2018 and the beginning of the 2019 seasons especially when members began to compare our playing surface with those of other clubs maintained by the same contractor .

As a result in the summer of 2019 , the club invested in  the services  of a specialised and qualified Sports Surfaces Consultant who , in essence . reported that despite all the previous work and money lavished on the playing surface , it did not meet current quality performance standards and he duly recommended a programme of work intended to reverse and remedy the deterioration in it .

Spring maintenance for the green was being planned for early 2020 when the worldwide pandemic, associated with Coronavirus and Covid 19, took hold and the club was subject to Government and Bowls England Regulations . The enforced bowling  “lay-off” may have been the proverbial “ blessing  in disguise ” giving the greenkeeper and his team the opportunity to address aspects of the expert’s report including aeriation , irrigation , “dry patch “ and other diseases afflicting the playing surface .

Coronavirus was circulating world wide . This was a severe and acute respiratory condition leading in serious cases to hospitalisation , intensive care and sadly death in some instances . So serious did the situation become that , following the issue of Government Regulations , bowls in the United Kingdom effectively came to a halt from the 20th March . All competition was cancelled and even casual bowls was not allowed for an initial 12 weeks period .

Nevertheless , spring maintenance on the green had already begun and although play was at a standstill , the grass was still growing and the green generally was in need of attention . Members of the “ Green Team “ continued work wearing protective masks – sometimes working individually and later when regulations permitted , work was undertaken “ socially distant – the required 2 metres apart “.

As restrictions were relaxed and reintroduced on several occasions subsequently ,  eventually there was a change of contractor although then under the direct control of the club rather than being “ left to their own devices “ as in previous years .

Restricted play then resumed on the 1st June to comply with revised Government and Bowls England Regulations and a new Covid vocabulary emerged not only including “ social distancing” but also “  test and trace “ and “ hands , face and space”.

Initially , only 6 players were allowed on the green using only 3 rinks but the club introduced a temporary booking system although the club house remained closed and the pavilion was only open for essential requirements and washing facilities . Guidelines were further relaxed through the Summer and a league system of play was introduced but conditions were such that the Annual Gala normally held in September was cancelled .

Essential Committee administration was either conducted by “  zoom “ , telephone calls or e-mail and the pandemic similarly affected the administrative work of the Board of Directors but it was they who approached the City of Coventry to obtain grants totalling £20,669 to enable the club to continue on a sound financial footing.

In December , 2020 saw the accelerated development of a vaccination programme come to fruition with the first vaccines being deployed in  the University Hospital at Walsgrave in Coventry . This proved to signal the “  beginning of the end “ for the world wide pandemic which caused approximately 7 million fatalities of which some 250,000 had died in the United Kingdom.

Because of the increased level of infections , the Annual General Meeting in January 2021 was cancelled but by the Summer of 2021 , club life had essentially reverted to some kind of normality when the Government lifted restrictions on hospitality and the legal enforcement of Covid guidelines although members can still remember post-match hospitality in the car park and drinks delivered by waiter service.

After the end of the pandemic , it was apparently “ business as usual “ from the 19th July 2021 and later in the year , Mrs M. Black and C. Sheldon were granted Life Membership recognising their contribution to the club over many years joining R. A. Preston ,  D. Birley , J. Jobson and R. Sangster before them.

Nevertheless , even the 2022 Annual General Meeting had to be delayed by several months because of a further  “ spike “ in infections but with even more frequent vaccinations  , life could then finally revert to normal . Sadly , however . a shadow still remains with the condition of “ long Covid “ which exhibits prolonged symptoms continuing for many months and sometimes years.

It should not go unrecorded that in early 2020 W. Stein took on the position of Club Secretary and the Covid pandemic was certainly his “ baptism of fire “ within  a month of taking office . Despite that , he was equal to the task and President P. Tomlinson in his annual address congratulated him in the Annual General Meeting of 2022 with the words “ he had made a huge contribution in guiding the club through possibly  the most difficult and challenging period in its history “ .

When the situation permitted , there was a period of new member recruitment and in January 2023 it was reported that total membership levels had swelled to 148 – 90 men and 58 women . Amongst the new intake of members was the teenager L. Gardner and in the Summer of 2024 , he represented Warwickshire in the White Rose Trophy  ( the double rink for under 25s ) who were the National  Champions that year.

In a wider context , the Club has supported other bowling activities including , the Warwickshire Vice Presidents’ Bowls Association , the Coventry and District Bowls Association , the Coventry Mid-Week League , the Coventry “Six”  League and the Coventry and District Ladies League while ever since the club was established in Morningside , there has been  an active snooker section . Socially , too , Three Spires has hosted various singing groups and at the end of the 20th century , there was a thriving Rambling and Fell Walking Group .