CENTENARY of playing bowls is being celebrated by the Horsforth Woodside Bowling Club which nestles in the shadow of the Woodside Tavern. The club plays host to a group of talented rising young stars of the game as well as the more conventional idea of a bowler - middle aged to elderly.

The Centenary Year was started on April 2 when the three Horsforth Liberal Councillors on Leeds City Council - Brian Cleasby, Roger Harris and Chris Townsley - bowled the first bowls across the green.

A busy club Woodside runs a number of teams for both men and women while three of its young stars Ian Bolton, James Crosland and Chris Wood represented West Yorkshire County Juniors last season in the team which carried off the British Parks Junior County Championship.

Since the formation of the club Woodside teams have won 65 league titles and cups while the members have won 41 merit competitions.

Woodside Bowling Club was founded in 1898 when it was attached to the old Woodside Tavern which occupied a site at the side of the bowling green in Low Lane.

A date stone in the wall close to the site of the original buildings reads AM1631. The initials refer to Abraham Marshall who built the house which was later to become the Woodside Tavern.

When the bowling club was formed the Woodside Tavern belonged to the Leeds and Wakefield Breweries Ltd.

Club member Don Mitchell, who has researched the club's history, said: 'It is believed that Woodside started their bowling in the Saturday Leeds and District Amateur Bowling Association League.'

In 1906 the club recorded its first known success by becoming the first winners of the Movley Trophy - a feat which they repeated the following year. In all the club won this trophy a total of five times and they were runners-up four times.

In 1913 Woodside recorded their first league title winning the Preston Shield and in the next 20 years they went on to win the league title nine times and were runners-up three times.

It was during this period that Mr R Jackson became the first winner of the Hutchinson Cup - a Wednesday singles merit - in 1920. This cup was later won by the Woodside club in 1930 and 1938 when it had become a team event.

Woodside also provided two winners of the Leeds ABA singles merit in Mr A L Thompson in 1924 and Mr Arthur Ward in 1933.

In 1927 Woodside won the Henry Taylor Cup but had to be content with the runners-up spot in 1936.

Woodside joined the Saturday Aireborough League in 1956 and won the championship nine times and were runners-up four times. They were also runners-up in the Second Division in 1969 and champions in 1970.

Top four play-off

They won the top four play-off for the Phylis Rose Bowl six times and the five pairs Maria Ogden Cup twice. They have completed a hat-trick of Aireborough titles on two occasions.

In the individual competitions Woodside have been successful in winning the Longfellow Cup singles merit four times, the Bass Charrington pairs merit six times, the Joe Airton singles merit four times and the Don Heap merit once.

Woodside A resigned from the Aireborough League in 1983 and Woodside B resigned in 1989. The A team joined the Leeds Parks Saturday League and became Division One champions in 1990 - the same year Woodside B joined the league.

In 1984 Neil Mylan became the Leeds Parks Youth merit winner and Mrs Marjorie Mitchell the Leeds Parks Ladies' Merit winner - a success repeated by Mrs Margaret Stoddart in 1987.

In 1986 Justin Holgate became the first Woodside junior to be selected to play for the West Yorkshire County Junior team.

He was to be followed by Simon Chaffer, Graham Chaffer, Chris Wood, Andy Wood and Ian Bolton and james Crosland.

Simon Chaffer won the West Yorkshire Junior Merit in 1986 and 1987.

In 1988 Mrs Margaret Froggatt qualified for the British Parks Ladies' Merit finals and Graham Chaffer for the British Parks Junior Merit finals.

Simon Chaffer also qualified for the British Parks Junior finals in 1990 and 1991.

From 1992 until 1994 Woodside entered a team in the Saturday Saltaire Junior League and four of these players are now playing in the senior teams.

Woodside resigned from the Leeds Parks in 1993 and joined the Bradford Parks in 1994.

Woodside A were Division Three champions in 1996 and were promoted to Division Two but their success was short-lived as they were relegated back to Division Three at the end of 1997.

In the mid-week evening leagues Woodside joined the Monday Wharfedale League in 1950 and were runners-up five times before finally becoming champions in 1992.

Woodside were also Division Two champions in 1989 and 1997.

In the Handicap League Woodside were twice winners but in the Top Four Play-off could only finish as runners-up once.

The Wheatley Trophy came to Woodside in 1953, 1977 and 1984 and the Ronnie Collins Trophy in 1989 and 1993.

In the Wharfedale Singles Merits Woodside players have won the title on four occasions through Edwin Peters in 1955, Fred Thompsopn in 1956 amd 1968 and Brian Dowling in 1980.

The Ladies' Singles Merits was won by Mrs Dorothy Barnes in 1994 while in the Pairs Merits H Schofield and Fred Thompson won in 1961, Charlie Hampshaw and Albert Hone in 1968 and Graham Cherry and Brian Dowling in 1976.

Woodside joined the Tuesday Pudsey North Cup League in 1952 and made their mark by winning the title five times and the league's Gibb Cup once.

In 1983 Woodside joined the Tuesday Leeds Evening League and won the Fourth Division at their first attempt to gain promotion to Division Three.

Woodside went on to win the handicap play-off between the top four divisions to win the Leeds Evening League Championship.

In 1984 Woodside won the Third Division and the Evening League Championship for the second time.

Woodside joined the Wharfedale Wednesday Evening Pairs League in 1983. In 1987 three lady members - Mrs Margaret Froggatt, Mrs Carol Hill and Mrs Marjorie Mitchell - were selected for the West Yorkshire Ladies' county team.

Alan Cooper stepped out to win the Pudsey and District Singles Merit in 1984 and then

Woodside resigned from the Pudsey League in 1987.

The Woodside Ladies joined the Thursday Evening Leeds and District Ladies' League in 1989. The league's ladies' merit was won by Woodside's Mrs Margaret Stoddart in 1989.

Due to the difficulty experienced in raising a team the ladies resigned from the league in 1991 but in 1996 with numbers back up the ladies re-joined the league and won the Second Division.

In 1996 Mrs Susan Richards won the ladies' merit beating club colleague Mrs Carol Matthews. That same year Woodside's Mrs Susan Richards and Mrs Susan Williamson won the ladies' pairs merit.

The Woodside veterans joined the afternoon Leeds Parks Veterans Amateur Bowling Association League in 1984 and won the Second Division cup in 1985.

They pulled off a double in 1995 by winning the Second Division league and cup.

In 1993 Les Coleman and Jos McCarroll won the Leeds Veterans Pairs Merit while husband and wife team Don and Marjorie Mitchell won the Leeds Veterans Mixed Pairs in 1995 and followed this up by winning the Leeds Pairs Merit in 1996.

Graham Cherry qualified for the British Parks Veterans final in 1996 and in 1997 was selected for the Yorkshire Veterans team in the inter-county knock-out.

The year 1996 brought another host of successes to the club with husband and wife team Mike and Margaret Froggatt winning the Leeds Parks A D Roberts Mixed Pairs Merit.

A thriving club Woodside is now looking forward to its next 100 years.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.