History of Hillside BC

It is an honour and a privilege for me to be Club President in our 150^th year.

I would like to pass on my congratulations to all who have been, and continue to be, a part of The Hillside Bowling Club as we celebrate the club’s sesquecentennial anniversary. This is a magnificent landmark for the club which, for the non-mathematicians among you, has been operational across three centuries.

Over the 150-year history to date, there has been a vast number of achievements. Hillside Bowling Club is held in extremely high regard in Edinburgh, having produced winners of a variety of local and County trophies. The club has also been represented by members at both County and International level over the years. This success is all down to the members, of whom we are all extremely proud.

We are now especially proud to have a booklet commemorating the club’s 150-year history. We are privileged to have had the services of John Newall, who undertook the daunting task of examining the history of our Club, Jimmy Gillon, Jimmy Headspeath and Brian Irving, who have edited and designed the booklet to an exceptionally high standard. A very special “Thank You” to all.

I would like to wish all members a happy and successful bowling season in our 150^th year.

Yours in sport

– Phil Watson – 2020 President Hillside Bowling Club

The early Years

Hillside B.C. was constituted in 1870. The extract below is taken from the original document by which the club was constituted, and which is still in existence. Approximately 90 members who agreed to become shareholders signed the document between April 1869 and May 1870.
“We the subscribers hereto agree to become Shareholders of the Hillside Bowling Club and to take one share of Five Pounds sterling each, subject to the Laws, Rules, or Regulations as may hereafter be made and approved of at any subsequent Meeting or Meetings of the shareholders, and further agree and authorise Mr Richard White as Interim President to acquire on lease or otherwise for us the subscribers part of the field at or near Hillside Crescent for the purpose of making said Bowling Green, and that he and a Committee of Management to be appointed, get plans and specifications thereof, take in estimates, and do whatever may be necessary and expedient to proceed with and superintend the making of said Green with all convenient speed.”
Before looking back 150 years and trying to trace the early history of the Club, it is interesting to note that the word “Hillside” was quite obviously added to the original document that had been drawn up. This leads one to suppose that other names had been considered at the time, probably Calton or Greenside. Both these names might quite well have occurred to the members before they selected “Hillside”, because the Calton Hill practically overshadows the site of the old green, as it does the present green, and Greenside House was just “over the wall” as can be seen from the plan included

It will never be known what was in the minds of the original members at the time they chose the name of the club, but no doubt they would know the history of the Calton or “Caldoun Hill”, which was described by some historians as covered by bushes, but at one time was surrounded by the Forest of Drumsheugh. However, in the oldest prints it is always represented as bare, and in some old prints it is called the Dow Craig, possibly from the Gaelic Dhu or Black Craig.
The extreme eastern end of Calton Hill where the quarry holes were, and roughly where Regent Road School and the end of London Road gardens are now, was a lonely spot, and was famous as a duelling ground. One can picture the combatants coming up from Holyrood or the High Street to do battle at this secluded spot. At the present day or should we say “of an evening” you can still see certain gentlemen making their way to a nearby site to “do battle”, but the “duels” at Hillside Bowling Green are of a bloodless nature and never fatal.

In the low valley which skirts the north-eastern base of the hill below the rock called “Craigingalt” King James in 1456 gave to the city for ever the ground “for performing thereon, tournaments, sports, and other warlike deeds”. Well we have tournaments today not so very far away from this historical spot, but we pride ourselves that Bowls is perhaps the least warlike of all sports.
The Calton Hill and surroundings have changed over time and the place where criminals, witches and sorcerers were hanged or burned in less enlightened times, passed to other uses.
The natural extension to the “New Town” of Edinburgh, over 200 years ago, with its solid buildings and wide streets resulted in Regent Road being formed on one side of the Hill and London Road on the other side. Though the “proposed road to Haddington” (London Road) was planned about 1805 it can be seen from the plan on page 9 that even when Hillside Bowling Green was laid out in 1870 there were no buildings between 11 Hillside Crescent (now the R.A.F. Club) and 4 Brunton Place, and consequently this was the obvious choice for the site of the proposed Bowling Green.