Meigle Bowling Club Pavilion, Dundee Road, Meigle

Little-altered, single-storey, 6-bay, timber bowling pavilion with gabled entrance.

This is a rare example of a decorative timber bowling pavilion with little external or internal alteration. Dating from 1897, it is situated overlooking the bowling green, on its north eastern edge. The decorative round-arched windows and the red ridge tiles add to the character of the building. Internally, the building is notable for its near intact timber lining and retained benches and storage racks.

Lawn bowls today is a hugely popular sport in Scotland. It has a long and distinguished history with the earliest reference to the game in Scotland appearing in 1469, when James IV played a variation of the game referred to as 'lang bowlis' at St Andrews in Fife. The first public bowling green in Scotland was laid out in 1669 at Haddington, near Edinburgh, however it was not until 1864 that the rules of the modern game were committed to writing by William Mitchell of Glasgow in his Manual of Bowl-Playing. Machine manufactured standard bowls were invented by Thomas Taylor Ltd, also of Glasgow, in 1871 and the Scottish Bowling Association was formed in 1892. Today there are around 900 clubs in Scotland with an estimated 90,000 active lawn bowls players.

List description updated as part of the sporting buildings thematic study (2012-13). (Historic Environment Scotland List Entry)

24 July 2018: Nominated by a member of the public as disused since closure of the bowling club in 2014. The property has a broken window and the surrounding green is now overgrown. For Investigation.

September 2021: Desk-based assessment from Sept 2021 shows the building in reasonable condition, but unclear level of use. Surrounding area appears to be under active management. Desk-based assessment could find no further updates. Remain under monitoring to check whether any outstanding issues to be resolved.

12 April 2023: External inspection finds the building overall in fair condition. The ridge and slates are intact to the roof. There is timber decay to the south east gable, suggesting the concealed gutter has been, or is, defective. A glazing unit may have been damaged but is protective with sheeting. Doors are intact but slightly misaligned. One section of batten to the base of the front elevation, protecting the base from water ingress, has been lost. The protective painted finish to the timber elements is generally intact but beginning to peel in places. The surrounding grounds are well maintained but may not remain in use as a bowling green.