Kelvingrove Bowling Green, with the south front of the University of Glasgow's Gilbert Scott Building in the background, c 1910.
Bowling has a long and distinguished history in Glasgow. The earliest known reference to the game in the city is from 1595, when it was banned during the Sabbath. One of Glasgow's first public bowling greens was laid out in 1695 in the Candleriggs. A Society of Bowlers was formed in 1804 and by the end of that century there was a proliferation of bowling clubs across Glasgow, including Partick Bowling Club (1845) and Hillhead Bowling Club (1849). By 1936 there were seventy-eight clubs affiliated to the Glasgow Bowling Association and by 1994 the city had 107 clubs.
On the left hand side of this picture is Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, opened in 1901.
Reference: Glasgow University Archive Services, PHU1/29
University of Glasgow
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