Newcastle City Library- A Celebration of Summerhill Bowling Club

Our Sporting Life - A Celebration of Summerhill Bowling Club
7 July - 1 September

A unique exhibition celebrating Summerhill Bowling Club is set to open at Newcastle City Library on 7 July as part of the nationwide Our Sporting Life exhibition programme.
Hidden in the heart of Newcastle and active from 1916 to 2011, Summerhill Bowling Club had many successful years and was renowned for its welcoming atmosphere along with the quality of its greens.
Through bowls, badges, photographs and other memorabilia this exhibition will tell the story of the Club: showcasing its traditions, members and fascinating history that spans almost a century. Highlights from the exhibition include original membership badges, historic photographs dating back to 1905 and a fixtures book from 1933, which shows dates and details of tournaments that took place that year.
Alex Boyd, curatorial assistant at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums says:

"This is a fascinating exhibition that highlights the fantastic sporting history of Summerhill Bowling Club and bowls in Tyne & Wear as a whole. It is important that local sporting heroes, traditions and stories are recognised, made accessible to the local community and preserved for future generations."

Our Sporting Life - A Celebration of Summerhill Bowling Club forms part of Played in Tyne & Wear: a programme of events that celebrate the region's rich sporting heritage. A special events programme has been developed to accompany the recently published Played in Tyne & Wear book, written by architectural historian Lynn Pearson, which documents the cultural heritage of Tyne & Wear's sports.

Our Sporting Life - A Celebration of Summerhill Bowling Club has also been developed in conjunction with the nationwide Our Sporting Life project; a series of exhibitions taking place across the country to provide a unique insight into how sport has shaped the country, its communities and people. People can also get involved and submit their stories and objects online via the Our Sporting Life website: www.oursportinglife.co.uk 



Our Sporting Life is funded by Museums, Libraries, Archives Council (MLA) through its Innovation and Renaissance programmes, and created by the Sports Heritage Network, which comprises all the UK's major sports museums and archives.