Lawn bowls is played with bowls which are not quite sphereical thus given them a natural curvature. The object of the game is to get as many of your bowls or woods closer to the object ball called a Jack than the opponent or opposing team (of two, three or four players men or women). It is still largely played in the nations that were formally part of the British Empire though it is starting to spread to other countries, most notably Isreal, with Spain, the Netherlands and Scandanavia following behind.

The most famous game of bowls was undoubtedly played in Plymouth by Sir Francis Drake. During this game the Spanish were starting their attack on England. Drake is attributed with saying that the Spanish could wait till after the game, so he finished it off before going out to defeat the Spanish Armada in the English Channel.

Bowls which was in the 14th Century banned in England by King Edward III so that the bowmen of England could practise their archery. However the game is often perceived to be an old mans' game. Today however this is a misconception with more young people taking up the game. There are now under 25 series's played both indoors and out. Also the majority of the top players and champions are under 40 with many more young bowlers biting at their heels. A Welsh 9 year old has even qualified for the final stages of their Under 25 indoor singles in 1999.

At the start of the 20th Century the only real rules laid down for bowls were the rules used in Scotland. The great cricketer W.G. Grace on retiring from cricket took up bowls and was involved in organising the British Isles countries into a standardised form of play. He also started to arrange competitive games between the countries which is the format still used to this day.

The oldest bowling green in the world that is still played on is Southampton Old Bowling Green, Southhampton, England.
And some of the greens in the north of England and south of Scotland are built with in the confines or on top of the course of Hadrian's Wall.

By far the most sucessful bowler of all time was David Bryant, England and his record of World Titles is likely to last forever since bowls is now a lot more competitive and it is unlikely anyone will be able to remain at the top of the game for as long as him. In the 1990's however Scotland have repeatedly produced World Champions and dominated the British Isles team championship.

However the traditional and still most common scene, up and down the parks of Britain and the Commonwealth, is still that of old men, in cloth caps, spending their mornings and afternoons daddering up and down the lawns after their woods.

More information about the actual game can be found at the Beginners Guide to the Rules of Lawn Bowls .

Acknowledgement

Just to mention
Ginger the Feisty who reminded me about Southampton Old Bowling Green