Nestled in a pocket of Crosshill in the Southside of Glasgow is Hampden Bowling Club. Established in 1905 we have a reputation for becoming one of the most forward-thinking sports clubs in the country. Although this club has a relatively small membership, we have been rejuvenating through a variety of new initiatives to reawaken our existence to the community and attract more people into our club. We have a wonderful reputation for being a warm and friendly venue for members and visitors, with a history which is unique and you can see from our “Interesting Facts” section below.
We have had a number of successful club initiatives and we continue to do things differently. Our Hampden 2020 project has a simple mission statement: Break the stigma associated with our club and sport, whilst creating a modern and flexible community sports hub for all to enjoy.
The biggest change for our club has been fully utilising modern tools to get our message to the masses. We created our own email account, website, facebook page and twitter account. Very few clubs have all of this but it is invaluable for people to get in contact and stay informed of what is going on.
Interesting Fact 1
Hampden Bowling Club was originally the Polmadie Bowling Club. In 1904 they had to move as their land was reclaimed by Glasgow City Council for housing.
Interesting Fact 2
They leased a recently abandoned site nestled in a pocket of Crosshill. They purchased a pavilion from another site being demolished in the adjacent park. This pavilion had also previously been on this site.
Interesting Fact 3
Hampden Bowling Club told all visitors that this once abandoned site was the 1st Hampden Park. Historians didn’t believe them and scoffed at the claim. In 2017, Hampden Bowling Club Secretary located a map finally proving the legend. Queens Park and Scotland played on its site from 1873 to 1884. This was the world’s first purposefully international football ground. Where the modern game of football was invented by Queens Park FC and the site set the template for all modern football stadia.
