Southampton Old Bowling Green, situated on the corner of Lower Canal Walk and Platform Road, Southampton, England, is the world’s oldest surviving bowling green. It was first used in 1299; Chesterfield Bowling Club in Derbyshire is believed to date back to 1294.

Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a “jack” or “kitty”. It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for “flat-green bowls”) or convex, or uneven (for “crown green bowls”). It is normally played outdoors (although there are many indoor venues) and the outdoor surface is natural grass, artificial turf, or cotula (in New Zealand).

The Hospital of “God’s House” was founded in 1185 for pilgrims who were going either to the shrine of St Swithun at Winchester or to Canterbury; until 2011, the gateway housed the museum of archaeology.

The green adjoining the God’s House Hospital had been established during the reign of Richard I the Lionheart for the recreational use of the Warden and was first used for a game of bowls in 1299.

The club that plays there now is believed to have been established in the 17th century because of the history of a competition known as the “Knighthood”. It is also the only club that has a “Master” in charge, a title carried forward from the earliest of days. Bowling Green House, now occupied by Wainwright Bros. (shipping agency) and the Consulate Of The Federal Republic Of Germany, is a Grade II listed building. Built in the mid-19th century, it is a three-storey brick building with a green slate roof with a central cupola on eight Tuscan columns, surmounted by a steep weather vane.

According to the Wikipedia