Looking at this 1859 map of the Auchinraith House estate grounds, theres a small Bowling green located on the Hamilton side of the Parkburn River.
Two sets of steps led down from steep slopes and paths, to a flattened area below. An icehouse nearby suggests, it may have been a place for curling in winter, bowling in summer.
A remarkable photo was taken here in the 1890’s showing a game of curling taking place, something that clearly continued well into the 20th Century, for the 1910 map attached shows the green then as a curling green, with sluice mechanisms built to allow the small field to be flooded from the parkburn, i.e controlling the amount of water to enter the area. The sportsmen would have hoped for frost and icy weather, to allow their games to continue.
Curious to see what this looks like now, I visited the area in 2014 and immediately recognised the landscape from the maps. The flattened area where sports took place is still evident, although now grown over. The remains of the weir can still be seen.
