The Story So Far ...

Pre-1850 - The Early Days The history of curling in the Bridge of Weir area prior to 1850 is a little sketchy. Robert Spiers, a member of the Club who died in 1863, is recorded as saying that his father and others in the district began to play the game immediately after the great match between the Duke of Hamilton and William McDowall of Castle Semple on Lochwinnoch Loch for a prize of 1000 guineas, which took place in early 1784. Apparently, curling became very popular in the district as a result of this match.

The First Grand Match, Penicuik, 15 January, 1847 Water colour. Artist: Jemimah Wedderburn It is recorded that the Club was instituted in 1846, and the Royal Caledonian Curling Club Annual of 1847 records the admittance of the Club. The Black Bull Inn was the venue on 3 November 1849 for the first minuted meeting of the Club, when Mr. Spiers Senior was elected president. 1850 - 1900 - The Great Outdoors Friendly matches against other clubs, District Medal draws, and club matches for President’s prizes or the Club medal were the normal pattern for the first fifty years, with Club rinks traveling to curl at Grand Matches at Carsbreck. The earliest friendly match minuted was against Dalry Union in 1848 but regular friendly matches were held against Houston, Kilbarchan, Kilmacolm, Paisley, Johnstone, Ardgowan Barony, and Lochwinnoch. Points competitions or ends of striking were recorded, and on one occasion a peeled game was resolved by 2 ends of outwicking. Houstonhead and Lochwinnoch were regular venues for X11th Province competitions and friendlies during the 19th century. By 1850, 2/6d (two shillings and sixpence - approximately 13p) was being levied annually to cover expenses, and there was a motion that same year that members not attending the Annual General Meeting should be fined 3d ( 3 old pence - approximately 1p) - a call for that to be 1 shilling (5p) for skips is noted!

Starting in 1860, the club used land belonging to Mr. Wallace at Fodstone. He claimed damage of £1 over and above an annual charge of 10 shillings the first year the club used his ground. Over the years, there are many references in the minute books to problems with the pond. The sluice gate required regular repair or replacement and at one time had to be padlocked due to damage done. There were complaints about skates spoiling the ice, and day and season tickets were printed and sold to prevent overuse. At the same time, shinty was prohibited! By the late 1860's, the club had developed a quite a curling reputation. An article in the Bridge of Weir Gazette of 18th December 1869 states, "... the Bridge of Weir Club has, not only now, but long ago, attained a high position among the curling clubs of the Country” . In one of the annual reports of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, it is stated that, “The Bridge of Weir Club are entitled to all the honours of the Royal Club, and they stand as a first class club among the curlers in the West of Scotland."

One of the earliest regular fixtures in the Club was that between the North (Houston) and South (Kilbarchan) parishes of the village. A match is recorded during the heavy frost of January 1871, when two rinks of "Soulanders" battled against two rinks of "Norlanders" at Houstonhead. A comfortable victory of 18 shots for the Kilbarchan parish men resulted in the Houston team paying for "beef and greens" for both sides at the Commercial Inn after the match. A further match in February 1873 between the two parishes saw the Norlanders win by two shots, upon which the losers immediately challenged their opponents to a rematch for "Love, Honour, Pies, and Porter" (surely a much better wager than mere cash!). However, the rematch resulted in an even more emphatic 10 shot victory for the Norlanders. A celebration on the evening of 6th April 1877 to mark the retirement of village draper William Lang from the post of Club Treasurer after 30 years service (fancy a stint like that, Alex?) records yet another Norlander victory in the poetic terms shown on the left.

At a general meeting in Freeland School in 1885, it was decided to leave the R.C.C.C. and join the new South- West of Scotland Curling Club. The reasons for this are unclear, but the rift was short-lived, and the Club rejoined the R.C.C.C. in 1893.

In 1887 the Curling Stone House was knocked down and "rendered completely useless" by local boys. However, a decade later it is recorded that a new house had been completed and contained a water closet that was "found to be a great comfort" (!).

Alexander MacLeod of Burngill presented a silver cup to the Club for the yearly encounter (pictured left). It was agreed that the winners would pay a shilling (5p), and the losers two shillings (10p), with the money going to the poor of the village. That cup is still played for every year between North and South.

The MacLeod Cup The charitable works for the Club did not end in 1892. In early 1895, a particularly harsh winter, several games were played where the wager was the price of a bag of coal or potatoes for the poor. Gifts of money, potatoes, and coal from Club members and other villagers swelled the fund. On a Monday morning, the match committee, under the convenership of William Brooks, shoemaker, supervised the distribution of money, coal, and potatoes to villagers. Subsequent matches resulted in donations of fish, greens, coal, and paraffin oil from Club members and local tradesmen to the poor. A. M. Brown, the Club patron, gifted what the minute book describes as "a large handsome Shield Trophy" (pictured left) in 1897 to mark the Club’s golden jubilee. The "largeness" is not in doubt, but the "handsomeness" must be at least debatable! The trophy is now awarded to the winners of the President’s Bonspiel.

Members were advised to bring a pin and padlock for their stones in 1899, as "Night Curlers" were using the equipment, including 15 crampits, 2 brushes and 2 shovels, without permission, although it seems the club also curled at night as lamps were purchased about this time. The President's Shield (Brown Trophy) 1900 - 1945 - Successes at Home & Abroad There are several years at the beginning of the twentieth century when the minute book records no curling because of "open" winters, and perhaps because of this, curling began to move indoors to the Scottish Ice Rink at Crossmyloof where 1907 saw J. A. Muirhead curl in the Opening Bonspiel. It is noted that "... thanks to the advance of science ..." the club also had a points competition there during the same season. A memento of this era still survives - a Club photo taken at Houstonhead Dam in 1907 (pictured below), and now displayed in the local tannery.

Back row (L to R) : John Clarke, John Keir, W. Alexander, John Ferrie, Alex Holmes, A.K.Crichton, Andrew Purdon, A. McLeod, John Allan, D. Bain, A. Buist, F. Gartley: 2nd back row (L to R) : M. Purdie, R.E. Muirhead, M. Barr, P. Alexander, Rev. A.M. Shand, Dr. W. Lang, John Inglis, James Crawford, John McLeod, J.A. Muirhead, John Woodrow: 2nd front row (L to R): John Barbour, William Mason, James Purdie, David Houston, Allan Armstrong, Hugh Glen, R.A. Cowan, J. Caldwell, George Inglis: Front row (L to R) : T.D. Spence, William Barr, A.J.McLeod, J. Houston, John Lyle, James Barr.

Interestingly, the Bridge of Weir Village Website has a Curling Club photo of similar vintage. Their Webmaster writes, "Believe it or not I was clearing out my garage when I came across this old photograph which must have belonged to the previous owner. It is labeled in the bottom corner 'Bridge of Weir Curling Club' and is dated 1846-1904." Close examination (it may take a few seconds to display), shows that it is in fact another print of the photograph above - (so why is it dated 3 years earlier than our version?) The medals in the photo(s) still survive to this day. More details are available in the Club Medal Collection.

The 30 years from 1908 saw the most successful competitive era in the Club. Shortly after the New Year celebrations of 1909 two teams from Bridge of Weir Curling Club and the short-lived Ranfurly Curling Club visited Crossmyloof in Glasgow, and defeated teams from the Canadian touring party. They were the only Scottish winners in the match. 1910 was the first of 9 occasions when the club won the Shand Harvey trophy in the XIIth Province competition, and this was repeated the following season and in 1913 when the club also won the Province Bonspiel. Successes in the Crossmyloof Rink Championship and the Stirling Maxwell competition are also recorded in this period. To quote the record of the time, "... no wonder some of our members are thinking we are great curlers". Walter McGlashan, A. J. McLeod, J. Woodrow, and A Muirhead were second in the “international” in Switzerland in 1913, winning 11 of their 12 games, an achievement which was bettered by Club members in 1923, 1924, and 1928. The Cook and Kandersteg Shields (both still played for today within the Club, and pictured below), derive from this time when Bridge of Weir curlers annually visited St. Moritz, Interlaken, or Kandersteg, and the winners were presented with a trophy provided by Thomas Cook, the travel agents. A delightful poem by Andrew Kidd celebrating success at Kandersteg during this period still survives. Some external recognition of Bridge of Weir’s record occurred when Walter McGlashan was made Senior Vice President of the R.C.C.C. in 1931, and toured with the R.C.C.C. as Captain to Sweden in 1932.

Kandersteg Shield

Curler, 1910, Kandersteg, Switzerland Cook Shield Photographer: Unknown Murray, W. H. "The Curling Companion". Toronto: Collins, 1981. P.156 In 1933, 28 curlers went by train to the XIIth Province Bonspiel at Lochwinnoch Loch and returned with the Shand Harvey trophy for the best aggregate, the President’s prize for the highest up rink, and the Royal Caledonian Medal for the best average - a clean sweep. A special entry records the details as "... A testimony to the present prowess of the club ... And as an incentive an inspiration to the members who follow after."

Also in 1933, an item which would seem surprising these days is noted in the minute book when 5 ladies "were allowed to become occasional members", one being Mrs. Daly who is also recorded as the first lady skip. (Prior to that, the thought of female club members hadn’t even been considered). Four years later it was agreed that a Ladies’ Section be formed, and a competition for four silver spoons was arranged. This section continued for several years with Mrs. Wilfred Bird as convener. While this could be a sign of progress, it would be another 60 years on from admission of the first "occasional members" before the first female Club President was elected. 1945 - Present - Indoor Curling Takes Over The Club still maintained the pond at Fodstone and in 1946 took over the Tarmac Club House in the Public park. However, the days of regular outdoor curling were numbered and from 1950 when the Tarmac facilities were given over to the local hockey club, regular curling moved to Crossmyloof Ice Rink. In 1954 at the end of his 20 years as Club Secretary, C. H. Bull gifted the Bull Cup (pictured far left), to the Club It is now the trophy for the premier competition in the Club, and is played for throughout the season on a league basis, with the top four teams in the league contesting the semi- finals and then a final.

Bull Cup Alex Stewart Trophy A few years later on in 1971, Mrs. Stewart presented the Alex Stewart Memorial Trophy (pictured above right), and this is played for annually in the November bonspiel. The Club is indebted to Anne Templeton for continuing the sponsorship of the this trophy. Curling continued regularly at Crossmyloof until 1980 when an EGM discontinued the association. In the late 1970’s the Club also curled at the Magnum Centre, Irvine for several seasons, and started to play at the recently opened Greenacres Ice Rink with which the Club is still happily associated. 1993 saw the start of Curling at the Lagoon Centre in Paisley for some Club competitions, a period which ended in 1999.

In 1986, the club arranged to curl in one of the weekend competitions at the Northwest Castle Hotel, Stranraer. This has proved to be a very successful innovation with the Club providing both finalist in 1996 after being runners-up for 2 years. Other Bridge of Weir teams have reached the final more recently, with Sheila Deans’ team winning outright in 2000.

The XIIth Province Ladies Broom was won in 1987, and Club rinks have reached finals and semi-finals on several occasions, and acquitted themselves well at the Province Weekend at Pitlochry. In 1988 the President, Stewart Campbell, and Vice President, Sandy Deans noted that the format of the Bull Cup, which consists of semi-finals and a final for the top four teams in the league phase of he competition, almost invariably produced a final winner other than the winner of the league. Stewart and Sandy generously presented the Rose Bowl (pictured left) to the Club to formally recognise the achievements of future Bull Cup league winners.

The Rosebowl The Club celebrated the 150th anniversary of its acceptance into the R.C.C.C. with a special bonspiel (the "Balyarrow Trophy") played at Perth ice rink on 2nd November 1996. Bridge of Weir Curling Club, and four other clubs also celebrating their 150th anniversary of R.C.C.C. membership - Haddington, St. Andrews, Strathendrick, and Falkland - took part. St. Andrews won overall, but the competition was so enjoyable that it was decided to repeat it 3 years later. A further repeat is scheduled for December this year. The 150th anniversary year also saw Club member Sandy Deans elected as President of the XIIth province.

But ultimately, the history of the Club isn't about the games won or lost, the elation of winning, or the despair of defeat. It's about the curlers themselves. Perhaps two quotes from the Minute Books describing the characteristics of well respected members of the time should remain our guide. "... they were ready (aye ready) to play any position and were genial souls on and off the ice", and "... may they always play the game, win or lose."

(Thanks to Kay Bowman for trawling through the minute books to find the historical details, and to David Bird for digitising the 1907 photograph of Club members).