In the  1960s / 70s the landlords were   “ John Henry and his wife Mae “  two fantastic and very different people, Mae did all of the work and John just sat at the end of the bar with a fag & a pint, made no difference who came in or how busy they were, John never moved, if you wanted serving, you had to wait, he would just sit there with a face like a slapped bottom, and, if you made a comment, DUCK.

Others who will be remembered are Joan & Janet, but, although lovely people, they will say what is on their minds  and not to be tangled with, not afraid to tell you what they think, but, they were Brilliant.

The landlords at the time of writing are Gill & her sister Olwyn,  Gill and Olwyn, turned the pub around and created a good and welcoming pub for locals and visitors, especially visiting bowling teams.

UPDATE. September 2022

The pub has now changed hands and the new lessees are Elle & her son Danny, Danny has worked at the pub for years so there will be some continuity, Hopefully the Bridgers Community Group can resume the previous excellent relationship with the pub, we have a few MAJOR events and projects going ahead soon and having the pub on our side and as a base would be very advantageous for the Bridgers,  the village and,  the Gardeners Pub.

We hope that Elle & Danny have a LONG, HAPPY AND SUCCESSFUL Career in the Gardeners,  the first impressions / reports are that they are doing a FANTASTIC JOB, long may that continue !!

 

BUT,   WE DO KNOW ABOUT THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE BOWLING CLUB BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH THE BOWLING CLUB SINCE 2002

 

This year {  2022 } the bowling green will be 134 years old (1st shown on Ordinance Survey maps in 1888) and the pub has been operating as a public house for 109 years  (It opened in 1913)

 

In 2009,  details and conditions for a  { 25 }  year lease was put together and negotiations started  between the Gardeners ‘A’ Bowling Club and Admiral Taverns of Chester. {  Admiral Taverns are the  owners of  the Gardeners public house and the land surrounding the pub  }

The lease was written, put together and negotiated by the Chairman of the BRIDGERS COMMUNITY GROUP { Terry Daly }  on behalf of  the bowling club and the Bridgers Community Group. The areas covered by the lease are the bowling green, designated parking areas and some surrounding land. These areas are now under the control of the Gardeners Bowling Club/Bridgers Community Group.

 

Two of the stumbling blocks was the cost of the lease and the annual rent, but, Admiral Taverns have set a fair rent for the land covered by the lease and  have been very fair and open minded regarding the lease and the conditions of the lease. They have also actively encouraged us and supported us since the lease was signed.

 

Because of the conditions of the twenty five year lease that we negotiated in 2009, the bowling club, the Bridgers and Atherton Environment Projects have undertaken to renovate and refurbish all the land covered by the lease….

 

Since we took out the lease we have, and still are, continually improving the site and facilities. Part of this is the maintenance of the bowling green. This is an all year round task and because of the excellent work that is being done by our two green keepers, { Brian James &  Graham Coop } with assistance and advice from John Urmston & Keith Wright and further help from other club members, especially Brian Ince,  the green is in excellent condition  and I am sure that once again the Gardeners Bowling Green will be the envy of every other bowling club.

 

All the renovation work has been done by members of the Gardeners Bowling Club, Bridgers Community Group,  Atherton Environmental Projects and Residents of Howe Bridge, everyone who has worked on this project are UNPAID VOLUNTEERS

 

We have had new floodlights fitted (Lancashire Roadways, an Atherton Company, fitted the lights) Bridgers acquired the funding.

 

We have increased and improved the parking areas, clearing a large area of overgrown Brambles, bushes etc mostly by hand held equipment.

 

Two Portacabins were purchased from Elliott Hire, Astley with funding from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust, funding again acquired by the Bridgers,  these are used as an office and secure storage. They have been refurbished and fitted out to the requirements that suit our needs.

Members of the BRIDGERS COMMUNITY GROUP raised the funds to buy a Timber Sports Pavilion which has been put onto the site of the previous Old Brick Barn, this pavilion is for the use of ALL of the bowling teams that use the Gardeners Bowling Green as their base.

 

We have created a concrete footpath with viewing areas all around the green which is suitable for wheelchairs users.

 

The garden areas have been renovated and part of the land has been turfed to create a lawned area  Further improvements are ongoing.

 

We have purchased new tables and chairs so that spectators can watch bowling matches in relative comfort,  Refreshments will also be available in the pub during opening hours, but should the pub close permanently, it would be possible to adapt one of the cabins to be used for Tea, Coffee & Snacks etc.

 

During the renovation project we have been supported by many local companies/businesses, including:- FISHERS,  ATHERTON; BOYDELLS TIMBER, LEIGH; TBS, TYLDESLEY;  B&Q LEIGH; REBUILD BURY; AMBROSE TURF SUPPLIES, ASTLEY; AMIX CONCRETE, HORWICH,  and local builders  SUM1 MULTI-TRADES-BUILDERS.

 

Many thanks also to BARRY FAIRHURST for ALL the excellent work he has done to repair and improve the Electrical system we have.

 

Funding has been supplied by COALFIELD REGENERATION TRUST, COMMUNITY FIRST and ELECTED MEMBERS. All funding was raised by the Bridgers Community Group.

 

For quite a few years prior to 2019,   The Bridgers with help from members of the Bowling club maintained all of the outdoor areas of the pub, the Bridgers also replaced or replanted ALL of the Hanging Baskets {  8---10  }  Planters and Plant Boxes { 5---8  }  including in the Pub Beer Garden WITH NO CHARGE TO THE PUB,  and because of this the leaseholders of the pub allowed  the Bridgers to hold Plant Sales etc to raise funds,

Members of the Bridgers also ran the Dementia Buddy Dementia Care scheme so the group also used the Bowling Green for Charity Fundraising Events,

Another group who used the Bowling Green was a charity to raise funds for Heart Care, and Wigan & Leigh Hospice, this was run by local residents Tony Gill and his daughter Nicola Gill-Roberts.

All of the charity events on the  Bowling Green and the plant sales were exceptionally successful.