Corby's Forest Bowling Club founded in 1950 told get out 'in a month or you'll be trespassing'

They’ve not just built a bowls club in a small green oasis behind The Raven, they’ve built a whole community.

With members aged between seven and 85, these are Corby folk who look out for each other, who provide friendship and company for members who are on their own, and some who have eased into old age together.

On the walls of the little white Forest Bowling clubhouse are gold-edged inscriptions proudly bearing the names of Murrays and Rudges, Campbells and Dewars – the ordinary families who built this extraordinary town.

Fresh additions alongside the neat-edged buzz-cut lawn are six benches dedicated to the memories of the recently-deceased husbands of six widowed members of the club.

There’s good-humoured rumblings of minor disquiet between the members who want to keep the engraved honours boards – and those who want them budged-up for a new big telly on the long wall facing the bar.

For 72 years they’ve existed quietly, providing a frozen-in-time sanctuary for locals who want a break from the hustle-and-bustle of industrial Corby.

So it came as a huge shock to the 60 members of the club when their landlord sent them a terse letter two weeks ago giving them just over a month to ‘fully vacate’ their premises.

Annette Morris is 85. She’s been playing here since the 1980s. She was heartbroken when she heard the news.

She said: “Without this place I’d just be sitting, knitting. I’d have nothing else to do. It’s a part of all our routines.”

Treasurer Roger Barnett received the correspondence from the premises owner Star Pubs – a company run by beer giant Heineken – telling him their lease on the green and the clubhouse contractually expires next month, and stating: “The bowling club will have no rights to remain in occupation beyond September 20 and any continued occupation beyond this date will constitute a trespass.”

Roger said: “We’ve never asked for anything from anyone. We pay our £432 a quarter and we just get on with it.

"This has come from nowhere. The club helps people keep fit and we have lots of members who can’t bowl anymore but still come to see their friends.”

The club was founded in around 1950 by Dr Wilson, who lived in the doctor’s house in Rockingham Road, and his friend Jack Chick. It was built at a time when Corby’s new town development was providing a community for those moving here from Scotland. Women were allowed entry in 1969.

It’s considered one of the most competitive clubs in Northants, with a number of county champions, and is currently sitting top of the county men’s league.

Since the closure of Coronation Park and the Grampian Bowls Clubs, it’s one of only two left in the town – along with Seagrave House – that are affiliated to Bowls England.

The club is open for matches most nights and on a Wednesday year-round, members hold a social night where they share a meal, play dominoes and have a chat. It’s proved a lifeline for many members at risk of social isolation during two years of lockdowns and an antidote to a modern world that can forget how important community ties are to those who live alone.

Long-retired bowlers still come along to socialise. The club is self-sustaining and doesn’t ask for any public money.

In 2012 when the club’s long lease came up for renewal, the owners were reluctant to hand Forest Bowls another ten year lease, so they went on to a rolling contract which means the short notice period is entirely legal.

Their local rival Seagrave House (formerly S&L) is within spitting distance, and members say they wouldn’t be able to bring themselves to go and play for the club that’s been their old foe for so many decades.

Star player Kenny Muir has been at the club for 30 years. Last year, along with team-mates Alan Muir and Alistair Melville, he won the county triples championship.

He said: “We’re really successful here. Why would we want to do this somewhere else when we’ve already got this place here?”

Fellow player John Thompson said: “We’re really good as a team. We can put out one of the best teams in Northamptonshire with a good age range.”

Councillor Mark Pengelly (Lab, Lloyds) is hoping to help the club rush through an application to make it an official Community Asset – which could protect it from development.

He said: “This is the kind of place that makes Corby what it is. This is exactly the type of club you want to build in a town, not destroy.

"There’s history in these walls.”

The Raven said that they had not been contacted by their landlord and had no indication of what their plans may be for the space.

In a short statement to this newspaper, a Star Bars spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that the lease on the bowling green behind The Raven has come to an end.

"Unfortunately the lease cannot be renewed as we are considering including the land in a potential redevelopment of the outside space at The Raven. We understand that this is disappointing for the club and hope that they can make arrangements to play at another local green.”

Star Pubs are thought to lease around 2,500 pubs across the country and last year parent company Heineken promised to invest £38m in investment to transform the estate and create 500 jobs. Earlier this year it said it would invest another £42m to improve its suburban pub beer gardens.