About Baxter Park Bowling Club
A Dundee tradition since 1884.
Baxter Park Bowling Club has been part of Dundee's east end for over 140 years — a member-run lawn bowls club on a beautifully kept flat green in one of Scotland's most historic Victorian parks.
A friendly club with deep roots
Founded in 1884, we're a member-run lawn bowls club playing on a beautifully kept flat green tucked into one of Scotland's most historic Victorian parks. We're a club where every visitor is greeted as a guest and every newcomer as a future friend. Whether you've bowled all your life or you've never picked up a wood, you'll find a welcome here.
- A friendly welcome
- A well-kept green
- Match play & friendlies
- A welcoming clubhouse
- Coaching for newcomers
- Affordable membership
- Social events all year
- Established 1884
Our history
Over 140 years of bowls in the east end
The club was founded in 1884, just twenty-one years after the surrounding park itself was gifted to Dundee. From those Victorian beginnings, Baxter Park Bowling Club has steadily grown into the friendly, well-established club it is today.
Like any club with this much history, we've seen our share of changes. The green has been rolled, re-laid and lovingly maintained by generations of members. The clubhouse has been extended and modernised and sections have been formed, merged and renamed. But the heart of the club has always been the same: people who love the game and enjoy each other's company.
Today we field teams in the City of Dundee Bowling Association and the Angus Bowling Association, host friendly fixtures against clubs across Tayside and beyond and run an active social calendar that runs well past the end of the bowling season. We're affiliated to Bowls Scotland (District 5) and remain a member-run, not-for-profit club governed by an elected committee.
DAIMH — kinsmen and kindred
At the top of our crest sits a single Scottish Gaelic word: DAIMH. It translates roughly as "kinsmen", "kindred", or "the bond between people who share something". For a club that's always been built on fellowship and friendship rather than fanfare, it's a fitting word to carry.
Below it, two lions stand either side of the club's initials — B.P. B.C. — flanking the year of our founding: 1884. The whole crest is a little piece of Victorian heraldry and it's been the club's emblem for as long as anyone can remember.
A Victorian park in the heart of Dundee
Our green sits within the 38 acres of Baxter Park — and the park itself has a story worth telling. It was gifted to the people of Dundee in 1863 by Sir David Baxter, a successful flax-mill owner, along with his sisters Mary Ann and Eleanor. The Baxter family wanted the people of the city's industrial east end to have a green space of their own.
To design it, they brought in Sir Joseph Paxton — the architect of London's Crystal Palace and the most celebrated landscape designer of the era. Baxter Park is the only park in Scotland wholly designed by Paxton. The grand Italianate sandstone pavilion that still stands at the centre of the park was designed by Paxton's son-in-law, George Henry Stokes and has since been beautifully restored.
We're proud to call this park home. There aren't many places to play bowls with views of a listed Victorian pavilion, surrounded by mature woodland.
The club today
What we're about
Member run
Baxter Park is governed by an elected committee of volunteers. Decisions are made democratically at our AGM and the club is run for the benefit of its members, not for profit.
Open to all
We have active Gents' and Ladies' sections and we welcome bowlers of any age, ability or experience. New members are warmly invited every season.
Beyond the bowls
A licensed bar, a comfortable lounge, function hire for private events (through a club member) and a calendar of social nights make the club a hub for more than just match days.
Our committee
Baxter Park is a member-run club, looked after by a committee of volunteers elected each year at our AGM. They're the first port of call for anything from fixtures and finances to lost bowls and lockup keys.
Bill Horne
President
Tom Smith
Vice President
Margaret Jenkins
Secretary
Dot Tidcombe
Treasurer
Ian Stewart
Gents Match Secretary
Come and see for yourself
Reading about a bowling club only goes so far. The best way to get a feel for Baxter Park is to visit — watch a game, have a chat, maybe even try a bowl yourself. We'd love to meet you.