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2008 Sussex Albion League
Chichester Bowmen lost it's first match narrowly at Holbrook and then narrowly beat Plumpton away before comfortably beating Eastbourne. This means we remain in the top division but confirmation is awaited of where in the top three we have finished as ourselves, Holbrook and Plumpton finished equal at the top. The tie-breaker for the league title will be decided by the points difference in the matches between the top three.
History of Chichester Bowmen
The club started in response to a letter to the Chichester Observer in 1954 asking for anyone interested in forming an archery club in Chichester to contact. Mr. Pope. A lease was agreed with Chichester City Council for the original range at the North end of Priory Park, where the Rugby Club is now.
The first shoot was held on 19th May 1955. The clubhouse was quite primitive, a ‘pile of sticks’ according to Pat Fielder. Archers shot from across the park, the shooting line being next to Broyle Road, the target end next to College Lane end. Unfortunately Oaklands House, a nursery school at that time, was rather close to the target end and had to be protected by an earth embankment.
In the late 1960’s and 1970’s was under the leadership of chairman Peter Fielder and treasurer Ken Cobden. Club archers were very successful, Pat Fielder became Sussex Ladies Champion in 1967 and was the first lady in Sussex to score over 1000 for a Hereford round, 1005 at a tournament at Thorney Island. Club membership reached just over a hundred by the early 1970s.
By 1969 the Rugby Club wanted to move to the site at the North end of Oaklands Park so it was agreed that Chichester Bowmen would relocate to the present site next to the football club, part of the deal was that the Bowmen would get the rugby clubhouse for their use. The building was moved from its home at the North end of the park to its present site by a large crane and two tractors.
In the same year “The Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of Chichester” granted Chichester Bowmen a 28-year lease on the site. The rent was £25 a year and the stamp duty on the lease 5 shillings (25p). Ownership of the freehold passed to Chichester District Council in the local government reorganisation of 1972.
During the late 1990s the Chichester Bowmen got into the habit of letting a few enthusiastic members form a committee and do all the work of running the club. This continued until 2004 by which time a number of chairmen found the burden unsustainable and had resigned.
In 2004 the committee proposed a revised organisation, which was accepted in a postal vote by members. This comprised a bigger management committee in which a large number of people each did a small job.
At the same time that the need for new management organisation became apparent, the committee also recognised that a lot of work was needed to ensure the club’s future. The lease was overdue for renewal and the clubhouse needed major refurbishment or replacement. We needed a group of people to manage the signing of a new lease and sort out the clubhouse. This group is called the Development Team and was set up in 2005.
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