Burry Port Bowls Club
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Burry Port Bowls club, I thought I would photograph and research the iconic green corrugated iron pavilion.
The use and aestheticism of corrugated iron (wriggly tin) has intrigued me for many years, its longevity and application as a building material throughout the world never ceases to amaze me.
Corrugated iron, or ‘indented or corrugated metallic sheets’, was invented by Henry Robinson Palmer of the London Dock Company in 1829. The first structure to be clad with corrugated iron was the Turpentine Shed in 1830 in the New Docks adjacent to the Tower of London. During the 1840’s other large-span structures were clad, including Shoreditch railway station and Nine Elms gasworks in Battersea. To reduce corrosion of the wriggly tin, hot-dip galvanising was applied, which gives the sheets the ‘glitzy’ sheen. Prince Albert, Queen Victoria’s consort, commissioned a corrugated iron ballroom for the Balmoral Estate, which is probably the oldest surviving example of wriggly tin.
It is suggested that corrugated iron could possibly last 40 to 60 years; however, the amazing green corrugated iron pavilion of Burry Port Bowls Club is probably 75-years-old. Ironically, the much newer clubhouse has now been deemed unsafe, and is to be demolished, so the club has relocated to the original wriggly tin building.
After the 2nd WW the government provided grants to Urban Councils, including Burry Port, for sports facilities to encourage people to stay healthy. The area that is currently occupied by the bowls club was a marshy expanse, which was drained after the war; facilities were installed that included: rugby field, children’s playground, bowls club, and tennis courts. A putting-green was also included, but this was removed due to lack of use.
The pavilion is inevitably showing its age, with signs of corrosion and peeling paint which reveals the original galvanising. However, the pavilion has served the club well, and hopefully will continue to provide the amenities required for many years to com
