Bowling Green Construction

Construction of a modern bowling green will typically see 100mm to 150mm depth of a sandy soil to one of mostly sand.

More traditional greens would have been built, from the surface downwards, with a laid turf of sea marsh turf (for example Cumberland turf), which was cut to a depth of 32mm; this was laid onto a prepared turf bedding layer of 38mm depth, being a compost mixture of peat humus, soil and sand; this in turn overlaid a 75mm layer of sand, which further overlay an ash and other drainage layers. (Dawson, R.B. (1959) ‘Practical Lawn Craft’, 5th Edn, pp.244-245)

Even earlier forms of construction consisted of sea marsh turf laid directly onto a layer of fine ash (of 75mm depth), whilst others laid turf onto 25mm of sea sand which then overlaid the fine ash. Where seed was sown, in contrast to turfing, a 75mm layer of a very sandy loam, with well-rotted manure and pulverised chalk being included in the mixture, was used as the growing medium. (Beale, R. (1924) ‘Lawns for Sport’, pp. 77-78)