John Blair W.S.   (1839 - 1903)

About 1890 John Blair and his wife moved with their large family into number 9 (now number 13) Ettrick Road, now the Royal Ettrick Hotel, and soon after he feued the neighbouring plot of land and developed it as the Merchiston Tennis and Bowling Club.

Photograph of our founder taken from a oil portrait which hangs in the offices of Dundas & Wilson C.S. Edinburgh.
Originally produced for inclusion in our Centenary booklet of 1992.

On the 6th May 1892 at the Windsor Hotel, Princes Street, Edinburgh a meeting was held, the purpose of which was to form a club for the pursuit of tennis and bowling in the Polwarth / Merchiston area of the city.
Thirty seven gentlemen were present. John Blair did not attend but two of his sons William and John were founder members.
The meeting was informed that "through the great kindness of John Blair W.S., the triangular piece of ground at the western end of Polwarth Terrace was in completion as a club ground. There was space for three ash tennis courts and a 'full sized' bowling green."
A motion was put to the meeting that "This meeting forms itself into a club to be called Merchiston Tennis & Bowling Club".
Office bearers were elected with John Blair sen. being elected as the first President of the club. Initially he rejected the post but he did accept after some persuasion.
He served as President until 1894, then he was elected to the bowling sub - committee from 1895 until his death in 1903.
John Blair bequeathed the land and buildings to the members of Merchiston Tennis & Bowling Club in trust on his death. 
The trustees were to be the current office - bearers  i.e. the president, vice - president, secretary and treasurer.
At the time of his death the secretary's and treasurer's jobs were co - joined.
The club was run by electing a committee of tennis and bowling members in equal number (5) with the overall presidency being taken on alternate years by tennis then bowling. Sub-committees ran the day-to-day affairs of each section.
In 1956 there was a proposal to form two separate clubs but after taking legal advice this was rejected and would have been against the spirit in which the club was founded. It was agreed however that both sections form independent committees and elect a section president.
A general committee would be formed from the principal office-bearers of each section, together with an elected secretary and treasurer, who would administer the general affairs of the club.
This was continued until 1983 when the Annual General Meeting endorsed a proposal to vote each year for the general president at the A.G.M.
By this time a Ladies bowling section had been formed and it was felt that all sections should have a candidate for the presidency.
From 1984 onwards the president has been elected from the presidents of the three sections.

The original constitution of the club is attached to the Trust Disposition document. In it the annual subscription is set at £1-11/6^d for gentlemen, ladies paid £1-1/- and bowlers paid £1-5/-. The entrance fee was set at 10/6^d per member.

The exterior facade of the original clubhouse is still in evidence today although many internal alterations have been made in recent years. Previous minute books indicate that town gas was piped into the pavilion in 1894.This was mainly used for the preparation of teas for members and visitors. Along with oil lamps this remained the source of power until electricity was installed in 1960. An earlier offer to install electricity at £69 in 1948 had been rejected as too costly!

The acquisition of the railings from the Caledonian Hotel and Princes Street railway station are more decorative than of metallurgical value, although they do not encompass the whole of the grounds. They were saved from confiscation during the war years as they are hollow and were of little value to the armament makers.

Merchiston as a bowling club played friendly matches against teams in the South Edinburgh area initially.
Teams like Whitehouse & Grange, Braid and Mayfield are all recorded opponents before the turn of the 20th century.
An early fixture was against Edinburgh Town Council. These were all friendly matches as were games against Maitland and Coltbridge Bowling Clubs. Sadly the last two fixtures have now ceased but many hours of enjoyment were had by all who played in these.
In 1926 Merchiston B.C. joined the Scottish Bowling Association and serious competitive games began.
In 1933 the club joined the Edinburgh & Leith Bowling Association and was a founder member of the South Edinburgh Bowling Association in 1962.
The club's finest achievement happened in 1956 when Davie Smart and Jimmy Kerr won the Scottish Pairs Championship at Queen's Park, in Glasgow. They also won the play-offs to represent Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958.
Jimmy Kerr also became a member of the Scottish outdoor bowling team between 1958-60.  

In 1967 a liquor license was applied for and internal alterations were made to accommodate the bar. The following year a fruit machine was introduced for members amusement. A serious fire damaged the roof of the clubhouse in October 1977. Much of the roof was charred but saved and extensive alterations had to be made to rectify the damage caused. The opportunity to create a completely new club house was lost as the club had failed to insure properly. The alterations were funded by loans which were repaid to the Sports Council and the Bank of Scotland. The time scale given for repayment was 5 years but this was achieved within the time. The generosity of the late Joe Mitchell helped developments at Merchiston. He bequeathed a large sum of money in 1988 which allowed the building of the present changing rooms to start. The monetary balance needed to complete the building was met by the members by imposing a small levy for three years. Many visiting lady bowlers marvel at the ladies changing area, while the men's locker room is greater in area than most we visit. The erection of "The Mitchell Pavilion" freed up more space in the main club house, which now has increased its seating capacity and allowed for the laying of a dance floor area. This provides more comfort for members and their guests.

In 1992 the Club reached its centenary year. A sub-committee of past presidents was formed to organise the centenary celebrations.  The Lady Provost of Edinburgh, The Rt. Hon. Eleanor McLaughlin opened the green by casting the first jack.  A small reception was held in the ladies locker room for many descendants of founder members and representatives from companies with whom Merchiston B.C. had been associated throughout the years. 

In 2008 funding loans allowed the club to upgrade the fabric of the fixtures and fittings of the main lounge area and allowed for the kitchen area to be redesigned and updated.
We are grateful to those who supported our application and list the lenders as Edinburgh City Council, Lottery Awards for all Scheme and the waste recycling company WREN.