Matthew Rogerson and Potshare Bowling
- Peter Welsh
- 5 days ago
- 14 min read
As a follow up to his excellent Draughts piece, Peter explores another forgotten working class sport. One where pitmen hurled whinstone bowls across a mighty distance on the moors of Newcastle, Gateshead, Washington and beyond. Specifically, we focus on one of the more prominent throwers on the scene - Matthew Rogerson.
Matthew Rogerson (occasionally Rodgerson) was born in South Hylton in 1847/8 to John, a miner, and Isabella. By 1871 his widowed mother had moved into Fatfield Square and it was as a ‘Fatfield’ man that Matthew was first referred to in local newspaper coverage of ‘potshare bowling’. He had moved to Portobello, not far from the Board Inn, by 1881 and by 1901 had moved to Wood Row in Denton Burn. He’d married Ann Maria Todd in 1879 (Gateshead District), a widow with two children, and had three children by her. Ann Maria died in 1886 and Matthew married again, this time Margaret Jane O’Hara, in Newcastle, in 1890. They had four children at Denton Burn and were living in Castle Ward, in 1913, when Matthew died.
These family details have been included because Matthew is the man most-often mentioned from Fatfield (later Portobello or Birtley). As we shall see he played the game regularly, travelling to Newcastle Moor, Black Fell or Gateshead, all the while working as a coal miner and raising two families.
Here’s a chronological list of events, with sources, in which he participated. The list provides some insight into the nature of the sport and its participants.
Events
21/3/1863 Illustrated Sporting News – Town Moor Newcastle, a match between Thomas Saint, Champion, of West Moor and Robert Smith of Wreckington (sic) with 25 oz bowls 1¾ miles round the race course. In the list of those men Saint had beaten - ‘M Rogerson’. This was the first of a significant number of mentions of Matthew Rogerson as a bowler.
2/11/1870 Sporting Life – At Gateshead Borough Gardens – a bowling handicap, poor weather and attendance. Promoted by Thompson and Guthrie, £7 prize then £2 then £1. Two throws each. M Rogerson, Fatfield, won Heat 3. Seven heats; to be concluded later.
7/11/1870 Newcastle Chronicle – at Gateshead Borough Gardens, M Rogerson of Fatfield took part – probably the event listed above.
20/2/1871 Newcastle Journal - BOWLING MATCH ON THE TOWN MOOR - Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield and Robert Coulson of Shiney Row, who had agreed to bowl across the mile, Rogerson with 20oz bowl and Coulson with 25oz bowl for £5 a side. Rogerson was made favourite, took the lead on the first ‘thraw’ and won by about 40 yards. The triggers were Septimus Cooper for Rogerson and Matthew Coulson for his brother.
13/3/1871 Newcastle Journal – BOWLING ON THE TOWN MOOR - A bowling match between Jos Robson of Ouston and Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield, over the usual course across the mile, with 25oz bowls, for a stake of £20. Robson led slightly on the first throw but was passed by Rogerson on the second heave and the latter maintained his lead until the last throw, when Robson threw past him and won a most exciting match by 5 yards. John Marley was the referee.
12/7/1872 Bell’s Life in London – At Newcastle Town Moor – M Rogerson of Fatfield and J Young of Pelton, played for £15 a side, the former using a 25oz bowl, and the latter one of 22oz. M Coulson trigged for Young and E Makepeace esquired the favourite, who, owing to the soft, bad state of the ground, was very unfortunate. In the first heave Young had 13 yards the best of it and for the next three heaves maintained the advantage, but Rogerson then came with a grand one and came up almost level. Next time, however, the Fatfield man’s bowl alighted in a sump hole and of course did not travel and Young took a good lead. Young won by 20 yards.
2/8/1875 Newcastle Journal – 5,000 present in fine weather for ‘the pitman’s favourite pastime.’ The last event of the afternoon was a £10 sweepstake between Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield, Thomas Hope of Wrekenton and R Armstrong of Lambton. At the sixth and last throw Rogerson threw over and won by 60 yards.
18/9/1875 Morpeth Herald – M Rogerson of Fatfield and R Heron of Gosforth using 45oz bowls, Heron 60 yards ahead at fourth throw but on the last throw Rogerson bowled over the far gutter whilst Heron’s bowl hit a post and stopped short, so Rogerson won.
3/2/1878 The Referee – BOWLING AT NEWCASTLE – About 1,000 spectators on a cold and bright day for the Beehive Inn’s handicap with liberal prizes. In the second round M Rogerson came second, using 17oz bowls.
2/3/1878 Morpeth Herald - BOWLING ON NEWCASTLE MOOR – There was a lot of interest in the meeting between Sep Cooper of Newcastle and Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield, who played with two 40oz bowls, for £10 a side. The evergreen Sep had to give away a lot in years, being almost twice the age of Rogerson, who is a powerful young fellow. The result of the match, which proved an easy thing for old Sep, showed that he is still a dangerous customer, notwithstanding his advanced years, with ‘forties’. In the opening bowl Cooper led by 10 yards, increased his lead to 15 at the second, and won with ridiculous ease in the twelfth. Andy Best triggered for the winner and Thomas Hope for the loser. Lance Mordue was the referee.
14/9/1881 Newcastle Chronicle – Matthew Rogerson of Birtley refereed a match on the Moor between Richard Bell of Windy Nook and Peter Reay of Low Fell.
30/10/1882 Newcastle Journal – BOWLING ON TOWN MOOR – James Ritchie of Hebburn v Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield with 30oz bowls for £10. Ritchie won after 13th throw, Joseph Curley trigged for Rogerson.
4/11/1882 Morpeth Herald - BOWLING ON THE TOWN MOOR – Moderate attendance – bowling track soft and spongy. Matthew Rogerson v James Richey of Hebburn, with 30oz bowls, for £10 a side. Rogerson won at the thirteenth heave.
27/1/1883 Morpeth Herald - BOWLING ON THE TOWN MOOR – Edward Winter of Chester Moor (father and son 51 and 22, living at Chester Moor in 1881 Census) and Matthew Rogerson, of Fatfield, contended with a couple of ‘twenty eights’ for £10 a side. Winter led at the first, then Rogerson, but eventually Winter won at the thirteenth by six yards.
7/4/1883 Morpeth Herald – Newcastle Moor – Edward Winter of Chester Moor v Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield with 30oz bowls for £10 a-side. Winter won by 50 yards at the tenth throw. John Cowell of Fatfield trigged for Rogerson and Robert Stewart of Chester Moor for Winter.
17/11/1883 Morpeth Herald – BOWLING ON THE TOWN MOOR – excellent attendance to watch Matthew Rogerson and Jos Curley of Chester Moor with 35oz bowls for £20. Rogerson won on the tenth shot.
5/4/1884 Morpeth Herald - BOWLING ON NEWCASTLE MOOR – Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield and John York, Pelton Fell, matched with 30oz bowls for £10 a side. York was favourite but Rogerson led after the first throw by 16 yards and eventually won at the ninth throw by 60 yards.
13/2/1886 Newcastle Chronicle - BOWLING AT THE TOWN MOOR – Bowling Handicap on the new track, Matthew Rogerson being one of nine in the second heat and Rogerson was last at the time of the report being filed.
8/10/1886 Newcastle Chronicle – CHALLENGES – I, Robert Innes, will bowl Matthew Rogerson, I at 26oz and Rogerson at 30oz across the new track. Meet at David Marley’s Turf Hotel Back Bar on Saturday 1st between 5 and 7 o’clock.
26/2/87 Newcastle Chronicle – Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield and George Handy of Washington tried conclusions on the Town Moor, on the new track, for £5 a side. Rogerson won by 36 yards on seventh throw. (Shields Gazette 22/9/1888 - Washington Man Missing George Handy, aged about 22, has been missing since Wednesday; he had gone to Newcastle on business with his brother. It was at first assumed he had missed the train back to Usworth but it is now stated that he had about £60 with him and it is feared some disaster has befallen him. He is about 5ft 2, of stoutish build, fair complexion and a light moustache. On the 26th it was reported that two women had been arrested but both were released after ‘sharp examination.’ No further details… however, George Handy was taking part in bowls at Black Fell in September 1891.)
9/5/1888 Sporting Life – BOWLING AT BLACK FELL – Matthew Rogerson won his heat but came third in the final – promoted by John Dalton, Coach and Horses, Leybourne Hold, Birtley, in the presence of an excellent muster of the followers of potshare.
6/6/1888 Newcastle Chronicle – BOWLING - OXCLOSE YESTERDAY A bowling match for £6 a-side was decided yesterday over the old wagonway at Oxclose between William Savage of North Side, Black Fell and Thomas Hall of Fatfield, both using 20oz bowls. Business was rife with 5 to 4 on Savage. James Smith of High Washington trigged for Savage and William McMann of Fatfield for Hall. Matthew Rogerson of Portobello was referee and stakeholder. Hall was so far behind after the fifth shot that he ‘picked up’ i.e. conceded.
15/6/1888 Newcastle Chronicle – At Newcastle Moor – Joseph Curley of Fatfield took on John Patterson of Waldridge Fell with Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield as referee and stakeholder. Patterson won.
25/6/1888 Newcastle Chronicle – BLACK FELL – At Mr John Galley’s Bird Inn, New Washington, a further deposit was posted for a bowling match between Joseph Laws of Washington Staiths and Matthew Rogerson of Portobello at Black Fell, with 13oz bowls for £5 a-side. Final deposits to be handed in Friday with Mr Ritson, of Washington, stakeholder.
6/7/1888 Durham Chronicle – At the house of William Bush (Half Moon, Oxclose) the sum of £1 has been posted to bind a match over the old track, Newcastle, in a month’s time between Joseph Laws of North Biddick and Matthew Rogerson of Portobello, with 13oz bowls for £10 a-side.
11/8/1890 Newcastle Chronicle – TOWN MOOR Matthew Rogerson of Fatfield against William Thompson of New Herrington; by the fifth heave Rogerson was 80 yards behind and ‘picked up’.
19/11/1890 Sporting Life – BOWLING ON NEWCASTLE MOOR – Fine weather, large company to watch George Taylor and Joseph Matthews (both of Birtley) with 25oz bowls for £10 a-side, refereed by Mr Rogerson. Taylor won at ninth shot.
16/9/1891 Sporting Life – Matthew Rogerson of Birtley refereed the match between Richard Bell of Windy Nook and Peter Reay of Low Fell.
12/10/1891 Newcastle Chronicle – Matthew Rogerson of Birtley acted as stakeholder and referee in a match on a wet and miserable Town Moor, between Peter Reay and Henry Wardle of Pelton Fell.
1/10/1894 – Newcastle Chronicle – Bowling at Black Fell, promoted by John Watson at the Black Fell Bowling track. M Rogerson came third in Heat 3.
10/4/1899 Newcastle Chronicle – NEWCASTLE MOOR – John Willis (there were two in Fatfield in 1901, both early 30s, one in Long Row and one at Nicholson’s Buildings) and George Taylor (27, single, boarder at Cotia), both of Fatfield, with 10oz bowls for £10 a side. Taylor retired at the seventh. Rogerson trigged for Taylor, J Mason of Fatfield stakeholder and referee. This is the last mention of Matthew Rogerson re potshare bowling.
Given that this research has been done mostly through the British Newspaper Archive, we can only say that Matthew’s contests, as reported, amounted, in financial terms to £40 of winnings and £45 of losses. On some occasions the amounts staked were not included and it’s by no means certain that all his competitions and activities were included in the local newspapers. The modern equivalent of £40 is around £6,000.
In terms of the bowls that he used, he possessed (or accessed) bowls of 10, 17, 20, 25, 28, 30, 35, 40 and 45 ounces. His career started, as far as can be determined, in 1863 and he had apparently earned the reputation of being a man who could be trusted to referee, hold stakes or trig for other boolers.
In 1902-3 and 1904 ‘M Rogerson’ was playing lawn bowls for Castle Leazes Club – ah, was it the same, ‘our’, M Rogerson? Had the ‘powerful young fellow’ become an older, less powerful, but still enthusiastic, participant in a less strenuous activity – the knocking of wood on wood, having replaced the clack of stone on stone, the cries of ‘canny bool, Matty’ still music to his ears. There being no extant records of Castle Leazes Bowling Club, we shall never know but if you pass Leazes Park bowling green, now a picnic area, pause and listen for a moment…
Some of the first newspaper reports of potshare bowling can be found from the 1820s and they describe large gatherings on the Town Moor but, also, on the ‘highways’, the problems arising from the fact that ‘hardy knights of the black diamond’ were not always keen to interrupt their games to allow travellers to pass and trouble, arrests and fines often ensued. Other popular locations during the second half of the nineteenth century were Newbiggin Moor, Blyth Sands and Black Fell. Early heroes and stars of the game were Davy Bell of Benton, Harry Brown of Gateshead and Thomas Saint, of West Moor. Originally the matches were mostly challenges with two participants but later the number of handicaps increased. The development of the sport went hand in hand with reduced hours for miners (and working men in general) and the spare time that then needed to be filled, and times of economic depression saw the number of matches decline and then rise again, when better times returned.
So, what was potshare bowling and how was it played? This, from the Newcastle Chronicle of August 1884, looking back on fifty years of ‘booling’. ‘The game consisted in throwing a stone bowl, [and shouting a warning ‘ware the bool!’] weighing from 25-30 ounces [even up to 50 ounces], a given distance in the least number of throws. The bowl itself was formed out of a piece of whinstone. [White Brick was sometimes used but it had to be agreed in advance or disqualification would occur and potshare, the crucible which glass is melted in, was another possible material for the bowl.] Many hours of labour were required to chip at it with a small hammer and the edge of an old file before it assumed the perfect sphere [with an indentation for the thumb]. An aspiring bowler would devote his leisure evenings for weeks together in making his bowl and consequently it was an article much valued by him [they must have had a stable of bowls of different weights]. When a match was played the competitors, one or the other, threw [the action could be described as a ‘thraw’, a ‘hough’, or a ‘hoy’] their bowl from a starting line drawn across the road. If the bowler overstepped the line with both feet when he delivered his bowl, he was called back by the umpire/referee and had to renew his throw. From the spot where the bowl lay after being ‘spent,’ it had to be thrown the next time, whether that spot was in the road or the ditch [or in a sump hole]. However inconvenient, even when ankle-deep in water, from that spot or within a yard from either side, it had to be thrown. The bowler had a ‘trigger’, a man in advance who indicated the spot desired for the bowl to fall after delivery, thus the trigger ‘showed him the reet way’. The throws were continued in succession until they reached the goal, [often one lap of the mile course on the Moor, actually about 900 yards] when the player who had succeeded in the least number of throws was declared the winner. Muscular power was the principal factor to make an expert in this game but luck sometimes overcame physical strength. [A later article suggested the men could take a run at the bowling action. If a match was a ‘chooser’ it seems as if one or both contestants were allowed to choose their own weight of bowl.]
Not everyone thought it a wise way for miners to spend their time – in June 1865 The Miner and Workman’s Advocate argued that ‘Now you all know what bowling matches are. Those fools do not only fool away their own time and money, but they fool away the time and money of scores of other ‘cuddies’ too.’ In 1880 bowling was banned on the Town Moor. In January the Morpeth Herald, under the headline ‘BOWLING ON NEWCASTLE MOOR - POLICE PROCEEDINGS’ carried this piece - ‘The first police proceedings under the new bye-law prohibiting bowling on the Town Moor, were instituted on Friday the 13th, at Newcastle Police Court, before the sitting magistrates, Mr CH Young and Mr Henry Watson. The defendants were James Ritchie, miner, of Silksworth and James Wilson, miner, of Wardley Colliery, Durham. They were charged on separate summonses, that each on the 31st ult., ‘unlawfully played bowling on the Town Moor, in such a manner as was likely to endanger person being on the same, and use in such game certain bowls of a hard and dangerous nature.’ The defendants were fined 5 shillings. Meetings of protest, such as the one at the Adelaide Hotel in Newgate St, were quickly arranged when word of the banning leaked out and the council came under pressure not only from bowlers and their fans but, also, the business people of Newcastle who quickly recognised the effect it was having on the city, as pitmen, and their wives, (who often came to Newcastle for shopping) took their spending power to Newbiggin or Blyth instead. And so…
22/4/1882 Morpeth Herald – ‘NEWCASTLE FREEMEN AND THE BOWLERS At the Easter Guild of the Newcastle Freemen, held at the Guildhall, on Monday, the Vice-Chairman of the Stewards’ Committee, Mr William Wilson, stated, with reference to their petition against the Town Improvement Bill, that the Freemen had decided to withdraw their opposition after the proposal which had been made to them by the Town Clerk and which to a great extent met their requirements. To sum up - the Mayor had done his best to get the bowling question settled amicably and that in re-arranging the 35 acres of the park and recreation ground they would provide a proper and safe bowling ground on the site, which would be acceptable to all parties.’
So, what was the point of it all? Well, the competitive urge burns brightly. There was obviously a social aspect to spending time in the open air with your ‘marras’ after 50 hours in the dark. The heat and the danger of late nineteenth century collieries, and the opportunity to gamble and drink beer were, for many, strong pull factors. Behind it all were an army of publicans, bookmakers, backers and ‘sporting men’, with newspapers being avid reporters of the ‘doings’ at the various meetings and sports grounds. Some, shall we say, were more ‘sporting’ than others and where money, gambling and shifting odds are involved, there can sharp practice and exploitation be found. In December 1867, the Newcastle Journal opined ‘few men are better losers than the miners; they certainly display an amount of feeling during a match but if they suffer vanquishment, they endure it as such and at once forget the factious prompting which the excitement of the contest occasioned. This truism is perhaps more remarkable with the pitman than any other class of sporting men.’ Well, possibly…
‘When a match was played the competitors, one or the other, threw their bowl from a starting line drawn across the road. If the bowler overstepped the line with both feet when he delivered his bowl, he was called back by the umpire and had to renew his throw. From the spot where the bowl lay after being ‘spent,’ it had to be thrown the next time, whether that spot was in the road or the ditch. However inconvenient, even when ankle-deep in water, from that spot or within a yard from either side, it had to be thrown. The bowler had a ‘trigger’, a man in advance who indicated the spot desired for the bowl to fall after delivery ‘showed him the reet way’. The throws were continued in succession until they reached the goal, when the player who had succeeded in the least number of throws was declared the winner. Muscular power was the principal factor to make an expert in this game but luck sometimes overcame physical strength.’
Potshare bowling went on into the twentieth century but the watching, and playing of, football saw it decline in popularity.
Peter Welsh taught history in Sunderland for 37 years. He is the author of Washington in the Great War (Pen and Sword) and now devotes his time to watching cricket, his allotment, hoping for a trophy for NUFC before he dies and local history – not necessarily in that order. I’ve attached a passport photo but it should be noted that I do, occasionally, smile.
Sources:
British Newspaper Archive
Lynne Pearson - Played in Tyne and Wear
WD Lawson - Tyneside Celebrities (1873)
Tyne & Wear Archives – for access to a replica potshare bowl
Article - by Alan Metcalf (now of Dept of Kinesiology at Ontario Uni.) sourced through Julian Harrop at Beamish Museum.
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