History

The club was formed in 1983 with Jack Weedon the driving force. It was based at The Limes pub in Catesfield near Fareham and with the support of landlady Darryl Downes we built our first terrain at The Limes in 1984. Darryl was landlady of The Limes throughout the lifetime of Limesdowne Petanque Club and supported the club not only with good beer and food, but for a while also as club secretary.

In 1994 a second terrain was built by club members, doubling the playing area.

In 2012 it was announced that The Limes was to be sold and the site redeveloped for residential housing. The Limesdowne Petanque Club terrains were taken apart and members saw their terrains steadily reduce to no fencing, no lights, no gate, no shelter, no shed, no paths and eventually no pub.

For the final Limesdowne Petanque Club night at The Limes, about 80 people came along for the last throw of boules and a last meal in the pub. The Limes pub finally closed on 5th August 2013 and Limesdown Petanque Club was homeless after 29 years at The Limes.

In September 2013 Limesdowne Petanque Club formally changed its name to Fareham Petanque Club and set about reinventing itself with a new club logo, badge and change of colours and design for the club kit.

Planning permission was granted for a new pair of terrains at Fareham North West Community Centre and a grant was obtained to help us build two brand new terrains. The building of new terrains at North West Fareham Community Centre started on 5th October 2013 and by early November floodlights were being installed.

The first night’s play at Fareham North West Community Centre was on 20th November 2013. The club was official opened by Mayor of Fareham Councillor Susan Bayford on 18th December 2013, unfortunately the opening had to be held inside due to torrential rain.

The first tournament held on the new terrain at Fareham North West Community Centre by Fareham Petanque Club was the Mad March Hare Melee in 2014.

Fareham Petanque Club will be moving again when they move across the road to the brand new Fareham Park Community Centre which has planning permission and funding to be built in the not to distant future. Exciting times are ahead for the club as they look to enjoy new facilities and increase membership numbers.

Past and Present Presidents of Fareham Petanque Club

Martin Ware

Fareham Petanque Club Competition Winners

For more photos of the club’s history, visit the archive gallery here: gallery-archive