Fareham Pétanque Club was previous known as Limesdowne Pétanque Club.
The club 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 club and supported the club not only with good beer and food, but for a while was also club secretary.
In 1994 a second terrain was built by club members, doubling the playing area and in 1999 the club put on a display in Fareham Library to publicise the game and recruit new members.
In 2012 it was announced that The Limes was to be sold and the site redeveloped for residential housing. The Limes 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 PC Club night at The Limes, about 80 people came along for the last throws and a last meal in the pub. The Limes pub finally closed on 5th August 2013 and Limesdown club was homeless after 29 years at The Limes.
In September 2013 Limesdowne Petanque Club formally changed its name to Fareham Petanque Club. A new club logo and badge were designed, and new uniform colours and design were agreed.
Planning permission was granted for a new pair of terrains at Fareham North-West Community Centre and a grant was obtained for £x,000 to help us to build two brand new terrains. The build of new terrains at North West Fareham Community Centre started on October 5th 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. and the club was official opened by Mayor of Fareham Councillor Susan Bayford on 18 Dec 2013. Unfortunately the opening had to be held inside due to torrential rain…..
Pictured left to right: Hampshire County Councillor Geoff Hockley, Fareham Council Executive Member for Leisure & Community Councillor Connie Hockley, Councillor Peter Davies (representing FNWCC), Derek Ashmore of the Fareham Petanque Club development team, Mayor of Fareham Councillor Susan Bayford.
For more photos of the club’s history, visit the archive gallery here: gallery-archive