The Old Pavilion at Meigle Bowling Green is both culturally and architecturally significant to the community of Meigle. It is a really rare example of a decorative timber bowling pavilion with little external or internal alteration. Dating from 1897, it overlooks the bowling green in the centre of Meigle village.
The decorative round-arched windows and the red ridge tiles add to the character of the building. Internally, the building is mostly original, with a timber lining and traditional benches and storage racks.
Meigle Bowling Club, founded in 1896, was a happy and very successful bowling club in the Scottish leagues, however due to an aging and dwindling membership sadly it ceased in 2014.Â
Lawn bowls has a long and distinguished history in Scotland, with the earliest reference to the game in Scotland appearing in 1469, when James IV played a variation of the game referred to as 'lang bowlis' at St Andrews in Fife.
The Old Pavilion was at the heart of the community in Meigle, with a thriving village bowling club. However, as  rural economies declined and people moved away from the villages, the membership of the club declined and the building sadly began to fall into disrepair. Â
Both the pavilion building and the Bowling Green site continue to be cherished by the local community. Returning the building to its 'glory days' and repurposing the site to meet the needs of the community now will grow local pride in the community's local history and culture.
Meigle and Ardler Community Development Trust took ownership of the building and green in 2023, with the goal of restoring the building and repurposing the whole site to become a hub for community use.Â