History of Allington Castle Archers
How the time creeps up on you.
It seems only a few years ago that we were celebrating our 30th birthday. But no, it is forty years since that small band of archers started the whole thing off in 1969. Our first venue was the talk of the south-east, in the Allington Castle grounds on the banks of the Medway. The backdrop to the targets did not get better than a castle Henry the VIII stayed in, and we enjoyed 364 days per year dawn-till-dusk shooting rights for 20 years.
Unfortunately we had to move as the owners decided to sell. Our current field is Westborough Primary School. Although not as grand a venue we have excellent shooting rights here - more or less any time that the children are not in school. No archer is allowed to shoot alone.
Indoor shooting during the winter is run at the TA Hall off Boxley Road and the club enters the British Archer Portsmouth and Frostbite competitions.
The membership includes all ages from 7 to 70ish. Our juniors Club is expanding and overall membership has risen over the last 2 years. The current total membership is 75.
Within that membership all archery disciplines are covered from recurve, compound and longbow to field shooting, clout, popinjay and re-enactment, although only target archery is allowed on the club field.
Some of the members are also members of the Medieval Society and the Medieval Siege Society.
The range of experience in the club is vast and includes
- 1 senior coach
- 2 county coaches
- 2 coaches
- many other members with 25+ years shooting history.