The Hwicce Bowmen

Hwicce Bowmen

Barebow Archery Club, Nuneaton

The Hwicce (pronounced H-wich-uh) Bowmen are named after the West Saxon tribe that ruled the Kingdom of Mercia in the 7th Century in the English Midlands.

Some of the Bowmen at the Mercian Gathering

Photo Paul Mason

The Hwicce Bowmen meet at

MIRA

Watling Street

(A5 between Atherstone and Nuneaton - MIRA is a huge place, you can't miss it)

Warks

Sundays 12.30 till 3.00 pm

except the first Sunday in September, over Christmas from mid December to the end of January and in heavy rain and high winds or snow.

We will be closed 11th December 2011 till 4th March 2012.

Because we are shooting at a motor research facility, it is strictly no photography and no cameras.

Membership

There is an annual fee for joining the Hwicce Bowmen, which includes membership of the Bowmen and insurance

Adults (age 17 years and over): £40

Junior (10 -16 years): £10

MIRA Employees £30 associate membership

Fees are due March 1st annually.

Each time you shoot, there is a green fee of:

Adults: £1 Juniors: 50 pence Visitors £3

Joining the Bowmen

We'll be doing a 6 week have a go introduction in beginning 1st April 2012, £3 per week. We will be running another course in the the autumn.

Please watch this site and the forum or Facebook page for details of memberships and courses becoming available.

Photo John Denny

The History of the Bowmen

The Hwicce Bowmen archery club was founded in 2004 by Nick Tolladay, a keen archer for most of his life, and other members of the Hearth of Arianrhod - Sue Lane, Julie Wilson, Tim Jones, Sharon Jeffries, Anna Franklin, Steve York, Sean Reilly and Angela Langrick. For a while we shot up at a farm in Arley, mostly with equipment donated by Nick.

Nick Tolladay instructs young archers

Photo Paul Mason

Nick secured facilities at the Grif and Coton Club in Nuneaton, and the Bowmen became open to non-Hearth members for the first time. The club adopted a constitution drafted by Anna and Julie, with Nick as club president, Andy Marlow as vice-president, Julie Wilson as first secretary and Anna Franklin as first chair. Founder members Sue Lane, Steve Reilly and Steve York formed the rest of the committee. Nick named the club the Hwicce Bowmen, and Anna designed the club logo which can be seen at the top of this page.

Julie Wilson Sue Lane Anna Franklin

We increased our stock of equipment and became a free company of archers, not affiliated to any target or field shooting body. We shot outside come rain or shine.

Steve York, Alison Chester-Lambert, Anna Franklin & Roger Greasley

Shooting at the Grif and Coton

However, we had limited amenities at the Grif, and dynamic new member Phil Sands secured us facilities at MIRA on the A5 as from January 2010. These new facilities were more expensive, and we started a very successful membership drive to secure enough members for us to ensure we could pay for them, with £1 'have a go' sessions throughout our first year at MIRA.

Every year the Bowmen offer free 'have a go' archery at the Mercian Gathering and shoot the wicker man with flaming arrows.

The Shooting Green at MIRA

Photo John Denny

Ethos

The Bowmen are a barebow club i.e. we do not use sights or stabilisers on our bows, though a wide variety of bow types are used by members, from compounds to recurves and longbows.

Because we are a free company, we can keep membership fees (which cover rental, equipment, insurance and more importantly, tea) down to the minimum.

We are a hobby club, and very informal. You can even make yourself a cup of tea whenever you feel in need of refreshing your shooting arm.