Cobbetts Boules Club club was formed in 1975 and originally played behind Cobbetts Restaurant (now Reggina’s) in Botley Square, hence the name. The club moved to Botley Recreation Ground in 1982 before moving to a new terrain built at Burridge in 1996. This terrain has been extended twice and there is now room for 19 matches in an area measuring approximately 52m x 15m. In February 2019, the floodlights were upgraded to LEDs. Many thanks to Closewood for helping to fund this.
(More detail on the history of the terrain can be found here.)
The club has around 90 members of all ages. There are players of varying abilities from those with just a few weeks experience and those who just play on a club afternoon or evening, to the regular league players and those who have represented the Southern Counties region, England and Great Britain.
The club is affiliated to the Southern Counties Petanque Association (SCPA) which is one of the 15 member regions of Petanque England (PE). The club had three teams entered in the 6-a-side league for 2026 and two teams into the SCPA 9-a-side League.
All members old and new are invited to attend Tuesday club nights, Monday afternoon sessions and all other club events. There is a bar in the pavilion for players to enjoy a drink afterwards. Family and friends are most welcome at club social events and, of course, to come and try petanque. However if, after 2 or 3 come and try sessions, they want to keep coming we would be obliged to ask them to join. This is to ensure that they are covered by insurance.
Also regularly played at the Burridge terrain are a number of regional events such as the SCPA Mixed Doubles, SCPA Winter Doubles Final, SCPA Summer Doubles Final and the SCPA Winter Melee held after the regional AGM.
Members are welcome to play on the Burridge terrain at any time. Access to the car park requires knowledge of the combination codes for the two gates which will be supplied to members. If access is required to the pavilion when the club is not in use then one of keyholders will need to be contacted.
The club did have a long running twinning with Le Havre but this has not been held since Covid. Brexit has also made it more difficult for the French to visit as they now need a passport and not just an ID card.