Silverware has been claimed by Townsend Bowls Club after winning the Berkhamsted Triples Gala.

A total of 24 teams from across the county and beyond with Townsend represented by Jane Dixon, Peter Thomson and Alan Charran.

Game one was against the might of Garston, who fielded two current county players, but Townsend advanced 7-6.

The 2022 winners Gerrards Cross were the next to fall and two more successes left the St Albans-based team as divisional winners.

And while there was one other team from the other divisions that managed to win all four of their matches, they could not get enough points to deprive Townsend of the championship.

The trio were joined by Rena Williamson as their defence of the Stockman-Winser Mixed Fours began away to Hemel Hempstead.

Both teams found the going difficult, with one hand having an extreme swing and the other offering only a very narrow line, but the champions booked their place in the quarter-final with a 19-14 victory.

Thomson and Charran, along with Matt Pope this time, won in the quarter-finals of the county triples, beating Rosedale 18-8.

Charran and Pope also marched on in the early stages of the county pairs with a convincing 20-4 win over opponents from Potters Bar.

In the District League, Townsend beat St Albans 62-50, winning on two of the three rinks.

The best of them was Ian Forster, Roger Potter, Gordon Williamson and Peter Armstrong who won 25-13.

A midweek friendly against Redbourn was abandoned when the heavens opened, Townsend leading on all four rinks at that point.

Another friendly did get played but this one saw Townsend win 56-33 against Hemel, the top rink that of Les Perkins and Bernadette and Clyde Martindill.

Batchwood Hall had mixed blessings as they continued their matches in national, county and district competitions.

In National Senior Pairs Dave Richardson and Eddie Clark beat Tony Redford and Joe Foster of Harpenden 18-13 at home in the National Senior Pairs while in the National Senior Singles, Brian Parkes beat Rhys Lewis from Oakhill 21-10.

His run though was ended by Harpenden's John Osborn 21-19.

In the ladies' National Champion of Champions Jackie Bell lost away to Joanne Hollister from Bushey 21-18.

Bell did have success in the National Mixed Pairs as she and Steve Maynard from Harpenden had a 16-11 win over Herts BC.

Herts BC did gain some revenge as they triumphed in the National Mixed Fours, beating the Batchwood quartet of Dave Richardson, Bell and Jerry and Yvonne McAuliffe 19-15.

Batchwood were back in the winner's circle though as a 36-21 victory over Potters Bar sent them to the quarter-finals of the National Tony Allcock Trophy Mixed Fours.

Jackie Bell, Brenda Bennitt and Sandra Clark played Hatfield in the County Triples and it was the latter who sneaked through 16-15 on the last wood.

A further Batchwood triples, that of Jenny Gauthier, Sue Swain and Yvonne McAuliffe, lost 22-17 in a tight battle with Harpenden’s Jenny Redford, Lynne Roberts, and Viv Dale.

They had been 13-0 down after four ends but had clawed it back to 18-17 before losing the last two ends.

There were wins for both the men and women in the County Pairs, Eddie Clark and Brian Parkes beating Welwyn & District 23-14 while Sue Swain and Yvonne McAuliffe defeated Jane Dixon and Rena Williamson at Townsend 17-13.

In the District League, a double rink loss meant Batchwood went down to Welwyn Garden City at home but the men secured maximum points.

There was another hotly-contested match for Harpenden's men as they secured an area semi-final place against Bushey in the National Top Club competition.

They were away to Welwyn Garden City where John Osborn lost 14-13 in the two-bowl singles but Joe Festa won the four-bowl version 21-16.

A comprehensive 23-8 victory for the pair of Trevor Tharby and Nick Muir put Harpenden 2-1 up but this was cancelled out by a narrow 16-13 defeat in the fours for Brian Moores, David Brooks, Roy Polley and Steve Maynard.

That meant the outcome was settled on the triples but with the score at 13-10, the trio of Andy Stevenson, Tony Redford and Neil Herrington picked up a seven on the 16th end to win 22-10 and secure a 3-2 overall victory.

St Albans' five mixed triples match away at Radlett last Thursday ended early after 16 ends due to torrential downpours of rain.

The score at the time was 87-46 in Saints' favour with four of the five rinks going their way too, the best of them from Catherine Moore, Peter Browne and skip John Harvey.

The two weekend fixtures both made it to a finish, but both ended in defeat for St Albans.

Visiting Hertford Castle won 89-81 but only after the hosts had fought back from 15-0 down on one rink, eventually falling on shot short.

Their top rink won 21-15 and was skipped by Mike Pitkin.

Sunday's home match against Luton & Ashcroft ended in an 82-53 defeat by 82-53, Saints winning one of the four rinks led by Andy Kay.

The club's three open days in May resulted in 24 people who had never played the sport before wanting to return for further sessions with a view to possibly taking up membership.