Our club was started to provide an informal environment for Archers to practice Field Archery. Some ten years ago both Chris C and Chris L decided that the Club environments in which they had been involved had become quite restrictive and that there was little opportunity locally to provide challenging unmarked shooting. Both the Chris’s enjoyed being pushed and always relished the difficult shot. They also both felt that the club formality of club committee and related structure somehow isolated the membership from being part of the club. Both the Chris's’ were dedicated EFAA archers but the EFAA rarely put on unmarked shoots and therefore the initial intention was to provide the EFAA archers with a regular monthly venue of unmarked shooting.
This was the basic idea that led to the search for woodlands so they could start a club that allowed archers to shoot when ever they wanted. They determined that the club would have an informal environment where the members participated in everything and were key parts of the decision making process. It was intended to be a small club to ensure a close relationship with all members could be maintained and to ensure they all felt involved.
Chris C managed to find woods in Old Warden, negotiations with the Landlords were significantly enhanced by Chris Cs long association with the Village. At the start there was a high expectation that the club would become an integral part of Shuttleworth College. The College sported excellent facilities with a restaurant and a bar.
So we set up our first 28 target EFAA unmarked shoot. We also agreed with the EFAA that Chris L would be the then Course Charter Officers deputy and charter the unmarked course on his behalf. This worked well for the first couple of years and every month a new course was set up for the EFAA. Sadly these shoots generated little money, so Chris L suggested an NFAS open to generate funds to buy some 3D targets and whilst it was the beginning of the club as it is today it was sadly the start of the end of our involvement with the EFAA. We did host the European Bowhunter Championships, with Harry Boyce doing one Course and Chris C doing the other, it was a great event. It also allowed us to purchase many of the 3Ds that we still have today. The EFAA decided that the concept of having a deputy Charter Officer was no longer acceptable, and that we would be required to get each course chartered by the proper official, which didn't’t seem too bad until we found out that we had to give them two weeks notice to allow the Charter Officer to call in when he could, to check the course. Clearly this was impractical we felt that it provided an opportunity for Archers to walk the course and exposed our 3Ds to the risk of damage and theft. With much regret we withdrew our affiliation to the EFAA.
We concentrated our efforts on NFAS unmarked shooting. When we first started it represented a staggering amount of work. We had no where on site to store anything and for each event we had to carry everything in, including all the catering equipment and putting up the sides to the old barn with canvas sheeting. It probably took a weeks work to set it all up and clear it all away. Many of our members contributed a staggering amount of work just to make it all happen. We started to get a reputation for putting on good shoots, really quite challenging, and we were also producing a pretty good bacon sandwich, a tradition that we carry on to this day.
In August 2003 we were sent a letter by the landlord advising us of our permanent exclusion from the woods, we were devastated. Despite a number of meetings with the Landlord, trying to convince them otherwise and trying to establish why we were to be excluded, we were assured that it was nothing we had done simply that the woods were going to be redeveloped with public access and clearly no longer suitable for Archery.  However, during these meetings Chris C managed to establish a reasonable rapport with Andrew Pym, the Landlord, and asked him for his help to locate other woods. He did offer other locations on the estate but none fitted the bill. He provided an introduction to his brother Jonathon Pym who was managing the family estate. By good fortune Jonathon was most amenable and indeed made our present location St Johns Wood, Swaden, available.
There was one major issue that was the rent, it more or less trebled, which meant that we were left with little choice but to make the club a more commercial to cover the cost of renting the woods. However the woods were absolutely superb, we always felt we had good woods at Shuttleworth but St. Johns Woods were outstanding, providing a good variety of cover, both deciduous and evergreens covering about 60 acres with some steep uphill and downhill shots yet having good access.
We have now been at St Johns Wood for nearly five years, indeed our five year licence is up for renewal this year, which given our first year means we will have been in the woods for six years. The club’s reputation for good shooting and good food has continued to grow, there is now the Archery Famous McChris, a burger of monstrous proportions. Our shoots have become so popular that sadly we are at the stage where we have to start turning people away. There is a fine dividing line between wanting to maximise the amount of money we have for the development of the club and making sure we do not have too many frustrated archers held up in long queues. The clubs early success allowed the purchase of a club house which doubles as a canteen for our open shoots and the steel container which means we can store the targets securely on site. Luckily a club member was able to arrange for these precious assets to be brought with us to our new woods. Setting up nowadays is so much easier. We introduced a two day shoot into our calendar which has proved very popular. We have tried to retain the club for club member’s ethos, indeed our constitution states that anyone doing work for the benefit of the club is electing themselves onto the committee. Decisions are made as democratically as is reasonable where all major expenditure on new development is discussed at work party days where a consensus is sought for all major purchases.
We recently had our first major work party weekend, which tried to tidy up and paint the club hut. It was a great success and once again club members turned out in sufficient numbers for us to complete a massive amount of work.
Our plans for the future centre on simply making the club better for both members and visitors. Though we would like to grow the membership, at present we average forty members, the fees from which do not cover the rent. We recently benefited form two NFAS coaches joining the club which has put us in a position to introduce new comers to the sport, an activity which we had not previously considered, simply stating the club was primarily for experienced archers. We are hoping that this may attract new members. The club will always be a club for Archery and Archers who simply enjoy shooting.

Chris Cox