Throughout the two hundred year history of Thomas Taylor Ltd., the Company has been responsible for many key developments which have brought influence to bear upon the game of bowling. Advances that have contributed to the enjoyment of the game by so many players, from novice to champion. This situation is a direct result of Taylor's policy of continual research and development.

Back in the 1800's, when all bowls were shaped by hand to a template and consequently, no two bowls were exactly alike, Thomas Taylor made and patented a machine for shaping bowls accurately. To obtain absolute uniformity, each set of bowls was made from the same log of lignum vitae, and put through the shaping machine as a complete set of four.

The same year that the shaping machine was invented - 1871 - the Company introduced the world's first testing table for bias of bowls. The testing table used by Taylor today is the largest in the world and, although the top surface has been improved to prevent tracking, the concept has changed little from the original table.

The advent of composition bowls after many years reliance on lignum vitae, solved the potential problem of performance variability due to climatic conditions, as well as overcoming the increasing scarcity of the natural raw material.

In 1928, The International Bowling Board adopted a Thomas Taylor standard bowl as the minimum bias bowl for all international matches, and again, in 1986 when bias standards were revised, a Thomas Taylor Standard bowl was chosen as the MASTER. The WBB holds this MASTER and copies, known as Standard Bowls, are issued to Countries, Bowl Makers, and Official Testers authorised by the WBB.

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