Indoor carpet bowling was very popular in Scotland, particularly in the south-west. Langholm tournaments were played in the hotel halls and the Buccleuch Hall and could sometimes last for over 12 hours.

Equipment consisted of eight pairs of bowls (four spotted, four plain), an over carpet and under carpet made of felt (24 x 3 feet), iron end guards, and wooden side guides. The bowls were made of lignum vitae, a type of wood from the Caribbean and northern Latin America. In earlier times they were ceramic. They had no bias, i.e. did not curl in their trajectory.

The 1915 New Year district competition (including teams from Carlisle and Lanarkshire) was won by a Langholm team, consisting of Andrew Davidson, printer; James Tudhope, millworker; William Scott, retired fruiterer; and William Ewart, tweed designer (skipper).