THE UK CABARET CLUBLAND PAGE
Throughout the nation and for many years now, the old workingmen’s clubs, political clubs, works social clubs and all-manner of community social clubs have been falling like ninepins. Mark Ritchie penned a Clubland column in his own home city of Wakefield for over thirty years. Here he looks at what became of what were once key community assets.
Some people have claimed for many years that club closures were inevitable. We must now recognise that the reasons for their collective failure were many. Changes in society, outdated attitudes towards women, cheap supermarket booze, the smoking ban and the cost of running such venues have all been cited as explanations for the decline.
I won’t bore the reader with figures and statistics, but I reckon that only around a quarter of the clubs which existed still operate as community social clubs to this day in the UK.
I found myself looking through my own Clubland archive recently, from back in the days when I used to write about Clubland in the local press. Most of the clubs which used to advertise their forthcoming attractions in this publication no longer remain in business. It seems however that many of the former premises previously occupied by such venues now operate in other ways.
Assuming the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire holds a similar demographic to other conurbations up and down the land, this picture will have been replicated throughout the entire UK. Here are details of just a few clubs in the Wakefield area, including details of what became of them.
Belle Vue wmc- Now a warehouse store. Belle Vue Liberal Club- Now a school for hairdressers. Belle Vue Conservative Club- Still operating as a club. Wakefield City Club- Now demolished and currently a building site for housing. Primrose Hill club- Now an Asian owned market. Eastmoor wmc- Now a care home. Stanley Lane End Club-Now flats. Stanley Victoria club-now housing. Bottomboat Club- Now Housing. Balne Lane wmc- Now a Mosque/ Islamic Study Centre. Outwood Comrades Club- Now a pub. Outwood wmc- still operating as a club. Lofthouse Gate club- Still operating as a club. Roundhouse Club- Now Demolished. Alverthorpe wmc- Now operating as a licenced premises. Crigglestone wmc- Still operating as a club. Kettlethorpe wmc- Now student accommodation. Brookhouse Club- Demolished and replaced with other licenced premises. Lupset wmc- Now demolished and replaced with housing. Thornes wmc- Now demolished and replaced with housing. Nostell miner’s welfare- Now a community centre- Walton miner’s welfare- Now a community club. Crofton wmc- Still operating as a club.
The picture is the same everywhere we look. The breaking up of communities and the old heavy industry work forces spelled the beginning of the end of the old order of Clubland. There are survivors of course, but nothing will ever be quite the same as the days when clubs in most communities ran seaside trips, sports leagues, ladies nights, old time ballroom and sequence dancing, millions of bingo games and of course, when all that wonderful and not so wonderful live entertainment was presented on so many stages.
We are always on the lookout for Clubland people who would like to write something of their own experiences for this page. If you have a Clubland story to tell, or if you would care to contribute a little more regularly, we want to Hear from you. Please e-mail the editor at mark.ritchie@ukcabaret.com
