Old traditions still tasting good at the working men’s clubs that refuse to die

Working men’s clubs have a problem. Even the name conjures up a particular kind of kitsch that seems to jar with the now.

In many cases the stereotype rings true – WMCs are anachronisms, caricatures of themselves: old men sat around swilling pints of mild, playing darts or “dommies” – during my visit, one man even mentions cribbage – and six years on from the smoking ban, the only thing missing is the reek of stale smoke.

Holbeck WMC looks typically forlorn, even at 8pm on a Friday once the busiest night of the week. A great, white obelisk surrounded by scrubland, it looks derelict.

It is not.

Outside two or three people are puffing away in the smoking shed, but inside little has changed since long before the smoking ban. Notices for the payment of subs, membership fees and posters advertising forthcoming acts are pinned on the walls and the carpets are from the 1970s (or at least look as though they should be).

WMCs have always set themselves apart from pubs and clubs in the familiarity stakes and Holbeck is no different. You could idle the night away here with pints of mild and packets of pork scratchings and feel none the worse for it. It’s a place where time seems to almost stand still and where even a casual game of snooker is undertaken with a fair degree of seriousness. It’s perhaps to be expected, after all most of the old-school snooker players, the Denis Taylors, the Joe Johnsons of this world, started their careers in places like this.

WMCs are, let’s face it, cultural relics. The number of clubs has halved in the last three decades from 4,000 to around 2,000,according to the Working Men’s Club and Institute Union, which, hearsay has it, was founded in Holbeck.

It’s a long way from the days when the working men’s wielded real power. Back then, to become a member one had to be proposed, seconded, then voted on by the committee, which also had the power to ban people, which was not uncommon in days gone by if certain people fell foul of “the rules” or displayed a distinct lack of social etiquette.

Come a Friday night, when a turn was on, if you wanted a seat, you needed to be in line by 5.30pm, even though the shutters on the bar wouldn’t rattle up until 7pm. Many a music career began against the backdrop of slightly peeling wallpaper – indeed, the Kaiser Chiefs played Holbeck long before they hit the big time.

However, while they once part of the fixutres and fittings of the average British town, they were just sandcastles on the beach. The tide has come in and gone out. Equality rules, smoking bans and the sheer number of other venues competing for the public’s attention have all have taken their toll.

Many WMCs like Holbeck are financially on the back foot. It is in debt to “the brewery” to the tune of £65,000 and the basic running costs are eye-watering, the electricity bill alone is £1,200 a month.

Budgetary constraints mean things like Sky TV, now a provided in most bars, is totally out of the question – the committee simply can’t justify the £700-a-month price tag.

However, there may yet be hope. Holbeck WMC at least is not going down without a fight.

Dennis Kitchen, 68, a retired transport manager with Metro, joined a growing band of volunteers who are not prepared to let the club die. They have formed a friends group, which allows them to apply for grants to improve the club, they have started Facebook and Twitter accounts and they’re even considering scrapping the once-sacrosanct membership fee (a paltry £5) and yearly subs of £2.70.

As I stand at the bar and chat to Dennis and web-guru Amanda Griffin, sipping my pint of Tetley’s Mild (very nice at £2.32), it’s clear Holbeck WMC is trying very hard to surf the tide rather than stand against it.

“We want to get people interested in coming down, especially younger people. We have this great venue, we’re just 10 minutes walk from the city, drinks are a lot cheaper than you will find elsewhere.

“Our entertainment room is one of the largest in the area and can hold up to 300 people.”

The room occupies almost the entire footprint of the building, creating a vast open space, with tables and chairs focused around a stage and at one end, a bar bigger than the one they have downstairs.

“We had lots of people come down for out fun day last week. We want to hold more events like that but ultimately we need people to come regularly. It’s my belief we can do that.”

Mother-of-one Amanda, an office manager for a recruitment firm, has been coming to the club since she was five and even worked behind the bar in her teens, when she met husband Gavin.

She says: “I realised they had no presence on the internet and so we have changed that, I’m tweeting and posting on Facebook regularly. I’m doing it purely for the love of the club.”

That love has already spread to two local councillors, Coun Adam Ogilvie and Coun Angela Gabriel have joined the committee in a bid to ensure the club’s survival.

Grants won by the friends group have already paid for new mirrors and fridges. Plans are afoot to improve the outdoor area and create planted flower beds. New carpets and a fresh lick of paint could follow. When the club repays its brewery debt, it hopes to begin offering guest ales – there’s even talk of organising a beer festival and a farmer’s market.

Things, it seems, are on the up.

Volunteer and former pub manager Ian Pickup, who runs the bar, says: “We are looking into putting having solar panels on the roof, which would help massively with the electricity bill. We’re open to ideas to make sure this club doesn’t disappear.”

The club still has some regulars who remember its heyday – Barrie Pennells, 74, first went to the club in 1958 and remembers seeing it “heaving”. He says: “They had teams for everything, snooker, darts, cricket, they had what they called the Blue Room, which was the only room you could swear in.”

Still, there are some younger faces already at the club. I find Gavin Griffin, 32, a self-employed joiner, in the snooker room. He says: “A lot of places you go, they are not built for kids, whereas I can come here and my son, Aidan can be a four-year-old and no-one swears when he’s around. It’s very welcoming.”

Coun Ogilvie said: “Holbeck Working Men’s Club is the oldest in England dating back to 1877.

“It has kept going due to the dedication of its committee and members. However, just 
as pubs and clubs up and down the country are struggling, the same applies to WMCs, as fewer people go out to drink in such places in the light of cheaper alternatives.

“That’s why a few of us including myself and Coun Gabriel became involved, to see if we can help the club attract new audiences.

“Having local residents Ian Pickup and Dennis Kitchen step in on a volunteer basis to help run the club, is giving it a fighting chance of survival.

“As anyone who has been to Holbeck WMC will know, it’s a fantastic venue, with a large space upstairs, including a bar and stage, which lends itself to all kinds of events. We’ve put on a couple of music nights which have been a great success.

“The fun day the other weekend was really popular and I think this has got to be key. How can we attract younger people and families alongside the existing loyal membership.

“We are open to ideas and help so please get in touch.”

Holbeck could be the example other clubs follow, a beacon.

When you look at Holbeck WMC, standing alone across from the moor and surrounded by the scrubland where once stood towering blocks of flats, that is precisely what it looks like, a beacon.

Contact the club at www.holbeckwmc.co.uk or call 0113 226 0808.

1877 and all that...

Talk to people at Holbeck Working Men’s Club and they will tell you it’s the oldest in the country. It was a busy year...

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