Working men's club
Working men's clubsare British privatesocial clubsfirst created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly theNorth of England,Midlands,Scotland,Northern IrelandandSouth Wales Valleys,to provide recreation and education forworking classmen and their families.
History
[edit]The first working men's club opened in 1857 inReddish.[1] Wisbech Working Men's Club & Institute was formed in 1864 inWisbech,Isle of Ely, and moved to its present site in 1867. It was once the most financially successful of all the clubs in England, with over 1,300 members in 1904.[2]
Working men's clubs provided a framework for members to engage in a range of political, educational, or recreational activities.[3][4]
Despite the original educational ambitions, most working men's clubs are now mainly recreational. Typically, a club would have a room, often referred to (especially in Northern England) as a vault, with a bar for the sale and consumption of alcohol,snooker,poolorbar billiardstables, as well as televisions for sport entertainment; many provide food. A much larger room would be connected, often called the concert or entertainment room, with a stage and a layout of tables, stools and backrest sofas. They often provide night time entertainment, mainly at the weekends such asbingo,raffles,live musiccabaretand comedy, playingpopular music.They are also known for their charitable works.
Declining membership has seen many clubs close down and others struggle to remain open.[5]
Membership and structure
[edit]Working men's clubs arecooperativesrun by their members through a committee, usually elected annually. Each club has rules that tend to be vigorously enforced. The committee will discipline members (common punishments being a warning, or a ban for a period) for violations. Despite the name, women are allowed to be members in many clubs, and virtually all clubs allow entry to women. Non-members are not allowed entry unless signed in by a member.
In the UK they are registered as co-operatives under theCo-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014,normally using model rules[6]supplied by theClubs and Institutes Union.
A dispute at Wakefield City Workingmen's Club in 1978 led to a national campaign for equal membership rights for women. Sheila Capstick, whose husband was an activist in the NUM, had been a regular snooker player at the club before a ban was instituted on women playing snooker. Her protest,A Woman's Right to Cues,developed into a nationwide campaign for equal rights:ERICCA – Equal Rights in Clubs Campaign for Action.In April 2007, after the resolution had been consistently rejected over years, the Club and Institutes Union accepted equal membership rights for women.[7]
Club and Institute Union
[edit]Most clubs affiliate to theWorking Men's Club and Institute Union(commonly known as the CIU or C&IU). The CIU is affiliated to the Committee of Registered Clubs Associations. A member of one affiliated club is entitled to use the facilities of other clubs. There were 2,200 affiliated working men's clubs in the UK as of 2010.[8]There are 1,175 as of 2024.[9]
The CIU has two purposes: to provide a national voice for clubs, and to provide discounted products and services for clubs.
Brewery
[edit]Until 2004, clubs ran a brewery atDunston, Tyne and Wear,which brewed ales and lagers under theFederationbrand. The brewery and brands were sold toScottish & Newcastlefor £16.2 million,[10]although CIU clubs still receive discounted beer.
Impact of 2007 smoking ban
[edit]A poll by the British Institute of Innkeeping and theFederation of Licensed Victuallers Associationsfound that overall revenue was 7.3 per cent down as more men opted to drink at home, where they could also smoke.[11]
See also
[edit]- Association of Conservative Clubs
- National Union of Labour and Socialist Clubs
- Men's shed
- Hackerspace
- Mechanics' Institutes
- Women's Institutes
- YMCA
- YWCA
References
[edit]- ^Scapens, Alex (29 August 2007)."Club celebrates its 150 year history".men.Retrieved18 April2020.
- ^"Miscellaneous institutions".British History Online.Retrieved24 September2021.
- ^Levy, Carl.Socialism and the Intelligentsia, 1880-1914.London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1987.
- ^Burd, Van Akin, "Frederick James Sharp: 1880-1957."The Book Collector44 (no 4) Winter 1995: 543-573.
- ^"BBC News – Brewers call time on Barrow working men's club".BBC Online.4 January 2013.Retrieved6 January2013.
Ken Brown, the Cumbria secretary for the Working Men's Club and Institute Union (CIU), said: 'Ten years ago there were more than fifty clubs affiliated to the CIU Cumbria, now we have 33.'
- ^"CIU Home Page"(PDF).
- ^"Club women win fight for equal rights at last".Yorkshire Post.Leeds, UK. 2 April 2007.Retrieved9 April2016.
- ^"WMCIU Branch contact details".Archived fromthe originalon 22 March 2010.Retrieved9 August2010.
- ^https://ciu.org.uk/
- ^"Scottish & Newcastle – Financial News".Scottish & Newcastle plc. 14 July 2004.Retrieved12 September2008.
- ^"Working men's clubs hardest hit by smoking ban".Daily Telegraph.18 December 2007.
External links
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