Learn & Discover
Learn & Discover
The history of working men’s clubs
In our Learn and Discover journey into Working Men’s Clubs we’ve established what they are and the role that they can play for its members and their community, but how did there get to be so many Working Men’s Clubs in the first place? The history of WMCs and their subsequent growth reflects the evolution of white, working class, male Britain and the slow steps it has taken towards diversification. Whilst WMCs may be born from prejudice against male workers of a lower social status, it has a history that affects drinkers across the class spectrum, and provides a valued insight into the drinking culture of today.
Rachel Hendry
A wine and cider writer, featured in Wine52’s Glug magazine, Pellicle magazine, Burum Collective and Two Belly. The mind behind wine newsletter J’adore le Plonk and an untiring advocate for spritzing every drink she can get her hands on.
The History of Working Men’s Clubs
In our Learn and Discover journey into Working Men’s Clubs we’ve established what they are and the role that they can play for its members and their community, but how did there get to be so many Working Men’s Clubs in the first place? The history of WMCs and their subsequent growth reflects the evolution of white, working class, male Britain and the slow steps it has taken towards diversification. Whilst WMCs may be born from prejudice against male workers of a lower social status, it has a history that affects drinkers across the class spectrum, and provides a valued insight into the drinking culture of today.
Rachel Hendry
A wine and cider writer, featured in Wine52’s Glug magazine, Pellicle magazine, Burum Collective and Two Belly. The mind behind wine newsletter J’adore le Plonk and an untiring advocate for spritzing every drink she can get her hands on.
Why were clubs started? And by whom?
Before clubs there were pubs and the leisurely activity of drinking in a tavern or public/ale house was popular throughout Great Britain. Although pubs were frequented by people across the class divide, much of the writing about drinking in public houses carried a patronising tone in regards to working class drinkers, implying they were less civilised and more inclined to succumb to the temptations of alcohol than those deemed socially superior to them.
From the mid nineteenth century, inspired by the popularity of ‘Gentlemen’s Clubs’ and in an attempt to curtail and control the leisure activities of the working class, the Working Men’s Club was born.
The Club and Institute Union (CIU) formed shortly after in 1862 and was “for the purpose of helping Working Men to establish Clubs or Institutes where they can meet for conversation, business and mental improvement, with the means of recreation and refreshment” according to T G Ashplant in Popular Culture and Class Conflict, 1590-1914.
Ruth Cherrington’s excellent book Not Just Beer and Bingo! A Social History of Working Men’s Clubs sums up the motives of club formation as follows: “With a moral panic about drink and the genuine desire of working men to have their own leisure spaces, WMCs appeared as a good compromise… Temperance campaigners wanted to eliminate intoxicating liquor.”
Why were clubs started? And by whom?
Before clubs there were pubs and the leisurely activity of drinking in a tavern or public/ale house was popular throughout Great Britain. Although pubs were frequented by people across the class divide, much of the writing about drinking in public houses carried a patronising tone in regards to working class drinkers, implying they were less civilised and more inclined to succumb to the temptations of alcohol than those deemed socially superior to them.
From the mid nineteenth century, inspired by the popularity of ‘Gentlemen’s Clubs’ and in an attempt to curtail and control the leisure activities of the working class, the Working Men’s Club was born.
The Club and Institute Union (CIU) formed shortly after in 1862 and was “for the purpose of helping Working Men to establish Clubs or Institutes where they can meet for conversation, business and mental improvement, with the means of recreation and refreshment” according to T G Ashplant in Popular Culture and Class Conflict, 1590-1914.
Ruth Cherrington’s excellent book Not Just Beer and Bingo! A Social History of Working Men’s Clubs sums up the motives of club formation as follows: “With a moral panic about drink and the genuine desire of working men to have their own leisure spaces, WMCs appeared as a good compromise… Temperance campaigners wanted to eliminate intoxicating liquor.”
“… much of the writing about drinking in public houses carried a patronising tone in regards to working class drinkers.”
— Rachel Hendry
“After just a year of formation the CIU had helped 13 clubs to begin, growing to 55 by its second.”
— Rachel Hendry
The liquor in question was seen as paving the way for ruin and was to be avoided at all costs. An important player in the formation of the CIU was the Reverend Henry Solly and it’s important to note that amongst many character traits Solly was a teetotal and this very much influenced his drive to grow separate spaces for the working classes. The idea for clubs was supported (and funded!) by aristocrats and clergymen who saw the potential of clubs in removing working men into clubs with controlled leisure facilities. Queen Victoria herself even made a donation to the cause.
“The Brighton Working Men’s institute, opened in 1849, was seen by Solly as an early example for others to follow. In Hertfordshire a club opened in 1855 and sold beer in ‘limited qualities’ which, he gleefully noted, helped to close down the local pub” Ruth writes, making Solly’s motives when it came to club growth clear.
After just a year of formation the CIU had helped 13 clubs to begin, growing to 55 by its second. But if this growth was to continue then their stance against alcohol consumption was in need of interrogation.
The CIU’s motto was “recreation hand in hand with education and temperance”, the aim of these spaces to provide improvement facilities without the temptation of alcohol. This didn’t always sit well with club members and was to provide much debate.
The liquor in question was seen as paving the way for ruin and was to be avoided at all costs. An important player in the formation of the CIU was the Reverend Henry Solly and it’s important to note that amongst many character traits Solly was a teetotal and this very much influenced his drive to grow separate spaces for the working classes. The idea for clubs was supported (and funded!) by aristocrats and clergymen who saw the potential of clubs in removing working men into clubs with controlled leisure facilities. Queen Victoria herself even made a donation to the cause.
“The Brighton Working Men’s institute, opened in 1849, was seen by Solly as an early example for others to follow. In Hertfordshire a club opened in 1855 and sold beer in ‘limited qualities’ which, he gleefully noted, helped to close down the local pub” Ruth writes, making Solly’s motives when it came to club growth clear.
After just a year of formation the CIU had helped 13 clubs to begin, growing to 55 by its second. But if this growth was to continue then their stance against alcohol consumption was in need of interrogation.
The CIU’s motto was “recreation hand in hand with education and temperance”, the aim of these spaces to provide improvement facilities without the temptation of alcohol. This didn’t always sit well with club members and was to provide much debate.
Alcohol consumption as class debate in clubs
Arguments for and against the consumption of alcohol in Working Men’s Clubs went on for some time until 1865 when Solley decided, for the sake of the growth and popularisation of WMCs, to allow individual clubs to make their own decision about the sale of alcohol.
“Respectable working men wanted a drink in their clubs, it was better to be provided under controlled conditions there rather than in the public house” wrote Laurence Marlow in A Menace to Sobriety? The drink question and the working man’s club and the theme of WMCs as spaces in which to control the working classes continued, even with the permittance of alcohol.
This decision wasn’t accepted with open arms, the CIU president during 1875, Lord Rosebury, believed that clubs “should be free from all vexatious, infantile restrictions on the consumption of intoxicating drinks and similar matters” but by then it was too late.
Alcohol consumption as class debate in clubs
Arguments for and against the consumption of alcohol in Working Men’s Clubs went on for some time until 1865 when Solley decided, for the sake of the growth and popularisation of WMCs, to allow individual clubs to make their own decision about the sale of alcohol.
“Respectable working men wanted a drink in their clubs, it was better to be provided under controlled conditions there rather than in the public house” wrote Laurence Marlow in A Menace to Sobriety? The drink question and the working man’s club and the theme of WMCs as spaces in which to control the working classes continued, even with the permittance of alcohol.
This decision wasn’t accepted with open arms, the CIU president during 1875, Lord Rosebury, believed that clubs “should be free from all vexatious, infantile restrictions on the consumption of intoxicating drinks and similar matters” but by then it was too late.
When the 1872 licensing act was put into place, restrictions were imposed on drinking hours, but the discriminatory loophole was that gentlemans clubs were exempt. WMCs, having been based on the model of gentlemans clubs, could be a way around this too. Not only that but because WMCs were not-for-profit organisations the beer sold could be done so at cheaper prices than would be found in nearby public houses.
This accessibility of price was only emphasised when WMCs were provided with beers brewed with club culture in mind. So They Brewed Their Own Beer was written by Ted Elkins and is a book about the Northern Clubs Federation. It tells the story of the club owned breweries that were started in Leeds, Coventry, Llantrissant and Huddersfield that brewed beer for the sole purpose of being sold to clubs, and clubs only. The federation was founded in 1919 and this brilliant blog post by Boak and Bailey tells their story in more detail.
When the 1872 licensing act was put into place, restrictions were imposed on drinking hours, but the discriminatory loophole was that gentlemans clubs were exempt. WMCs, having been based on the model of gentlemans clubs, could be a way around this too. Not only that but because WMCs were not-for-profit organisations the beer sold could be done so at cheaper prices than would be found in nearby public houses.
This accessibility of price was only emphasised when WMCs were provided with beers brewed with club culture in mind. So They Brewed Their Own Beer was written by Ted Elkins and is a book about the Northern Clubs Federation. It tells the story of the club owned breweries that were started in Leeds, Coventry, Llantrissant and Huddersfield that brewed beer for the sole purpose of being sold to clubs, and clubs only. The federation was founded in 1919 and this brilliant blog post by Boak and Bailey tells their story in more detail.
“…because WMCs were not-for-profit organisations the beer sold could be done so at cheaper prices than would be found in nearby public houses.”
— Rachel Hendry
“Arguments for and against the consumption of alcohol in Working Men’s Clubs went on for some time until 1865 when Solley decided, for the sake of the growth and popularisation of WMCs, to allow individual clubs to make their own decision about the sale of alcohol. “
— Rachel Hendry
Political associations
“It is a universally-recognised and most important principle that this Union, all Working Men’s Clubs, and the whole movement generally, must not only be rigidly kept free from religious or political bias, but must scrupulously avoid becoming in any shape or way organisations for promoting political or theological purposes”, states a paper read by Henry Solly before the Social Science Association in Sheffield, October 1865.
This was a somewhat optimistic approach for spaces involving the working classes and as trade union activity grew and the Labour Party formed this principle of the CIU fell to the curb.
Clubs, run by their members, were naturally democratic spaces and it was impossible to separate politics from their day to day running. Club members would participate in political protest outside of their headquarters, a famous example of this being The Boro’ of Hackney Clubs opposition to the 1876 Tory government’s decision to support Turkey in their war against Bulgaria.
‘Strongly held Radical affiliations were embedded in some clubs from the start and were reflected in their names, such as the Tottenham Radical Club” writes Ruth Cherrington. “The movement encompassed diversity but due to the large working-class membership, left of centre leanings come as no surprise. Some chose to support the Conservative or Liberal party and these later formed their own associations”.
My local WMC, for example, is named the Canton Liberal Workmen’s Club and Institute, a name that works to reflect the political associations of its founding and former members.
Political associations
“It is a universally-recognised and most important principle that this Union, all Working Men’s Clubs, and the whole movement generally, must not only be rigidly kept free from religious or political bias, but must scrupulously avoid becoming in any shape or way organisations for promoting political or theological purposes”, states a paper read by Henry Solly before the Social Science Association in Sheffield, October 1865.
This was a somewhat optimistic approach for spaces involving the working classes and as trade union activity grew and the Labour Party formed this principle of the CIU fell to the curb.
Clubs, run by their members, were naturally democratic spaces and it was impossible to separate politics from their day to day running. Club members would participate in political protest outside of their headquarters, a famous example of this being The Boro’ of Hackney Clubs opposition to the 1876 Tory government’s decision to support Turkey in their war against Bulgaria.
‘Strongly held Radical affiliations were embedded in some clubs from the start and were reflected in their names, such as the Tottenham Radical Club” writes Ruth Cherrington. “The movement encompassed diversity but due to the large working-class membership, left of centre leanings come as no surprise. Some chose to support the Conservative or Liberal party and these later formed their own associations”.
My local WMC, for example, is named the Canton Liberal Workmen’s Club and Institute, a name that works to reflect the political associations of its founding and former members.
Wartime and clubs
Moving forward into the war years of the early twentieth century, the member model and community focus of WMCs started to come into their own. The physical and mental toll wartime took on those sent out to fight, and the sheer lack of support received once the wars were over meant that clubs were needed more so than ever. The idea of having a space dedicated to men who shared specific experiences proved vital to the mental wellbeing of ex-servicemen.
“They could gain some form of indirect support by establishing their own clubs. It was not necessarily the case that they would talk constantly about their experiences over a few pints” explains Ruth Cherrington, “Ex Servicemen’s clubs could provide a refuge where certain things were implicitly known and shared even if not openly spoken about.”
Convalescent homes played a big role in the support of ex-servicemen, a support that didn’t just revolve around alcohol, providing resources for those who needed rest and recuperation following their endurances. Convalescent homes were opened for club members in locations such as Langland Bay in South Wales and Saltburn in the North East. When places like these could rarely be afforded to stay in for one night, let alone multiple weeks, they provided invaluable opportunities for rest, meals and fresh air that otherwise would not have been accessed.
It is perhaps this solace and support that could be found in WMCs post war that led to a new found popularity in club life.
Wartime and clubs
Moving forward into the war years of the early twentieth century, the member model and community focus of WMCs started to come into their own. The physical and mental toll wartime took on those sent out to fight, and the sheer lack of support received once the wars were over meant that clubs were needed more so than ever. The idea of having a space dedicated to men who shared specific experiences proved vital to the mental wellbeing of ex-servicemen.
“They could gain some form of indirect support by establishing their own clubs. It was not necessarily the case that they would talk constantly about their experiences over a few pints” explains Ruth Cherrington, “Ex Servicemen’s clubs could provide a refuge where certain things were implicitly known and shared even if not openly spoken about.”
Convalescent homes played a big role in the support of ex-servicemen, a support that didn’t just revolve around alcohol, providing resources for those who needed rest and recuperation following their endurances. Convalescent homes were opened for club members in locations such as Langland Bay in South Wales and Saltburn in the North East. When places like these could rarely be afforded to stay in for one night, let alone multiple weeks, they provided invaluable opportunities for rest, meals and fresh air that otherwise would not have been accessed.
It is perhaps this solace and support that could be found in WMCs post war that led to a new found popularity in club life.
Club Boom
The post-war boom led to the peak of the WMCs popularity. According to trusted club historian Ruth Cherrington the statistical rise looked as follows: “By 1950, the number of CIU clubs had risen to 3262, reaching 3501 in 1960. Further expansion up to 1970 increased club numbers by 12 percent. By 1974 the figure stood at its peak of 4033.”
The rise was down to many factors: local councils were setting aside land for club building as towns redeveloped, the end of wartime rationing had finally arrived and club spending was put towards refurbishment and the modernisation of their facilities.
Clubs may have become the height of recreational activity for their growing members, but that doesn’t mean they were spaces for everyone.
Club boom
The post-war boom led to the peak of the WMCs popularity. According to trusted club historian Ruth Cherrington the statistical rise looked as follows: “By 1950, the number of CIU clubs had risen to 3262, reaching 3501 in 1960. Further expansion up to 1970 increased club numbers by 12 percent. By 1974 the figure stood at its peak of 4033.”
The rise was down to many factors: local councils were setting aside land for club building as towns redeveloped, the end of wartime rationing had finally arrived and club spending was put towards refurbishment and the modernisation of their facilities.
Clubs may have become the height of recreational activity for their growing members, but that doesn’t mean they were spaces for everyone.
The story is the same with Oakham Ales, who won in 2001 with Jeffrey Hudson Bitter – JHB. They were already a reasonably well known brewery when they won, but they credit their CBOB win with being the catalyst for getting the nerve to go ahead with building a bigger brewery. As well as immediately having to increase from brewing three times a week to six, the team saw a new widening of demand for JHB and the rest of the Oakham range in areas away from their ‘East Midlands heartland.’
Clubs and the colour bar
Whilst clubs may have provided places of solace for its working-class members, it is important to remember that the vast majority of these members were not only male, but predominantly white.
The Colour Bar was the practice of forcing non-white drinkers into separate rooms away from their white neighbours and colleagues. Clubs, exclusive in their membership, were no exception to this. So much so that in 1972 the CIU appealed against the Race Relations Act 1968 and it was agreed that it would not apply to clubs, ensuring they could still personally select their members. So much for a “neutral” union.
The Equality Act in 2010 replaced all existing laws and ensured that its legislations apply to clubs as well as public spaces. Whilst a membership still has to be applied for it aims to ensure no one is denied membership as a result of their race. But it will take more than an Act to undo the reputation of WMCs as spaces for the white, male, working classes.
(See David Jesudason’s account of the colour bar here).
Clubs and the colour bar
Whilst clubs may have provided places of solace for its working-class members, it is important to remember that the vast majority of these members were not only male, but predominantly white.
The Colour Bar was the practice of forcing non-white drinkers into separate rooms away from their white neighbours and colleagues. Clubs, exclusive in their membership, were no exception to this. So much so that in 1972 the CIU appealed against the Race Relations Act 1968 and it was agreed that it would not apply to clubs, ensuring they could still personally select their members. So much for a “neutral” union.
The Equality Act in 2010 replaced all existing laws and ensured that its legislations apply to clubs as well as public spaces. Whilst a membership still has to be applied for it aims to ensure no one is denied membership as a result of their race. But it will take more than an Act to undo the reputation of WMCs as spaces for the white, male, working classes.
See David Jesudason’s account of the colour bar here
Women in clubs
The name Working Men’s Clubs should tell you all you need to know about their original stance on allowing women to participate in their recreational facilities. Women attendance varied from club to club, with some banning them completely and others allowing a limited use of certain facilities as long as they were accompanied by their husband or father. Later on, the design of public houses where women were confined to certain rooms separated from men was replicated in club facilities too. Women were not permitted to be part of the managerial committee, be in charge of the bingo calling or, somewhat absurdly, play snooker.
(It is worth noting that two women, referred to as Miss Cooper and Mrs Bayley, were involved in setting up some of London’s first clubs in the 1860s. Their motive being the alcohol-free nature of clubs at the time and the hope that they would encourage a decrease in alcohol induced domestic abuse).
The campaign for women to gain equal entry and membership into WMCs raged for decades throughout every region and every club. One notable incident involved the Wakefield City Working Men’s Club. Sheila Capstick, having been a regular snooker player, was banned from the game after a club rule was put into place declaring women were no longer allowed to play. Her protest, entitled A Woman’s Right to Cues, launched the nationwide Equal Rights in Clubs Campaign for Action, or ERICCA.
Full membership rights for women did not come into effect until 2007, finally allowing them to be provided with Associate and Pass cards signalling a full and equal membership. 2007 was also the first time a woman was appointed to the role of Assistant General Secretary, having worked at the CIU head office since 1994 as a Personal Assistant to the officers of the CIU.
Women in clubs
The name Working Men’s Clubs should tell you all you need to know about their original stance on allowing women to participate in their recreational facilities. Women attendance varied from club to club, with some banning them completely and others allowing a limited use of certain facilities as long as they were accompanied by their husband or father. Later on, the design of public houses where women were confined to certain rooms separated from men was replicated in club facilities too. Women were not permitted to be part of the managerial committee, be in charge of the bingo calling or, somewhat absurdly, play snooker.
(It is worth noting that two women, referred to as Miss Cooper and Mrs Bayley, were involved in setting up some of London’s first clubs in the 1860s. Their motive being the alcohol-free nature of clubs at the time and the hope that they would encourage a decrease in alcohol induced domestic abuse).
The campaign for women to gain equal entry and membership into WMCs raged for decades throughout every region and every club. One notable incident involved the Wakefield City Working Men’s Club. Sheila Capstick, having been a regular snooker player, was banned from the game after a club rule was put into place declaring women were no longer allowed to play. Her protest, entitled A Woman’s Right to Cues, launched the nationwide Equal Rights in Clubs Campaign for Action, or ERICCA.
Full membership rights for women did not come into effect until 2007, finally allowing them to be provided with Associate and Pass cards signalling a full and equal membership. 2007 was also the first time a woman was appointed to the role of Assistant General Secretary, having worked at the CIU head office since 1994 as a Personal Assistant to the officers of the CIU.
“There are many factors which have led to a decrease in club membership. Various recessions, redundancies and a large overall decline in industrial trade and occupation meant there was no longer a need for clubs with a focus on engineers, railways and miners”
— Rachel Hendry
“The post-war boom led to the peak of the WMCs popularity“
— Rachel Hendry
Clubs in recent times
Working Men’s Clubs had reached dizzying heights of venues and memberships in the 1970s, but alas, what goes up must inevitably always come down. This growth was only sustainable for so long.
“The ‘swinging sixties’ brought many social changes that left club committees in the 1970s scratching their heads wondering why fewer folk were walking through their doors. They could not know this was the start of a long-term decline even though the signs were already there.” writes Ruth Cherrington in her introduction to a chapter in her book entitled: Where have all the members gone?
There are many factors which have led to a decrease in club membership. Various recessions, redundancies and a large overall decline in industrial trade and occupation meant there was no longer a need for clubs with a focus on engineers, railways and miners. A personal example of this is Coventry’s Jaguar Social Club in Radford which was frequented by my family for years before its closure at that site in 2013, several years after the factories closed their doors for good.
Evolution of pubs into spaces that welcomed families and the cheapness of supermarket prices caused a threat. Whilst these businesses were looking ahead and forming to the future, WMCs were stern keepers of tradition. Although there had always been a wariness of promoting cheaper drink prices for clubs it was a factor of their popularity, and chain pubs and bulk made booze were now providing fierce competition.
Clubs in recent times
Working Men’s Clubs had reached dizzying heights of venues and memberships in the 1970s, but alas, what goes up must inevitably always come down. This growth was only sustainable for so long.
“The ‘swinging sixties’ brought many social changes that left club committees in the 1970s scratching their heads wondering why fewer folk were walking through their doors. They could not know this was the start of a long-term decline even though the signs were already there.” writes Ruth Cherrington in her introduction to a chapter in her book entitled: Where have all the members gone?
There are many factors which have led to a decrease in club membership. Various recessions, redundancies and a large overall decline in industrial trade and occupation meant there was no longer a need for clubs with a focus on engineers, railways and miners. A personal example of this is Coventry’s Jaguar Social Club in Radford which was frequented by my family for years before its closure in 2013 a few years after the factories closed their doors for good.
Evolution of pubs into spaces that welcomed families and the cheapness of supermarket prices caused a threat. Whilst these businesses were looking ahead and forming to the future, WMCs were stern keepers of tradition. Although there had always been a wariness of promoting cheaper drink prices for clubs it was a factor of their popularity, and chain pubs and bulk made booze were now providing fierce competition.
The introduction of new legislations and taxations took its toll, too. The 2005 Licensing and Gaming Act meant that a club’s opening times and the effect of its noise on the local area had to be taken into account. Whereas the CIU had allowed clubs to set their own rules there were now limits on entrance fees, prize money and distributions of gaming machines. A blanket ban on smoking in any public space was put into place in 2007 and is frequently given as the driving force behind a club’s decline.
The leisure and drinking culture of Britain was changing and it was up to clubs to attempt to keep up with that change. In a 1986 review by Stephen Linstead as part of a survey commissioned on behalf of the CIU and Northern Clubs Federation Breweries Ltd he warned that “to ignore what is going on in other sectors of society cannot fail to be counter-productive in the short run and may be disastrous in the long run.”
The course of WMCs spans almost two centuries and is a rich and vital social history of working-class culture. Membership may have fallen but the clubs that remain stand steadfast and I would encourage you to check out your local, should you feel comfortable doing so.
For those of you that have gained a thirst for the history of WMCs not only is Ruth’s book a fantastic resource for those wanting to learn more about the social history of working men’s clubs but her online resource: Club Historians is doing valuable work in documenting and promoting the invaluable world of social clubs.
The introduction of new legislations and taxations took its toll, too. The 2005 Licensing and Gaming Act meant that a club’s opening times and the effect of its noise on the local area had to be taken into account. Whereas the CIU had allowed clubs to set their own rules there were now limits on entrance fees, prize money and distributions of gaming machines. A blanket ban on smoking in any public space was put into place in 2007 and is frequently given as the driving force behind a club’s decline.
The leisure and drinking culture of Britain was changing and it was up to clubs to attempt to keep up with that change. In a 1986 review by Stephen Linstead as part of a survey commissioned on behalf of the CIU and Northern Clubs Federation Breweries Ltd he warned that “to ignore what is going on in other sectors of society cannot fail to be counter-productive in the short run and may be disastrous in the long run.”
The course of WMCs spans almost two centuries and is a rich and vital social history of working-class culture. Membership may have fallen but the clubs that remain stand steadfast and I would encourage you to check out your local, should you feel comfortable doing so.
For those of you that have gained a thirst for the history of WMCs not only is Ruth’s book a fantastic resource for those wanting to learn more about the social history of working men’s clubs but her online resource: Club Historians is doing valuable work in documenting and promoting the invaluable world of social clubs.
