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At the lower end of Park Road stands a single-storey, red-bricked building with the sign “Colne Social Club” over the door. The building has
stood there since the early 1920s when it was erected by the shipbuilding
company Rennie, Newport and Forrest, formerly occupying the old downstream
Shipyard area, for the benefit of their employees to hold social functions
– mainly billiards and whist drives. Extracts from
the minutes of the Club show that on the 14th January 1925, at the Annual
General Meeting, the Club was renamed the “Colne Social Club”.
At a Special Committee Meeting held on 6th July 1925 it was proposed that
the sum of £250 be offered to Mr. C.H.C. Muller, the owner of the
property, for its purchase. Minutes of the Half Yearly
Annual General Meeting, held on 15th July 1925 show that Mr. Muller’s
sale price was £350. The members agreed an offer of £300 –
the eventual purchasing price – the sum to be raised by loans from
members of £1 per share plus a loan from the Equitable Building Society. The running
costs of the Club in those days were met through subscriptions, bar
profits, whist drives and the hiring out of the piano and the whist tables
and chairs! Interesting
extracts from the 1925/26 Committee minutes are:- 1.
The decision to have the gas pipes over the billiard table cleaned
internally in order to improve the lighting. 2.
The Committee had been made aware of the extensive use of profane language
in the Club. The Secretary was instructed to place a notice in the Card
Room pointing out the rule governing such behaviour. 3.
On the 3rd February 1926 “the question of forming a Bowls Club was left
over until the next meeting”. 4.
23rd. March 1926 “it was decided to canvas the members to obtain the
feeling as regards the formation of a Bowling Club, a green being
available near by”. In its early
years the Club became a centre for the professional and businessmen of the
village as well as the laymen. In January 1927 membership
stood at 78, including 10 Country members. It continued to
flourish over the years – financially through subscriptions, the bar and
whist drives, socially through inter-member contact and billiard and
snooker matches with neighbouring clubs until the post-war years. Snooker
gradually re-placed billiards in popularity and leagues were formed in
Colchester and district in which the Club entered teams with some success. Gradually, with
the advent of T.V. and other interests, ease of travel etc. membership and
interest waned and the Club continued only through the support of a small
core of enthusiastic members and the work of its late Steward, Mr. John
Child. The same
picture exists today of a smallish membership, one successful league team
and a Club which is in use for mainly one afternoon and one or two
evenings per week. Financially costs are met through
subscriptions, a snooker table fee and a bar run on a trust-basis. The financial
ups and downs of the Club have been in existence for years – the hope is
that, in spite of such fortunes or mis-fortunes, it will continue to exist
for those who support it. Membership is
open to those over 18 years of age. Tony Forsgate |
A
Short History of The Colne Social Club