The Lower Hopton Working Men’s Club in Mirfield, West Yorkshire prides itself on its family ethos and friendly atmosphere, not to mention its first-class facilities and wide range of activities
Situated in Mirfield in West Yorkshire, Lower Hopton Working Men’s Club is a traditional social club with over 500 members and a wealth of activities taking place throughout the week.
“The club has just enjoyed a really busy Christmas and New Year period,” says Club Manager Katie O’Dowd. “Like most social clubs, we put on lots of events in December and they were all well supported by our members.
“We’re a family-friendly club so we had a number of events for kids to enjoy, including local children’s entertainer Dazzling Darren on Boxing Day which has become a tradition.
“It was a ticketed event and was a complete sellout.
Then, on December 29, we had a rock band called Storm performing and it was another sellout.
“They have played at the club several times and are always really popular with all different ages as they play songs from across the decades.
“Plus, we did really well from hiring out our Function Room for private parties, so it was pretty much non-stop.
“That income we get from private parties continues throughout the year though and it’s a really important revenue stream for the club.
“It’s free to hire for members and when a non-member hires out the Function Room we automatically make them a member of the club.
“It’s great value as we only ask for £35 for the room and then we obviously make our money over the bar.
“It brings people into the club and many of them become members after they’ve come here for the first time and see the great facilities we have and the low prices at the bar.
“Having somewhere in the community to celebrate milestones like birthdays, anniversaries, wedding receptions and other key events is really important. We upgraded the Function Room about 10 years ago so we’re now talking about modernising it again.
“You have to move with the times and ensure that the club has a contemporary feel.
“Our Function Room is fully booked for many months ahead so you can see how important it is to the club’s overall finances.
”The club continues to appeal to all age groups with its membership drawn from across the generations and there is no shortage of younger members wanting to get involved with club life.
“Basically we want everyone to be welcome,” explains Katie. “We need to attract new members to safeguard the future of the club but the existing members are just as important as they have supported us for many, many years.
“It’s about having a bit of balance and creating a safe, enjoyable environment where everyone feels comfortable.”
Membership numbers are up this year with many young people following a family tradition.
“People enjoy our ethos and that’s why you see different generations of the same family coming into the club and socialising together,” says Katie.
“It makes for a great atmosphere and you’ll see grandads and grandmas coming in for a drink with their grandchildren."
Sport is a huge part of life at Lower Hopton WMC and they field teams in a number of sports and games, including a well-established football section which dates back to the 1900s and has two sides playing weekly.
“The football section brings a lot of people into the club as, during the season, there is one team playing at home every week and they obviously come back to the club afterwards with their supporters and opposition players for a few drinks.
“They play a pretty high standard in the local league and cup competitions – they are in the top division of the Yorkshire Amateur League – so football does bring a lot of younger people into the club.
“But we also have teams in a number of other sports and games, including bowls, darts, dominoes, snooker and pool. So, again, there’s a mixture of ages taking part in club activities throughout the year.
“Our bowls section is also very competitive and they have won a number of titles over recent years.
“Having these thriving sports sections ensures that we’re busy across the week with football at the weekend, darts on a Monday night, snooker on a Thursday night and bowling fixtures throughout the summer during their season.
“The bowls players generally come in on a Wednesday, even when it’s not the bowling season, just to socialise.”
The club has also invested in subscriptions to Sky Sports and TNT Sports and live sport is extremely popular with members.
“The live Premier League football fixtures draw a good crowd and Super League rugby also has a strong following in our area,” says Katie. “We also have the horse racing channel as our club is really big on racing, particularly the Cheltenham Festival which is taking place March 12-15 this year.
“Cheltenham is on a par with Christmas in terms of trade across the bar so we’re really looking forward to the club being packed for four days with everyone roaring on the horses they’ve backed.
“Gold Cup Day on the Friday is traditionally one of the biggest days of the year for the club and this year is going to be no exception but we’ll be opening early for all four days of the Festival with the atmosphere building up to the racing in the afternoon.
“With Cheltenham being so close to St Patrick’s Day, we will certainly be selling plenty of Guinness in March. We’re renowned for serving a good pint of the black stuff - and it’s a good job as I’m married to an Irishman!
“We are also looking ahead to the European Football Championships in June as that is another great opportunity to boost trade and the club will be really busy for all the England games.”
When it comes to live entertainment, the club tends to use performers very sparingly, finding it more financially conducive to hire out the Function Room for parties.
“We probably have live entertainment around four times a year,” says Katie. “That seems to work for us and means that members really look forward to those occasions and turn out in great numbers.
“We have so many things going on throughout the year and so many bookings for private parties that we reserve live entertainment for specific points in the calendar - like the sellout performance by Storm in-between Christmas and New Year.”
Meanwhile, the club has also garnered praise from the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) for its cask ales and was recently presented with an award by the organisation.
“Our normal cask ale is Farmers Blonde from the Bradfield Brewery near Sheffield and we also have a number of guest ales,” says Katie.
"We have some very discerning members who love their cask ale so it’s definitely another string to the club’s bow.
“We’re lucky that we sell enough cask ale to make it viable which is something I know many clubs and pubs can struggle with.”
As well as cask ale, the club has a wide range of key brands to keep everyone happy with Carling lager a popular choice at the bar. Cider is also a big seller for the club.
“We’re constantly looking at new drinks options that we think our members will like,” says Katie. “Thatchers Cider goes down really well with our members to the extent that we’ve just put in the Thatchers Fusion font which allows us to sell the Blood Orange, Cloudy Lemon and Dark Berry variants on draught.”
The club prides itself on being at the heart of the local community and allows various local groups and charities to hold their meetings and events at the club.
“There is a Breast Cancer support group which meets at the club once a month; a regular meeting of the local allotment owners and a group of train enthusiasts who convene meetings here regularly,” says Katie. “All in all, we’re really proud of the club and how well it is going at the moment.
“The Committee is really forward thinking and keen to evolve the club and improve things for the members. It’s a great place to work as a Manager especially when you have the support of the Committee as I do.
“We’re not out to suddenly change everything overnight – it’s more a case of incrementally improving ever aspect of the club so that everyone benefits. “We want our members to enjoy themselves each and every time they step through the club’s doors!”
