July's Club of the Month: Elton Fold Workmens Club
Elton Fold Workmens Club in Bury, otherwise known as ‘The Klondike’, was founded in 1897 and recently completed an impressive extension project which has given the club a major boost
Opening its doors for the first time back in 1897, Elton Fold Workmens Club in Bury, Greater Manchester has been an integral part of its local community ever since. It became known as ‘The Klondike’ in those early days – perhaps a cheeky reference to the fact that its huge levels of trade were akin to the gold rush unfolding in Canada in the 1890s. That nickname has been embraced by members with the informal monicker alongside the ‘official’ title on the club’s exterior signage as well as referenced by an interior mural which depicts a gold prospector making his way through snowy mountains.
Unlike that infamously short-lived gold rush, the club has endured and in the 127 years since it was founded, the club has reinvented itself time and time again, as is confirmed by reading the impressively detailed commemorative history booklet which was produced for the club’s 120th anniversary back in 2017. The publication charts how, across the generations, successive committees have acted as wise custodians of the club, continually improving the facilities in their determination to boost the club’s comfort levels. And that tradition continues right up to the present day with the club cutting the ribbon on a brand-new extension last month.
“We’re only a small club with around 600 members but we want to ensure that the club offers the best possible experience for our members so in December of last year, we embarked on creating this extension,” explains Club President Jack Rogerson. “We had the money in the bank and we just felt it would be a great addition to the club to utilise the bit of extra space we had on the side of the building.”
The family ethos of the club is demonstrated by the fact that Jack’s son, John Rogerson, who is the Club Chairman, has been the mastermind behind the new extension. “John is an electrician by trade for a big company and has project managed the extension in his spare time, pulling all the various trades together to get a fantastic job done on time and to budget,” says Jack. “We’re just delighted with the quality of every element of the extension and that’s a tribute to the firms who did the work: Fensters Trade Frames, John Madigan Joinery Services, Nest Building Services, NCR Electrical, Reliable Upholstery, Sovereign Snooker and Thorpe Design Services.
“We have two new darts boards with electronic scoreboards and the extension also houses our existing snooker table which has been upgraded to competition level, plus a large screen to view live sport. We built the excitement up beforehand with a countdown on our Facebook page ahead of the Grand Opening on Saturday, June 15 and it was a fantastic night with the members delighted with the new extension. It was fitting that the ribbon was cut by our former Club Secretary Jed Storey who has worked so hard for the club for many years but sadly had to step down from his role after being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease earlier this year.
“It has really created a buzz amongst our members as is shown by the fact that some of the female members of the club, inspired by the new darts set-up, have embarked on forming a Women’s Darts section so that’s going to be a real positive for the club and will add to our midweek trade. We already had around 20 new people a month applying to become members and the new extension adds to what we have to offer as a club, although we didn’t build it to attract new members but to add a bit of extra comfort for our existing members!”
Jack is keen to stress that the continuing success of the club is down in no small measure to a high degree of teamwork by Committee Members and staff. “We are very lucky to have some really highly capable and hardworking people on our Committee, all with backgrounds and skills to help to drive the club forward. We also have an outstanding Club Manager in Karen Krepel who is absolutely brilliant and has been a tremendous positive influence on the club since she took over the role a few years ago.”
The club enjoys a long-term relationship with Manchester brewery JW Lees - just 11 miles away from the club – and offers a great range of reasonably priced drinks to its members, including bitter at £3.10 a pint and lager at £3.20 pint. “We’re really happy with JW Lees and that is obviously reciprocated given how much beer we sell,” says Jack. “Every year, our rep arranges a trip around the brewery for a group of our members which is always interesting and gives a great insight into how the beers are produced.”
Charity has been a big part of the club for much of its history and the club archives show that during the depression in the 1930s, free membership and cash grants were awarded to members who were suffering financial hardships, with the money coming from draws and events held at the club. This giving culture continues to this day with the club staging regular fundraisers for a number of good causes. “Giving back to the community is really important to the club,” says Jack. “We hold fundraisers for local schools and football teams and various charities throughout the year and my daughter, Paula Nelson, helps to co-ordinate all the events.
“There will often be a personal angle to which charities we donate to. For example, Paula was treated for Breast Cancer at the Christie Cancer Hospital and we’ve done various fundraisers for that, including a recent sponsored 47-mile walk from the club to the Blackpool Tower which raised over £5,000. Earlier this year, in April, we held an Entertainment Night in aid of the Motor Neurone Disease Association after, as I mentioned earlier, our former Club Secretary Jed was diagnosed with the disease. We had a singer performing some big hits from the ’50s and ’60s, plus raffles and auctions. We also managed to get some sports stars – including former Great Britain Rugby League player Kevin Sinfield and former England football Manager Sam Allardyce – to send video messages which were played on the club’s TV screens during the event. That night raised over £5,000 which we are delighted with and we have several further charity events coming up, including a Prosecco Afternoon, again organised by Paula. We also installed a community defibrillator at the club about 10 years ago. I actually suffered a cardiac arrest while playing Crown Green Bowls and ended up having a quadruple heart bypass and that experience inspired me to raise the funds for a club defibrillator which could save someone else’s life in the future.”
The club stages regular live entertainment including tribute nights, bands and vocalists. Coming up over the next few months are tributes to Boy George, Tom Jones, Bryan Adams and Bruce Springsteen, while ‘Celine Dion’ and ‘Meat Loaf’ have both packed out the club in recent months. Live sport is also important for boosting trade at the club. “We have five screens throughout the club, including a large drop down screen, and we have been really busy during the Euros, especially the England games,” says Jack. “We also show live sport throughout the year and it’s very useful to have so many screens as it means we can keep everyone happy if there’s a clash, like for example, between a Premier League fixture and a Rugby League match. We sponsor a local football club so they come into the club after their games and can have a few drinks and watch the live fixtures. Then you have the other sports teams – darts, snooker and dominoes – throughout the week and they help to keep the club busy. There are also regular karaoke nights plus a Country Music Night once a month which has been going for years and has built up a great following. We’re delighted with the new extension and really happy with how well the club is doing at the moment. The level of support we get from our members makes all the hard work worthwhile.”
It’s clear that Elton Fold Workmens Club – the Klondike – is worth its weight in gold to its members.
