Brinsworth Social Club
Founded in 1918 in a humble wooden hut, Brinsworth Social Club in Rotherham is now a modern, welcoming venue which has remained at the heart of its local community
Founded in 1918 as Brinsworth and Canklow Working Men's Club and Institute, Brinsworth Social Club in Rotherham began life as a simple wooden hut, the centrepiece of which was a large cylindrical coal stove in the centre of the room.
Scroll forward 106 years, and the club, while occupying the same site, has been expanded and modernised many times over by successive committees during the intervening decades to become the comfortable and spacious venue of today.
Rather than the single room of old, present-day members can avail themselves of superb facilities in the Bar, Lounge, Concert Room, and Games Room, while the coal stove has been replaced by eco-friendly solar panels and an ultra-efficient boiler.
While the appearance of the club has changed beyond all recognition since those earliest days, the club remains—as always—at the heart of the local community and has continued to adapt to the needs of its members.
"This club was built on coal and strengthened by steel," says Club Secretary Mark Fergusson CMD.
"Until the decline of heavy industry, a high proportion of our members worked in the pits or steel works. Many others fed off the wages earned by these people. The shopkeepers, clubs, pubs, and local tradesmen all enjoyed the benefits of the good money earned from the industries.
"The boom times of the 1970s and 1980s may have gone, but the club continues to survive—although it's not easy keeping everyone happy and managing the finances. We have a loyal membership who support us from week to week, and the club's Committee and staff work hard to ensure that we provide a great environment, a good range of drinks at the right price points, and plenty of activities to enjoy."
The club opens at 4pm Monday to Thursday; 2pm on Fridays, and midday at the weekend—a schedule that suits the vast majority of members.
"We have defined busy periods throughout the week, including the 'workers' playtime' period between 5pm and 7pm midweek when you get members coming in for a pint and a bit of chat straight after they've finished the day's work and are on their way home," explains Mark.
"We have Sky Sports, TNT Sports, and Racing UK, with football and racing being the main attractions, so there's also the European football ties during midweek to attract people on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays as well as the Premier League ties at the weekend."
The club also runs pool and snooker teams who play league fixtures in midweek, while the Concert Room hosts live entertainment at weekends.
"We have a good mix of bands and singers throughout the month, and we put it all up on our website and Facebook to ensure that members know what's coming up," says Mark.
"We look at live acts as an added incentive for our members, so we never charge extra for our entertainment, which we think is an important principle of clubland.
"Friday nights are different each week. We have an extremely popular Northern Soul event once a month, a decent band another week, or perhaps a singer. In October, we had a rock covers band from the North East—Top Gun—and they went down a storm covering classic hits from groups like AC/DC, Guns 'N' Roses, and Iron Maiden.
"We have modern and sequence dancing once a week, and that is something very popular with our older generation, but also attracts some younger dancers as well."
And bingo remains a mainstay at the club, with sessions held several times a week alongside other traditional draws such as the Meat Raffle.
"Bingo has always been popular at the club, and the sessions draw a good crowd," says Mark.
"The club took a massive leap last year when we installed the new Dransfields 'Spotlight' entertainment system, and it has revolutionised entertainment in the club and changed the way we run the bingo.
"Dransfields spent time with us, talking us through the system, and loaned us a trial system before we committed to having it installed. Quizzes, raffles, 'Open the Box,' and a music system are all built into the package, but the most popular of all the features is the bingo.
"The numbers are displayed on a big screen and on small monitors around the club, as well as called out by the system. This has proven really popular with our members, who like to be able to see the numbers as well as hear them, especially if you're hearing-impaired. The system also enables you to run music-based bingo games which can be changed depending on the event or season. For example, there's a game which just has Christmas songs—or in October, we did Halloween music-themed bingo.
"With any major projects comes teething problems, but Dransfields professional team has been there to quickly sort any issues out. As an added bonus, the system allows us to show upcoming events on the TV screens around the club, so we can promote events to the members."
As December approaches, the club is getting ready for a busy trading period over the festive season. "We are putting on entertainment on all the major days, including a live act on Christmas Day and a family pantomime taking place on December 27," says Mark.
"We're also going to stage a special 'Spirits Bingo' evening where the winners receive a bottle of spirits rather than a cash prize. In addition, we're taking a group of members on a coach trip to the Christmas Market at York in December, so there's plenty for members to enjoy during the festive period.
"We're a family-friendly club, so in addition to the pantomime, we do regular events throughout the year which children can attend, most recently a Halloween Party, and we are actively trying to get younger people involved in the club," says Mark, who in addition to his role as Club Secretary is also a member of the Union's NEC and recently took over as South Yorkshire Branch Secretary.
"Like many clubs, it can be difficult to get the 18-plus crowd in regularly even though the drinks prices are so much more reasonable in our bars than in other licensed premises around the area. We certainly ensure that we keep up with all the latest trends and brands drinks-wise, as well as offering the classic 'clubland' beers such as John Smith's (£3.20 a pint) and Carling (£3.30 a pint).
"But it's just a fact of life that a lot of people in that 18-30 age bracket want to head to Sheffield and end up paying a fortune for drinks. Part of the problem is that many young people see clubs as old-fashioned, but that's a perception which a lot of clubs are trying to change. With my NEC and Branch Secretary hats on, that's something which can be a problem right across the board in clubland, and many clubs are pulling out all the stops to get new people through their doors by looking at what they have to offer their members.
"At the other end of the age spectrum, clubs like ours are a real community asset and somewhere where older people, perhaps seniors who are otherwise socially isolated, can come in and be made welcome.
"It's always a hard balancing act to ensure a club can adapt to the modern world while keeping true to its traditions and ethos, but it's worth the effort when you see the many positive effects that Union clubs like us have on their local communities."
