Tanfield Lea Working Mens and Community Club in County Durham has been at the centre of village life in the former pit village since 1923 and is celebrating its centenary in style
Established in 1923 as Tanfield Lea Working Mens Club, the club has recently changed its name to reflect its strong ties with life in the former Durham County pit village and, going forward, will be known as Tanfield Lea Working Mens and Community Club.
There may have been a slight tweak to its name but there is absolutely no question that the club will ever forsake its rich traditions and history which stretch back over the 100 years it has been in existence.
For an illustration of how much local history means to the club, you just have to walk into the club's Concert Room and take a look at the Tanfield Lea Miners Association Banner which takes pride of place on the wall.
“About ten years ago, the members clubbed together to raise £15,000 in order to get the old banner replaced with a new one,” says Club Secretary John Robson.
“When it arrived we took it into Durham Cathedral during the Durham Miners' Gala to be blessed which was a big day for the club and the village.
“We’re very proud to have it up on the wall as it reminds everybody of the history of this village as a mining community.
“Every July, the banner is taken along to the Durham Miners’ Gala by a group of people from the village and members of the club.
“A lot of the younger people are now getting involved and feel really proud of taking part in the event and keeping that part of our local tradition alive.
“This year, as well as being the club’s centenary, is also the 60th anniversary of Tanfield Lea pit closing and to mark that occasion, we did our own ‘mini gala’ through the village with a band and parade and a free Fun Day for kids in the club’s garden.
“We’re in discussion at the moment to make this an annual event on the same date each year and get the local school involved along with the whole community.
“We already really encourage local groups and charities to use the club as a focal point and meeting place - and to use our grounds to put on events and fundraisers.
“We also have a community defibrillator installed on the exterior of the club, so it seems fitting to change our name officially to Tanfield Lea Working Mens and Community Club to reflect our commitment to and celebration of village life.”
Talking of celebrating, the centenary was marked with a spectacular two-day outdoor event held over the Saturday and Sunday of the late May Bank Holiday Weekend – TanFest – which saw a number of live acts performing on a lorry trailer stage plus a children’s inflatable fun park laid out on the clubs expansive lawn.
“Reaching the centenary has been massive for the club as it’s a really important milestone and a major achievement for all the people who have helped run the club since it was founded,” says John.
“The trailer stage was the idea of one of our Committee members who got in touch with a contact in the transport industry and it worked brilliantly.
“It was a little bit stressful for the Committee in terms of organisation but it was worth it to see how much excitement was generated amongst the members.“It was a great event and it was so popular that we’re aiming to stage it annually but over a single day going forward.
“We also designed some commemorative glasses and pin badges for the members and were delighted that Union President George Smith came to the club on the Sunday to present us with our Centenary certificate from the CIU.
”The next major event at the club is a beer festival in September which will further cement the club’s reputation as one of the best venues in the area for cask ale, a status which has already been acknowledged by the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) with the club gaining several awards from their local branch as well as a regular place in the organisation’s prestigious annual Good Beer Guide which lists the best bars for cask ale right across the UK.
Presiding over the club’s impressive bar operation is Stewardess Kay Drummond.
“The cask ale side of things is a real labour of love and we work really hard to continually source interesting beers from all over the country,” she says.
“We have a great relationship with our local CAMRA branch and the range of real ales brings definitely brings people into the club as they really enjoy trying beers from independent breweries rather than the standard cask ales you see all over the place.
“We put up the beers on the board and you see people coming in and going straight over to the board to see what’s on offer that day. Cask ale really helps to drive trade.”
Alongside the traditional ales, the bar also has a wide array of other drinks, including the club’s bestselling lager, Madri, on draught, wines and a range of different flavoured gins and vodka with Kay ensuring the club keeps up with all the latest drinks trends.
This approach helps the club maintain a good mix of the generations amongst its membership with a range in ages from 18 to 83. “We’re very pleased that young people want to be involved with the club,” says John.
“One thing which has helped in that regard is we now have two separate football teams based at the club - one featuring players mostly in their 20s who play on a Sunday and another featuring over-40s who play on Saturdays.
“The pitches are under a mile from the club so after a game both teams will come back to the club with their supporters and the opposition players for drinks and a bit of food.
“This new arrangement started last season and it has been a real boost to trade.
“We also have a ladies darts team who compete in the local league on Wednesday nights so are here for home fixtures every other Wednesday. We did have a pool team until the pandemic and we hope that we can get that back up and running at some point in the near future.
”There’s also an enthusiasm for live televised sport at the club, particularly when it comes to the Premier League.
“We show all the Premier League games on Sky Sports and TNT Sports and many of our members are Newcastle United fans – St James’ Park is a 20-minute drive from the club – so we are particularly busy when there’s a game on featuring the ‘Toon’.
“We are also really looking forward to seeing some busy midweek nights for United’s upcoming UEFA Champions League fixtures given that they haven’t been in the top European competition for 20 years.”
The club’s contingent of Magpies fans are in for a further treat on September 22 when two ex-players – Steve Watson and John Beresford – are visiting the club for a special ‘Audience With...’ event.
“We’ve done these sort of events before and they are really entertaining,” says John. “It’s certain to be completely packed and no doubt we will get the inside story of the two players’ time at St James’ Park, including the famous 5-0 win over Man United in 1996!”
The club’s Function Room is much in demand for private parties with all manner of celebrations and functions taking place throughout the year, including birthday parties and wedding receptions.
“We’re very lucky to have a Function Room alongside our Bar and Lounge and people are very appreciative of the service we provide at private events and we have bookings for many months ahead,” says John.
Live entertainment is another regular fixture at the club with a singer performing every Sunday alongside bingo and other games such as ‘Open The Box’ and bigger live events taking place around six or seven times a year.
“We like to get the bigger bands into the club every couple of months and will charge around £5 for tickets,” says John.
“That seems to work really well for us as the members’ interest remains high when you have the time to build up to each event and numbers are always very good.”
The club appears to be in rude health and John is quick to pay tribute to the club’s hardworking Committee which is driving the club forward.
“We have a full Committee with 10 members and three officers and have a very good spread of ages with the youngest official in their mid-20s,” says John.
“It really helps to have someone from a younger generation who can put their point of view across about what they would like to see happening in the club.
“We all feel that the club is in a good place in terms of what we offer our members and trade is holding up well during these current tough economic times.”
It appears that, after 100 years, Tanfield Lea Working Mens and Community Club is ready for plenty more chapters in its already illustrious history.
