100th Birthday celebrations for town’s social club

A SPORTS and social club, which has links with Melksham’s industrial past, will turn 100 years old this month. 

Spencer Sports and Social Club on Beanacre Road, Melksham, was founded in the 1920s as a working men’s club for employees of Spencer (Melksham) Ltd., which later became GEC Mechanical Handling Ltd.

The idea of a sports club began in 1923, for employees of the engineering company. Plans were drawn up for a bowling green and tennis courts on a field and allotments. Volunteers then helped build a club for social events and indoor sports such as skittles and rifle shooting. The club has continued to be used for sports and social events ever since.

In 1987, GEC announced that it would be closing its Melksham site, and there was concern the social club would close too. However, the club was purchased by committee members and trustees, who wanted to keep it open for the community.

This year, to celebrate the club turning 100 years old, the committee will be hosting dances on Friday 10th March, Saturday 11th March and Saturday 1st April; There will also be a Rock ‘n’ Roll weekend in May and an open day during the summer, with the date to be confirmed.

Chairman of the club, Tony Webb said, “We are celebrating 100 years all year! We are so proud of the work we’ve done.

“When the committee bought the club, we wanted it to be here for everybody in Melksham. I think a lot of people don’t realise they can come here, but they can.

“When we bought it and got the rights to everything, we have been trying hard to get people in from the town and it’s still difficult even to this day, but it’s open to absolutely everyone.”

The club has facilities for darts, pool, poker and skittles teams, and adjacent to the building is a bowls club. The committee also organise dances themed on country and western, soul and modern sounds, and host functions for parties, weddings and funerals of up to 180 people.

Centenary Celebration events include Friday 10th March, The Night Hours and  Roger Dee’s Nostalgia Disco (tickets £10pp) and Saturday 11th March, Mission Blue – a soul /Motown group with Micky John Bull cabaret / comedian / singer, again with Roger Dee’s Nostalgia Disco (Tickets £12 pp)

Tickets are on sale now from the bar staff or call 01225 702216.

During the Covid pandemic, Spencer Sports & Social Club hosted an NHS vaccination clinic and the NHS continue to use the space for other clinics. Club secretary Ray Edwards said, “We look after the community. In the pandemic the NHS vaccination centre was stationed here, we now also host a blood donor service, there’s a leg clinic here on Thursdays, a breathing clinic on a Thursday and a skin clinic coming up. We’ve got a lot of NHS work.”

However, in recent years, the club has faced a slowing down in trade and needs more members and users to keep the club thriving.  Ray explained, “Since the pandemic and the total shut down of everything, and now the cost-of-living crisis, the trade hasn’t really returned back to what it was.

“We cater for a whole range of things and we rely on the income from these events and the money over the bar. Of late though, with business what it is, the trade has been down and the numbers are dropping off fast. People haven’t got the pounds in their pockets. We get bookings for a party of 150 but we know that will only be about 75 people. We hope that in the summer time, people will start to come back. They have started, but not in droves.“

Membership of Spencer Sports and Social Club costs £5 per year and this fee goes towards the running of the venue and gives discounts on drinks. To keep it going, the committee is looking for new volunteers to join, to help take it over from older volunteers.

Tony said, “We have nine volunteers on the committee and we should have 12. We are always looking for new talent to come here and do things to get it moving again. Everyone really likes it here, they all say they get good service.”

Spencer Sports and Social Club is open on Tuesdays 7pm to 11pm; Fridays 6pm to 10pm; Saturdays 4pm-10pm; and Sundays 4pm to 9pm. For more information visit the website, https://www.spencersportandsocialclub.co.uk/