A former working men’s club in Harrogate is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

The Oatlands is bucking a decades-long nationwide trend that has seen many other similar clubs decline or close.

It has managed not just to survive but to thrive, with membership numbers topping pre-pandemic levels – and rising.

Founded on November 1, 1889, the club has earned its place as a vibrant part of the community through an ability to adapt with the changing times, and a proactive approach to investing in its facilities.

An ethos of inclusivity and a warm welcome has helped, too. Visit The Oatlands on any given day and you’ll find a mix of members. There are the older regulars who drop in for a drink and a chat at the same time every day. The cricket and football teams enjoying a post-match pint. Mums and kids popping in after school pick-up, and dog walkers stopping by for refreshment. Clubs and groups gathering for their weekly sessions.

It’s what the club is all about, said Lucy Hague, the secretary on the 11-strong committee.

“A lot of it is about our community using it. We are here: Come and use us. It’s great when we get new faces – we are really welcoming.”

Changing times

Oatlands Mount Working Men’s Club in 1967.

Across the UK, there has been an estimated 75 per cent drop in the number of working men’s clubs during the last half century. In Harrogate, the National Reserve Club closed in 2021, while High Harrogate WMC shut in February this year.

But instead of declining, The Oatlands’ membership is growing. From 888 members at the end of 2020, by the end of 2023 there were 1,158. Thirty joined last month alone. And members don’t just come from the local community. Some are from the other side of town and even as far as Leeds.

It’s a diverse membership, too, with men and women of all ages taking advantage of the bargain £10 annual fee. Many have life membership, automatically bestowed after 25 years. One has been a member since 1956.

A name change has been successful in enticing more people through the door. Originally called Oatlands Mount Working Men’s Club, a rebrand in 2019 aimed to dispel the ‘cloth cap image’ and reflect a more modern, diverse and welcoming ethos.

Other clubs in Harrogate have since followed suit, with Bilton ditching the reference in 2022 and Starbeck becoming Forest Club last year. Nationally, around 60 per cent of the clubs still in existence have changed their name.

Lucy, whose late father Ron Hague joined the club aged 16 and served as president in the 1990s, said:

“I remember when I was little, women weren’t allowed in here. Now we are getting a lot more ladies than we ever used to. Our vice president and bar manager are women. There is much better representation than in the past. Kids and dogs are also welcome. It’s a very mixed community.”

“It’s about our community using it”

The Oatlands committee: Gordon Selby, Lucy Hague, Brian Rhodes, Lesley Watson, Ivor Stainton, George Elmes, Rob Jackson, Mark Bowers, Simon Williams and David Dorsey. Absent, Andrew Milestone

The club’s facilities are varied. There’s a lounge, snug and bar area, where live sports matches are regularly televised. A large function room hosts special events such as comedy nights and live music, and can be hired by members free of charge for private celebrations.

On the first floor are two snooker tables, darts, a table tennis room and a meeting room. There’s even a beer garden, where summer barbecues and other outdoor events are held.

Led by members’ suggestions, the committee organises a range of activities, from children’s Halloween discos to charity fundraisers, quiz nights, and coach trips to the coast or the Christmas markets. Lucy said:

“A lot of what we do is about our community using us. There’s always been an issue with clubs like ours getting young people to join but we get all ages here. Young people come to use the pool and snooker tables. We recently held a Beyonce and Rhianna music night, and a lot of young girls came.”

Everyone at the club cares about it and wants to see it do well. The committee works hard to create a hub for the whole community, re-investing money to improve facilities and infrastructure. Over the last couple of years around £65,000 has been spent on refurbishing the toilets, revamping the outdoor space and improving accessibility, among other things. A redesign of the bar is up next.

Even the beer is good: For the second consecutive year, The Oatlands was this month named Club of the Year by the Harrogate & Ripon branch of Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale.

Bar manager Kate Shutt and assistant Elena Watson receive the Camra award from a branch representative.

In November members will be marking the club’s anniversary with a live band, comedy night and a buffet. Lucy said:

“We were worried during covid that things might take a turn for the worse but we’re doing better now than pre-pandemic. We are thriving, and it’s something to celebrate.”

Read more:

• Starbeck Working Men’s Club changes name in ‘family-friendly’ move
• Bilton Working Men’s Club decides on new name

A new community group has been set up with the aim of building more support for people in Knaresborough.

Life Aid Knaresborough was created by volunteers four weeks ago and has already attracted more than 200 members to its Facebook group.

Its aim is to organise events, raise money for charities, and bring the community together.

Stacey Worrall, who was one of the founders, told the Stray Ferret:

“There’s so many people in what some say is a rich town, but it’s not – the poverty at the moment is higher than ever.

“It would be nice to be able to have some funding in a pot where, if we hear of a family that’s struggling, to be able to help the people of Knaresborough out.”

While local support is the long-term aim, the first project the group is working on is raising money for a fire engine to send to Volodymyr in Ukraine.

The city has strong links with Knaresborough, after resident Bob Frendt made eight aid trips there over the course of 15 months after the war began last February.

Bob Frendt has delivered eight lorry loads of medical and other supplies to Ukraine

He built connections with local dignitaries and, on what he said was his final trip, was asked by the mayor to deliver a fire engine after its appliances were commandeered to help in the war effort.

While an official scheme has seen fire engines delivered to Ukraine from the UK, these have gone directly to Kyiv and have not benefitted outlying communities like Volodymyr, which is in western Ukraine.

Bob said:

“The problem is, for the towns to try and get an engine back, they have got to grease the wheels, they’ve got to give a backhander to someone.

“Volodymyr is such a poor place, they can’t afford to give a backhander, so they can’t get the fire engine back.

“When I was there, I met a woman whose husband was killed in the war. She lived in an apartment on the sixth floor of a building – and those buildings are poorly built to start with.

“We asked what would happen if the apartment block caught fire. Without thinking, she said, ‘we will die’.

“For her sake and her children, I have to get a fire engine to them.”

Mr Frendt hopes to raise enough money to deliver a second-hand fire appliance in October, and has already passed the £5,000 mark.

Life Aid has already begin helping his fundraising efforts, with several events planned for the summer.

Knaresborough Cricket Club will host live music on Friday, August 25. Entry will be free, with donations taken towards the fire engine fundraising.

The following day, venues around Knaresborough are taking part in a series of events designed to get the whole community involved.

There will be face painting and children’s games at the kiosk at Conyngham Hall, while the World’s End pub will have live music from a folk duo.

A disco will be held at Park Place Social Club, supported by Yorkshire Young Farmers, and other venues around the town will offer open mic nights.

Entry is free, but volunteers will be visiting all the venues to collect donations.

The organisers are also keen to hear from local businesses interested in sponsoring or supporting the events, or getting involved in the future.

Stacey added:

“We hope Knaresborough will be heaving with visitors and locals for the bank holiday.

“If it’s a success, we’re planning to carry on every year on the same day, raising money for different charities and helping locals in need.”

To find out more, join the Facebook group. To donate to Bob Frendt’s fire engine fundraiser, click here.

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• Knaresborough man launches crowdfunder to send fire engine to Ukraine

Knaresborough’s Market Place is set to host a new event tomorrow of family activities, food and drink and even farm animals.

The Knaresborough Spring Fayre, organised by Knaresborough Business Collective, is being held from 10am until 4pm tomorrow.

There’ll be fairground rides, a mobile petting farm, the chance to meet the Easter bunny and foam clay and flower crown making workshops.

There is also live entertainment throughout the day with the Meadowside School Choir and All Together Now choir, an easter parade at 12pm, a live dance performance from Studio 3 and music from Albert Stott.

Local businesses will also be holding stalls for visitors to buy from and there will be food and drink vendors too.

Organisers Natalie Horner and Annie Wilkinson-Gill said:

“We are super excited as it looks to be a very busy and amazing day, we have things happening all day long and so much love and effort has been put into it, right down to the smallest details.

“We have involved as many local businesses as possible as that’s what this is all about, bringing people to town not taking trade away from shops.”

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People can arrive throughout the day and entry is free. Activities like the fairground rides, easter bunny grotto and face painting are one token per child which can be bought for £3 each.

This is the first event organised by Knaresborough Business Collective. The not-for-profit venture launched in January to stage events and be a voice for businesses. About 30 businesses have signed up so far as subscribers.

A festival designed to bring people together online has proved a hit with communities across the Harrogate district.

HG Community Lockdown Fest has more than 60 activities scheduled across the bank holiday weekend, including VE Day celebrations on Friday. Among the online performances was a wartime-style song from The Haddow Sisters in Harrogate (shown above), reminiscent of popular 1940s group The Andrews Sisters.

Each session is free, but participants are being encouraged to donate what they can to Harrogate Hospital and Community Charity when they sign up. The fundraising total at the end of Friday stood at £500.

On top of that, Harrogate Town AFC is putting its weight behind the weekend, auctioning off a signed shirt this afternoon and contributing more than £600 for the charity.

Local history

Mental health webinars, children’s Spanish classes, cooking workshops and an online beer-tasting will be held today. Tomorrow, with the weather expected to turn colder, organisers are hopeful that the programme of interior design, floristry, singing, yoga and local history will prove even more popular.

Rebecca Oliver, who helped to put the weekend of events together, said:

“It’s impossible to say how many participants we’ve had, but every event has had someone taking part – despite the amazing weather! We’ve got some great sessions still to come, including plenty on Sunday which are ideal for a rainy day.”

For more information, visit the event’s website: www.hglockdownfest.co.uk.