This is the United Services Club on Brookburn Road, just thirty years after it was opened in 1928.
I have to confess to only ever being inside once, for the birthday of Muriel who ran the greengrocer’s shop on Beech Road, but that as they say is another story.
Instead I am following the story of the club, prompted by a set of documents sent over to me by Steve Casson which include the first two balance sheets of the club from 1928.
The then secretary was the brother of Steve’s grandfather which makes it a bit of personal history.
The club was officially opened on Saturday May 26th, by Councillor Burrows, and had cost £685 and according to a press story was “equipped as a library, with provision for billiards and other games, and a license is attached.
The present membership is 111, [and] it is to be a non-political club, .... and one of its objects is to aid wives and dependents of members in cases of hardship. The hon. Secretary is Mr. H. Gales, late of the Grenadier Guards”.*
The same report offers an interesting insight into Chorlton at the time, with Councillor Burrows commenting that “Chorlton was the largest ward of any in the municipality in the country, and it had the biggest ratable value of any suburban area under the Manchester Corporation”.
And to add just a little bit of colour to the event “The Chorlton Band played selections on the green, before the opening ceremony, and later, in the club, and an evening concert followed”.
Now, I never actually spotted when the club closed, and saw the slow development of the site into residential properties, which are now going through more change.
There will be people with stories of the club, but apart from the two balance sheets, so far the only other story is that of how in 1936 various members were fined for “supplying drink during non-permitted hours”, but in their defence it was pointed out that “the club had been registered for eight years and hitherto had been conducted without complaint against it.”**
Looking at the two statements, what is interesting is that on the first one dated January to December 1928, the bar takings were £1069, compared with the following year when the takings were £2439, so all was well in 1929.
Location; Chorlton
Pictures; United Servicemen’s Club, 1958, R.E. Stanley, m17686, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, balance sheet for the British Legion, 1929, courtesy of Steve Casson
*British Legion Club for Chorlton, May 28th, 1928, Manchester Guardian
**Offences at a Club, January 16th, 1936, Manchester Guardian
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| The club in 1958 |
Instead I am following the story of the club, prompted by a set of documents sent over to me by Steve Casson which include the first two balance sheets of the club from 1928.
The then secretary was the brother of Steve’s grandfather which makes it a bit of personal history.
The club was officially opened on Saturday May 26th, by Councillor Burrows, and had cost £685 and according to a press story was “equipped as a library, with provision for billiards and other games, and a license is attached.
The present membership is 111, [and] it is to be a non-political club, .... and one of its objects is to aid wives and dependents of members in cases of hardship. The hon. Secretary is Mr. H. Gales, late of the Grenadier Guards”.*
The same report offers an interesting insight into Chorlton at the time, with Councillor Burrows commenting that “Chorlton was the largest ward of any in the municipality in the country, and it had the biggest ratable value of any suburban area under the Manchester Corporation”.
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| The balance sheet, 1929 |
And to add just a little bit of colour to the event “The Chorlton Band played selections on the green, before the opening ceremony, and later, in the club, and an evening concert followed”.
Now, I never actually spotted when the club closed, and saw the slow development of the site into residential properties, which are now going through more change.
There will be people with stories of the club, but apart from the two balance sheets, so far the only other story is that of how in 1936 various members were fined for “supplying drink during non-permitted hours”, but in their defence it was pointed out that “the club had been registered for eight years and hitherto had been conducted without complaint against it.”**
Looking at the two statements, what is interesting is that on the first one dated January to December 1928, the bar takings were £1069, compared with the following year when the takings were £2439, so all was well in 1929.
Location; Chorlton
Pictures; United Servicemen’s Club, 1958, R.E. Stanley, m17686, courtesy of Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives, Manchester City Council, http://images.manchester.gov.uk/index.php?session=pass, balance sheet for the British Legion, 1929, courtesy of Steve Casson
*British Legion Club for Chorlton, May 28th, 1928, Manchester Guardian
**Offences at a Club, January 16th, 1936, Manchester Guardian
The club closed in May 2000, after being ran for several years by my parents.
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