The Conservative Club remains an iconic local land mark.
Whatever you think of the politics of the place and there are many I know who refused to step into the building that has dominated the corner of Wilbraham and Manchester Roads for a century and more.
It was opened in 1892, on land granted by the Egerton estate and the building was paid for through an issue of shares. What is interesting is that the shareholders consisted of the very wealthy local professionals, tradesmen and farmers as well as domestic servants and warehouseman.
Which I suppose was partly a tribute to the political manoeuvrings of Disraeli with his brand of one nation politics and the astute way his government positioned itself ahead of the Liberals when it extended the franchise to sections of working men in 1867. It may also have something to do with that old Tory paternalism which in the early decades of the 19th century saw leading Tories attacking factory conditions and the laissez faire politics of successive Whig governments.
But here I conceded I shall have to do more reading. In the meantime I shall fall back on some research by my old friend Lawrence who has dug deep into the history of the building and points up the role of the Public Hall which was on the upstairs of the Con Club and was accessed by a separate entrance.
“The architects were Darbyshire and Smith, who very well known especially for building theatres including the Palace in Manchester) and pubs like the Marble Arch on Rochdale Road. The front entrance went into the Conservative Club and a side entrance on Manchester Road went upstairs to the Public Hall which had a stage.
The capacity was given variously as 700 to 800. There was a separate entrance to backstage area, a caretakers building at the rear and kitchens in the basement with a lift system to bring food upstairs.
The foundation stone was laid on Saturday April 25th l 1891 by Cunliffe Brooks and Lady Brooks and there was a dinner and speeches in the Lloyds opposite.
A year later the Club was opened on Saturday April 23rd 1892 by Lord and Lady Egerton along with Lord Cross an old Tory grandee, who had been Home Secretary in the Disraeli Government.
And three years later the clock which had been paid for by subscription was unveiled. It was made by William Potts & Sons of Leeds had three faces was lit by gas.”**
It was the first public clock in Chorlton and takes us back to the fact that the building was more than just a Con Club. For the best part of a century it had also been a public place and from this seems to have risen the confusion as to the name and purpose of the building.
Many old postcards from the early decades of the 20th century refer to the building as the Public Hall not the Conservative Club leading one local historian to wonder which it was. I guess for many in Chorlton it depended on who you were and how you visited the place.
Now I could have featured one of the many old photographs but instead have chosen Peter’s painting of the Club shortly after it closed for the last time. Peter as you know paints the pictures and I tell the stories so it seemed fitting that this should be the image to use, especially given that the future of the building is still in the realms of speculation.
Picture; The Conservative Club, September 2012, © Peter Topping, web: www.paintingsfrompictures.co.uk facebook: www.facebook.com/paitningsfrompictures
* John Thaw, 1942 –2002) was an English actor, who appeared in a range of television, stage and cinema roles, his most popular being television series such as Redcap, The Sweeney, Home to Roost, Inspector Morse and Kavanagh QC.
** read Lawrence’s blog at http://hardylane.blogspot.co.uk/
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