The first recorded working men's club opened in 1857 in Reddish. Gregg set it up for his workers. He identified that many of his workers were shut out of their lodging throughout the day and evening, with nowhere to cook or even read a newspaper, and were forced to spend their non-working lives in a public house. Greggs Reddish Working Man club aimed to give them somewhere to relax. There are four working mens clubs in Reddish, this one, the North Reddish Working Men's Club and the architecturally significant Houldsworth Working Men's Club. , possibly the UK's oldest working men's club still running, in 2018. Despite the original educational ambitions, most working men's clubs are now mainly recreational. Typically, a club would have a room, often referred to as a vault, with a bar for the sale and consumption of alcohol, snooker, pool or bar billiards tables, as well as televisions for sport entertainment; many provide food. A much larger room would be connected, often called the concert or entertainment room, with a stage and a layout of tables, stools and backrest sofas. They often provide night time entertainment, mainly on the weekends such as bingo, raffles, live music cabaret and comedy, playing popular music. They are also known for their charitable works. In recent years, declining membership has seen many clubs close down and others struggle to remain open. Some groups try to raise the profile of clubs, pointing to their historical legacies and their community roles.
21st Century
Meanwhile, the 19th and early 20th century educational ambitions of working men's clubs have now returned in new organisations such as the men's shed movement that started in Australasia and has spread to Europe and appeals to much the same community as working men's clubs. Similarly the growing hackerspace movement appeals mostly to younger working men and women, who forty years ago would have worked on their interests in their garden shed or garage and then met others of like mind at their local working men's club. However, with the rise in housing costs few younger people have access to such spaces, instead were being forced to use public spaces such as cafes prior to the introduction of shared facilities such as hackerspaces and men's sheds. working men's club, West Yorkshire
Membership and structure
Working men's clubs are cooperatives run by their members through a committee, usually elected annually. Each club has rules that tend to be vigorously enforced. The committee will discipline members for violations. Despite the name, women are allowed to be members in many clubs, and virtually all clubs allow entry to women. Non-members are not allowed entry unless signed in by a member. In the UK they are registered as co-operatives under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, normally using model rules supplied by the Clubs and Institutes Union. A dispute at Wakefield City Workingmen's Club in 1978 led to a national campaign for equal membership rights for women. Sheila Capstick, whose husband was an activist in the NUM, had been a regular snooker player at the club before a ban was instituted on women playing snooker. Her protest A Woman's Right to Cues developed into a nationwide campaign for equal rightsERICCA – Equal Rights in Clubs Campaign for Action. In April 2007, after the resolution had been consistently rejected over years, the Club and Institutes Union accepted equal membership rights for women.
Club and Institute Union
Most clubs affiliate to the Working Men's Club and Institute Union. The CIU is affiliated to the Committee of Registered Clubs Associations or CORCA. A member of one affiliated club is entitled to use the facilities of other clubs. There are 2,200 affiliated working men's clubs in the UK. The CIU has two purposes: to provide a national voice for clubs, and to provide discounted products and services for clubs.
Brewery
Until 2004, clubs ran a brewery at Dunston, Tyne and Wear, which brewed ales and lagers under the Federation brand. The brewery and brands were sold to Scottish & Newcastle for £16.2 million, although CIU clubs still receive discounted beer. These discounts are passed on to members.
