Welcome to the club: why are private members’ clubs booming?

Whether it’s an exclusive establishment with a years-long waiting list or a working men’s club at the heart of its community, there’s nothing like a sense of belonging. And when times are tough, memberships go up

When Michelle Fisher got involved with running the Walthamstow Trades Hall, a social club in north-east London, something surprised her: how excited new recruits get about their membership pack. It’s nothing special – a faux-leather wallet containing a membership card and a fob for the door – but time and again, people kept asking: “Is my wallet ready yet?” Fisher laughs recounting this. “People just want to be part of something,” she says. “Especially when everything else is a bit difficult and stressful.” Tapping into this desire to belong, and to be invested in a community, has been central to Walthamstow Trades Hall’s recent regeneration.

Founded as a working men’s club back in 1919, the club sits in an unassuming building on a residential street. So many letters have fallen off the sign at the front entrance that it reads “T AM OW TR DES A L”. But anyone is welcome here – and this open ethos has helped the club find new life. When I visit on a rainy day in early summer, I find Fisher, a friendly 32-year-old with her hair scraped back with a scrunchie, sitting in the club’s cavernous main hall, typing away on her laptop as deliveries for the bar come in. She’s been the club’s secretary for two years, alongside a day job in tech (the club is not-for-profit, everyone on the committee is a volunteer). When she came on board, the Trades Hall’s membership was declining, in common with many former working men’s clubs around the country. “It wasn’t financially viable, so we thought: how do we re-engage our local community?” she says.

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