Wellhouse Liberal Club
The club was
in existence as early as 1877 as there is a report in November 1877 of the club
holding a public tea in the Wellhouse New Connexion Methodist Sunday
School. After the tea members of the
Liberal Club entertained the large audience with songs, comedy and
recitations. The proceeds of the evening
were to go towards the building fund for a new Sunday school and amounted to £3
4s 8 1/2d. Huddersfield Chronicle 21 November 1877
Sir James
Kitson laid the foundation stone for a new Liberal Club in Golcar in June 1888,
this one being the
“Wellhouse Liberal
Club.”
A banquet followed the
ceremony held at the Slaithwaite Liberal Club and this was followed by a large
meeting at a nearby cotton mill. Sir William Harcourt also attended the event and when he rose to
speak at the evening meeting he was greeted with loud cheers. Sixteen months later the new Liberal Club
was opened once again Sir James Kitson did the honours in front of a large
crowd assembled outside the club. He was
presented with a
“handsomely chased”
gold key inscribed with
“Presented to Sir
James Kitson, Bart. Of Leeds, on the occasion of the opening of Wellhouse Liberal Club, Golcar. Oct 12th
1889.”
The building was described in the local papers as being
“a handsome and
commodious stone structure.”
It had cost
£775 to build of which the club had raised £367 but remained with a debt of
over £400 to pay. The opening of the new premises had caused the membership to
rise and there were over 98 members on roll. Eastern Evening News 4 June 1888; Leeds Times 9 June 1888; Leeds
Mercury 14 October 1889.
As with most
political clubs there was an emphasis on political education in the events at the club and
one such was a lecture in 1899. W.
Griffiths of Marsden gave a lecture on
“The Human Eye” with “limelight
illustrations.”
There was a large
audience of both men and women at the talk. Huddersfield Chronicle 12 January 1899
The club held
a
“Tea and entertainment”
at the Wellhouse Board School in October 1900 to
raise money for club funds. There was
only a small attendance at the tea but the evenings entertainments were better
attended. The Colne Valley Glee Party entertained with a selection of “glees”
other entertainment included songs, a solo violin and a comedy act. Around £6
was raised for the club. Huddersfield
Chronicle 24 October 1900
There was a
tradition of workplaces closing down to allow a summer break for their workers
in Yorkshire and in the Colne Valley this was certainly the case. In August 1906 workplaces closed on the
Friday until the following Wednesday and a few closed for a full week. Work had been plentiful that year and despite
a few strikes people had been paid enough to allow them to save sufficient
money for the holiday break. The
Wellhouse Liberal Club had run a saving scheme and that weekend paid out monies
amounting to £655 to their members who could enjoy their summer respite during
the Colne Valley Break. A similar account reported in the Yorkshire Evening
Post in 1913 saw Wellhouse Liberal Club distribute £700 of savings for
"Feast
Week.”
By 1919 the amount saved and pad out by the club had risen to £1050!! Leeds Mercury 13 August 1906 & Yorkshire
Evening Post 6 September 1913 & 6 September 1919
The
Wellhouse Club held a three day bazaar at Christmas 1907to raise funds to clear
some of the club’s debt. The first day
was opened by William Crowther, President of the Colne Valley Liberal Council,
with the second day being opened by Arthur Lockwood. Councillor A Sykes also
attended the event. They received a
letter of support from Lord Airedale who expressed his hope that
“they would
receive the encouragement which they merited.”
He also enclosed a donation to
the fund. The first day of the sale had
raised £120 and it was hoped that this would rise to £200 by the end of the
second day. Leeds Mercury 26 & 27
December 1907
