 |
Memories of St Keverne Working Men's
Club
by Billy Moyle
|
 As the only surviving founder member
of St-Keverne Working Men's Club and now aged
94, I thought that I would write down a few
memories about the club and clubroom.
In the immediate years after the First World War,
there were few employment opportunities in the St
Keverne area, as was the case in most villages on
the Lizard Peninsula. The main employers in the
area were the two stone quarries at Porthoustock
and the Dean but these offered jobs for quarrymen
rather than for youngsters. Local farmers could
offer seasonal work especially at harvest time on
threshing days and always gave farm produce in
addition to wages.
There was very little in the way of social life
for young people apart from activities connected
with the church or the chapel. The only hall
available in the village to possibly house a
men's club was the Parish Hall, known as the
Reading Room and several attempts were made by
various people to use it as a clubroom. However,
the late Sir Courtnay Vivyan thought that such a
use would upset the elderly folk who used the
hall as a quiet reading room.
In 1922 a new Methodist minister was appointed
for the St Keverne Circuit - the Rev.Joseph
Birkbeck moved into the Manse with his family
which included three sons. Rev. Birkbeck soon
became aware of the problems facing the young men
in the village and was instrumental in persuading
the Chapel Trustees to allow him to start a club
in the Sunday School Room known as the Ark. By
January 1923 Rev Birkbeck was able to report back
to the trustees that a working men's club had
been successfully established in the Ark. (St
Keverne band had been using the Ark for band
practice since 1910 so this building served as a
band room, a club room, a Sunday School and the
home for chapel activities). The Ark on a late
Saturday evening had to be got ready by the young
men for Sunday School the next day.
As time went by the club began to outgrow the Ark
and a search was always being made about a
possible new site. I forget the year but Mr
Rogers who had farmed at Trythance retired to the
village and he owned a building in Trelyn Lane
that was an old stable. Bill and Peggy Tripp who
ran the daily St Keverne - Helston horsebus used
to keep their horses there. Eventually, after
discussions between the Rogers family and the
club officials, the old stables were pulled down
and the site prepared for the building of a new
clubroom.
The work was undertaken by local volunteers which
included several masons and I remember the
concrete blocks being made in their thousands in
the yard in Trelyn Lane. Mr Sandy Hill of St
Keverne and Mr Jack Hayden were in charge of the
block-making. I reckon at least two thousand
blocks were made! At the same time as this was
happening fund raising events were being
organised in the village to meet the expenses.
My late brother Hugo Moyle of St Keverne and
later of Garras was the guest billiard player at
the opening ceremony of the new Working Men's
Club-room in 1941. Hugo had been taught how to
play billiards at the age of eight by Mr Ralph
Clayton, the headmaster of St Keverne School.
This would have been in about 1907 or 1908 (even
before I was born). Hugo, despite his short
stature, was an excellent billiards player and
during his years in St Keverne was the organiser
of a billiards team and was responsible for
arranging visits by teams from other places on
the Lizard peninsula and for organising
tournaments.
For many years Dorothy (Dolly) Williams was
caretaker of the clubroom - she was responsible
for cleaning the place and lighting the fire.
Dolly retired sometime in the 1960s and received
a presentation at a special "do". Names
come back to me of some of the people present on
that occasion (apart from myself) - Roy Pascoe
from Treskewes, Jack and John Williams
(Dolly's husband and son), Dennis Treloar,
Morely Thomas, Dick Nicholls, Keith Sobey, Rex
Williams from the Post Office, Geoffrey Rogers
from Rosenithon, Derek Keverne, David Rogers,
Colin Retallack, Edward Rogers (Treglohan) and
Jimmy Rogers (Lower Treglohan).
Apart from a short period of time (in the early
1950s I think) the clubroom has been in
continuous use and generations of St Keverne
young people have taken advantage of the
facilities offered. The billiard table filled the
centre of the main room but there was always
space for a game of cards either in the main room
itself or in the small anteroom. The good thing
about St Keverne WMC was the fact that teenagers
and the retired mixed extremely well and the
"older" members were always happy to
play the youngsters at billiards, snooker or in a
game of cards. My son Terry remembers using the
WMC regularly during his late teenage years with
all his friends (late 1950s/early 1960s) and my
grandson Tristan also had a game of snooker there
when he was a young lad and experienced a full
size table for the first time! I am proud to be
have been associated with St Keverne clubroom for
most of my life.
Billie Moyle - March 2005.
|
|
|
