The Sundridge & Brasted Social Club

 

We are a non profit making organisation originally opened for the local community and to this day still run and supported by people from the local community.  You too can become a member of The Sundridge & Brasted Social Club for only £5.00 per calendar year.  As you can read in our club history below, we may have started out as a working man's club over 100 years ago, however now we are proud to be a club for the whole family, everyone is welcome.  

 

We have a fully stocked, licensed bar.  Below are just some of the low prices you will pay when you become a member:

 

Price List		Pint		Half
Birra Moretti		£4.40		£2.20
Amstel		£4.00		£2.00
Thatchers		£4.00		£2.00
Guinness		£4.50		£2.30
Westerham Ale		£4.20		£2.10
Spirits (from)		£2.70
Wines (from)		£3.70
Soft Drinks (from)		£1.00

 

We are currently open 7 days per week:

 

Opening Hours:
Monday		17:00    -	23:00
Tuesday - Thursday		18:00    -	23:00
Friday		17:00    -	00:00
Saturday		15:00    -	01:00
Sunday		12:00    -	18:00 *

 

* The Club may close earlier or later depending on numbers, this is at the discretion of the bar staff.

 

Members can use the club facilities for private functions if booked in advance, catering can also be arranged if required.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding this or anything else.  Our contact details are at the bottom of the page, we would love to hear from you.

 

 

The Sundridge & Brasted Social Club History

 

On the 14th of May 1904, a relation of the Pollhill family, Mrs Drabble of Woodside (this was redeveloped in the 50’s or 60’s and is now Little Greystones and Old Hall) and Mrs Reid of Shootfield (whose husband had interests in rubber and was a benefactor of the village, until he came upon harder times when the rubber estates were taken over by the government of Malaya), pledged £100 and £50 respectively and then through public subscriptions, the figure increased to a total of £500 for the erection of a parish room and working man's club.  This was built for £500 by the local builder Durtnell’s at this advantageous price.  This consisted of the main hall (still the Sundridge Village Hall) to the left (as looking from the road) and the working man’s club to the right.  However, the rules associated with the working man’s club stated “That no gambling, dancing, or intoxicating liquors be allowed”.  This opened for business on the 1st July 1905. 

As this was at the time a ‘working man’s club’ and not wanting to stick to the rules, the club became nomadic at this point and moved from the Village Hall.  We know at one point it was in the long room above what is now the antique shop at the traffic lights. 

The first record we have of the club building dates back to 1894 and includes William Hugh Spottiswoode (whose father was a famous mathematician and president of the Royal Society), AshlGeorge Bennetton Cherry-Garrard (zoologist, explorer and writer) along with John Charles Tyrwhitt Drake and Herbert St Quintin.  The club moved to its present site sometime after 1911, we know it was a creche at some point before World War 1 but have no dates when the club actually moved in but the accounts of 1911 show no alcohol purchased for that year.  Over the years the building was passed between the above people and descendants of them with the addition of Ludwig Mond (who created a company called Brunner Mood that went onto become part of ICI).  From 1913 the building and club had passed into the hands of Robert Ludwig Mond (Ludwig Mond’s son) whose family owned the Coombe Bank estate. In 1925 the building was bought by Sir William Plender of Brasted (who was a Charted Accountant and served as President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants) and this secured the future of the club.  At this time he was also living at Shootfield House (also where Adam Faith lived at one point). 

On 25th October 1939 this was put into the trust of the Sundridge and Brasted Parish councils by the now Baron Plender OBE (he had obviously been busy) in which it remains as to this day.


The Bowling Green

The first official record we have of the bowling green is of an affiliation to the Kent Bowling Association in 1912.  However, it is believed that bowls had been played on this site well before that as the land was part of the original Coombe Bank estate. Up until that time in 1912 bowls was a game for gentlemen (meaning no women or labourers) so it would have been the local gentry that played there and probably included a lot of the names above associated with the property.

 

Fire Damage (18th February 1954)

"They never closed"
Transcript from the Sevenoaks Chronicle and Courier 26th February 1954  
“Billiard room and bar of Sundridge Men’s club were burnt out on Thursday evening.  On Friday it opened for “business as usual” in the main room-all that remained.  A tiny storeroom, in one corner had been turned into a temporary bar.  “In fact”, said Mr M J Jenkins chapman and trustee, "afterwards we never really closed at all".  Just before closing time on Thursday fireman and helpers drank in the ruined bar to the future of the new club.

Thursday’s caused damage estimated at £1800 to £2000.  It was first seen by Mr A Smith of High Street Brasted and Mr A Brabon, who were driving by at the time.  Mr Brabon dashed to call the fire brigade and Mr Smith called out to Mr F Vaus, a club committee member who lived next door.  The billiard room was burning furiously, Mr Vaus and Mr Smith broke a window at the end of the main hall and dashed in to rescue what they could but heat and smoke stopped them getting much out.  When Westerham firemen arrived followed soon by the Sevenoaks brigade, the billiards room was already practically destroyed and the bar was blazing furiously. 

Mr G Brown, whose wooden house is nearest the Sevenoaks side of the club, saw the billiard room “blow up” soon after the alarm was sounded.  “The windows blew outwards and the roof went in with a real bang” he said, “It was pretty clear that room could not be saved".  The floor was a heap of debris the next morning, on top was a miss-shaped mass of pieces of slate.  The slate did not come from the roof, it had formed the bed of the billiard table which had shattered under the heat. 
Globules of silver were all that was left of the club’s silver cups.  The fire appeared to have started in the billiard room, heated by a closed stove which stood in one corner.  “I stoked up as usual before I left” said Mr W Nicolson as he stood with committee members, watching the firemen at work.  The room had been got ready for a snooker league match that evening.  Mr Nicolson was at home when the fire was discovered.  When it was over Mr Jenkins examined the stove in the main hall, “It was still alight” he said, “but there was no suggestion that it had been banked up any more than usual”.

Club Chairman Bill Bennett, who for years ran a Thursday evening at the club, smiled wryly as someone called out “no whist tonight Bill?”  There wasn’t, but Bill was determined to miss no more than one week.  So, during the week, cards, tables and chairs were sought to replace those burnt.  “All we had left were a couple of crib scoreboards, two tables and two chairs” said Mr Jenkins.  On Saturday a dartboard was bought and life was beginning to return to the Sundridge Club.  Early on Friday morning men were at work on first-aid repairs and on Saturday members rallied round - one worked for three hours cleaning and scrubbing.

 

A match boarded building with a lath and rough-cast exterior, Sundridge club burnt furiously, and firemen did well to save half of it after four hours work.  Traffic on the main A25 road which runs by was congested for a time at the height of the fire, but soon one-way traffic was instigated and westbound traffic had to detour either by Pilgrims Way or the Ide Hill road. The smallest club of its kind in the locality, the building was once a creche, before World War 1.  Trained nurses cared there for children whose mothers went out to work. This early day nursery failed for lack of support.

 

More recently the property belonged to the late Lord Plender who gave it to use as a club for Brasted and Sundridge for perpetuity.  Thursday’s damage was covered solely by insurance premiums held by the club and paid for by its members with leading companies. The bowls pavilion which stands behind the club was not damaged.  Mr W Bennett, Club Chairman, in a message to the “Chronicle” thanks the many people seen and unseen who helped at the time of the fire at the Sundridge Club and those that assisted afterwards. 
“We didn’t close during the bombing: we aren’t closed now” he said.

 

 

2009 Flood Damage

 

In the winter of 2009, the club suffered another catastrophe from extensive flood damage when the framework of the water tank in the loft of the premises collapsed, depositing hundreds of gallons of water throughout the club.  This brought down the ceilings and plaster walls of the upstairs accommodation and going through to the club's kitchen, back hallway and bar area.  Once again the members rallied round to clear up the water and all helped to clear the debris from the fallen ceilings and walls which the flood affected, once again, the clubs members insurance covered the damage with members helping out to get the club back to a satisfactory condition.  This flood caused over £20,000 worth of damage which also included a complete new rewire of the premises.

Needless to say, we had a very clean club after the damage was rectified!

 

With thanks to Robert Hutty, Ernie Ring, Barbara Anne Longbon and Martin Darby for their contributions and memories!

 

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