Salford Lads' Club is a recreational club in the
Ordsall area of
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
,
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
, England. The club, on the corner of St. Ignatius Walk and Coronation Street, was established in 1903 as a boys' club but today welcomes people of both sexes and organises activities including sports and exhibitions.
The club was officially opened on 30 January 1904 by
Robert Baden-Powell
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...
, who later founded the
Scout
Scout may refer to:
Youth movement
*Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement
**Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom
**Scouts BSA, sectio ...
movement. Former members include footballers
Albert McPherson,
Steve Fleet,
Eddie Colman
Edward Colman (1 November 1936 – 6 February 1958) was an English football player and one of the eight Manchester United players who lost their lives in the Munich air disaster.
Colman was born on Archie Street in Ordsall, Salford, Lanca ...
and
Brian Doyle,
Allan Clarke, lead singer of 1960s pop group
The Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
, and
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
, guitarist, songwriter and singer with The Hollies who went on to form
Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young
Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...
.
The building gained
listed
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
status in 2003 as its tiled interior is virtually unchanged with original fittings and includes a boxing ring, snooker rooms and a gym with a viewing balcony.
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
said: "The building is thought to be the most complete example of this rare form of social provision to survive in England."
In 2007, the ''
Manchester Evening News
The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...
'' reported that the building, which was used for the sleeve of
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
album ''
The Queen Is Dead
''The Queen Is Dead'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Smiths. Released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records, and on 23 June 1986 in the US by Sire Records, it spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, pea ...
'', came third in a nationwide hunt to find the most iconic buildings in the country.
History
![Salford Lads Club (6)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Salford_Lads_Club_%286%29.jpg)
The concept of a boys' club grew up in the 19th century as a way of keeping young boys "off the streets" and encouraging them to become "good and worthy God-fearing citizens".
The clubs were usually set up by local philanthropic businessmen and it was soon realised that to compete with the outside attractions of freedom from restraint and gambling they must provide not only for
draughts
Checkers (American English), also known as draughts (; British English), is a group of strategy board games for two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform game pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over opponent pieces. Checkers ...
,
bagatelle
Bagatelle (from the Château de Bagatelle) is a billiards-derived indoor table game, the object of which is to get a number of balls (set at nine in the 19th century) past wooden pins (which act as obstacles) into holes that are guarded by wooden ...
, and
billiards
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as .
There are three major subdivisions of ...
but for more exciting pursuits that most boys could not otherwise obtain such as
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, shou ...
,
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
fives
Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...
, swimming and, especially, outdoor games.
In
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
and
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, a number of these clubs grew up in the most deprived areas, the first of which was
Hulme
Hulme () is an inner city area and Ward (politics), electoral ward of Manchester, England, immediately south of Manchester city centre. It has a significant industrial heritage.
Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, the nam ...
Lads' Club, founded in 1850. Salford Lads' Club was founded in 1903 by two brothers, James and William Groves, from the family of
brewers that were partners with Arthur William Whitnall in the Groves and Whitnall Brewery
on Regent Road in Salford.
Built and designed by Salford architect Henry Lord, who was also responsible for the former Salford Royal Hospital and
Salford Museum and Art Gallery
Salford Museum and Art Gallery, in Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester, opened to the public in November 1850 as the Royal Museum and Public Library. The gallery and museum are devoted to the history of Salford and Victorian art and architect ...
, the club opened in August 1903 and the ceremonial opening was by
Robert Baden-Powell
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the worl ...
on 31 January 1904 three years before he founded the Scout movement.
The club was open every evening from 7 – 10 pm, and in winter months its membership would reach 1,000.
The club has held an annual camp holiday since 1904. According to club worker and local artist Leslie Holmes: "Salford Lads' Club has a remarkable tradition that predates the first Scout camps set up by Lord Baden Powell. Salford Lads' Club first camp was at
Llanddulas
Llanddulas is a village in Conwy county borough, Wales, midway between Old Colwyn and Abergele and next to the North Wales Expressway in the community of Llanddulas and Rhyd-y-Foel. The village lies beneath the limestone hill of Cefn-yr-Og ...
in 1904, when 173 boys took part." The camps have been held during
Whitsun
Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the Ho ...
since 1934.
Present day activities include
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
,
table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...
,
computer game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...
s,
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
training, dance, community meetings, exhibitions,
kickboxing
Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...
, excursions and
jujitsu.
Music, film and cultural heritage
The 1960s pop group
The Hollies
The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
used to practice at the club before they became famous.
Allan Clarke and
Graham Nash
Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...
were both members and their membership cards are still in the club's archives.
The club gained international fame in 1986 when the
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
posed in front of the building for the inside cover of their album ''
The Queen Is Dead
''The Queen Is Dead'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Smiths. Released on 16 June 1986 in the United Kingdom by Rough Trade Records, and on 23 June 1986 in the US by Sire Records, it spent 22 weeks on the UK Albums Chart, pea ...
.'' The Smiths' music video for the songs "
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
"There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" is a song by the English Rock music, rock band the Smiths, written by guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Featured on the band's third studio album ''The Queen Is Dead'', it was not released as a ...
" and "
Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before
"Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before" is a song by the English rock band the Smiths, written by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. The song was first released on the group's 1987 album ''Strangeways, Here We Come''. Marr ...
" also featured shots of the building's exterior. The committee were said at the time to be furious, and solicitors acting for the club claimed that;
...inclusion of the photograph may generally cause any person reading the lbumor listening to the record to attribute the material to the club, its committee or its members ... we would cite for example the reference in the song Vicar in a Tutu to the singer being engaged in stealing lead from a church roof, or indeed the very title to the album itself and the tenor of the title song."
However, over the last few years the club has begun to embrace this more recent legacy and welcome the fans to the club. The photograph, taken by pop photographer
Stephen Wright, was accepted into the
National Portrait Gallery in 2008. The club also featured in the music video for
The Dream Academy
The Dream Academy were a British band consisting of singer/guitarist Nick Laird-Clowes, multi-instrumentalist (chiefly oboe, cor anglais player) Kate St John, and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The band is most noted for their 1985 hit singles ...
's "
Life in a Northern Town
"Life in a Northern Town" is the debut single by British band the Dream Academy, released in March 1985. It is from their self-titled debut studio album ''The Dream Academy''. The song was written as an elegy to British folk musician Nick Drake ...
".
In 2003 a film documentary was made as part of the celebrations for the club's centenary. The film, which was introduced by
Peter Hook
Peter Hook (born Woodhead; 13 February 1956) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...
, bassist for
Joy Division
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...
and
New Order, who lived on the Ordsall estate until he was 19, was made with the help of elderly residents and young members of the club and is a mix of interviews and location shots.
The musician Vinny Peculiar, also known as Alan Wilks, has a longstanding association with the club, supporting various club events, performing for visiting Morrissey fans with ex-Smiths bassist
Andy Rourke
Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his melodic approach to bass playing.
Career
Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English. He received an a ...
and rehearsing with his band, which includes ex-members of The Smiths,
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
and
The Fall.
The building has also been used as the location for a number of films and television dramas, including
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's ''
Shameless'',
Granada TV
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
's 2002 remake of ''
The Forsyte Saga
''The Forsyte Saga'', first published under that title in 1922, is a series of three novels and two interludes published between 1906 and 1921 by the English author John Galsworthy, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature. They chronicle the vici ...
'', the film version of the
Jacqueline Wilson
Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...
's novel "Illustrated Mum", the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' until the end of the 2011–12 season. On 19 December 2011, it was the setting for
''.
In recent years the club has fallen into disrepair, and in May 2007, Warren Smith, Chairman of LPC Living and
, launched an appeal to raise £1 million to restore the building to its former glory. The club received publicity and funds after being featured in the
series ''The Secret Millionaire'' in November 2007. Property developer Chek Whyte initially donated £15,000 towards repairs as part of the programme, then subsequently paid for roof repairs and has become involved with the club long-term.
Former Smiths' frontman
has also donated funds towards restoration. He initially wanted to keep his donation of £20,000 a secret but was dissuaded from doing so, because the publicity would help the campaign.
In 2008 Vinny Peculiar released a single to support the club's £1 million fundraising drive. The song "Lazy Bohemians" was taken from his solo album ''Goodbye My Angry Friend''. The B side and bonus download track of the single called "Ghost Camp", a song he co-wrote with former Smiths guitarist
, was written for a Salford Lads' Club award-winning play. The writer said: "Lazy Bohemians is a self-deprecating swipe against those whose talk about a revolution that never seems to get anywhere, a personal wake-up call to political apathy. My goal for this song is to really attract people's attention and wake people up from the apathy surrounding the club, making them realise that if we don't help it, the club, its fine musical history, and all of the good work it does with local kids will eventually, disappear".
Two of the longest-serving volunteers, Arthur Edward (Archie) Swift and Eric Salthouse have between them over 100 years of service with the club. They have both won accolades for their work: Swift was awarded the 'Salford Citizen of the Month' in April 2004 for his lifetime work as a volunteer at the club and Salthouse was named as 'My Hero' by Manchester entrepreneur Dave Tynan in the June 2004 edition of ''Social Enterprise'' magazine. Swift was also awarded the
for services to Young People. (Salford, Greater Manchester) In the
.