Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Local working men's club
Hi folks
the title of this post might put some of you right off but the Langham Working Men's club has been around for almost 100 years and is very much part of ourlocal history. Yet it hardly gets a mention and is overlooked, just as are the 2000 plus clubs up and down the country. There used to be over 4000 such clubs in their heyday in the 1970s which were often full with queues outside the doors. I am writing about clubs and although my focus is/was on Coventry, the town I grew up in, it has widened. Now I have finally joined the Langham, I am going to talk to members there and start collecting bits of history about that club. It is, like many clubs, struggling to stay open. Maybe clubs have had their day, as some say, but they are very important places to locals, especially older folk and most clubs were once the centre of local communities. I would like now and then to put up things on this site if that would be possible about the club, its life and times. and maybe we could make some links- its a part of the community which we perhaps overlook but its right there on our road! There is also the club in Wood Green and others round and about. I do this research unfunded and unsupported in my own time so I havent got any sponsors. I do have a website dedicated to clubs if anyone is interested www.clubhistorians.co.uk which tries to bring out the community aspect of clubs. (Again, it is sort of my hobby/obsession) Maybe we could support the Langham by joining it? They have bingo a few times a week and line dancing, so I am told. I could always link in HOL to my site once I have something up there about the Langham, Hugh?
cheers to all you potential club goers!
Note from Site Admin: Two blog posts about the Langham, including one with photos inside and out, can be linked to here. Further forum posts about the Langham can be linked to via the "langham working men's club" tag just below.
Tags for Forum Posts: langham working men's club
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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There have been quite a few discussions in the past in clubs and the CIU (which was more commonly the WMCIU in the past). Some clubs changed to Social Club but its a matter of choice for each club. It would be good if more people in Harringay dropped in and used the club even now and then and saw it as a community place not just an oddity. I will carry on doing what I can on my site and in my writings. thanks for the feedback and keep it coming. perhaps could meet for a drink in the club one day!
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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Ruth, I'll come and meet you for a drink one evening. Like Jim above, I used to go into them in the North but have never gone in the Langham. Although I know that one or two of my older neighbours use it, they have never invited me, oddly enough :)
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Right, perhaps in a week or so we can. I havent used it much myself yet as I was still using Coventry clubs when mum and dad were alive and still play a game of bingo up there with my sis. But time to get more involved in local one here. I also want to visit the others in the local area and to collect info about their history for my research and to help publicise them, if they want some publicity. I would be interested in hearing about your former club use Liz and Jim! all the best...
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Permalink Reply by Carla on
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I've been going in the Langham club for a few years now, each time i go there seems to be less people all the time. I know its meant to be a workings mans club but it also needs 2 be brought up 2 date.
There are so many people in the area that have children who don't go out weekends due to the price of babysitters, the langham is the ideal place.
I myself have 2 young children and if it wasn't for going into the Langham i would hardly go out. The problem thou is some of the old folks don't like change or young children, and can make you feel really uncomfortable, but its bringing the money in.
Wood Green social club is very child friendly and even have a small games area just for the children, and put on events and trips during half terms, maybe the Langham should consider this as i'm sure most of the people there have children and grandchildren after all.
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hi Carla
thanks for this feedback. I can imagine that they are not too child friendly in there. some clubs are, others not but like you say, if you go in, you are spending money and they need the customers. Have you mentioned your ideas to anyone on the committee? The resistance change has contributed to some clubs closing down for good and it would be a shame to lose the Langham. I wonder if you would mind chatting to me sometime about your club experiences? you can send me an email if you like. all the best
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Hi Ruth
sure i'd love a chat my email is foodtastic@blueyonder.co.uk i have mentioned ideas but nobody really listens. They have a childrens christmas party in jan every year which i do catering for free of charge, but thats it really.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Ford on
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Hi Ruth,
I've been going into the Langham intermittently for a couple of years now, usually to take advantage of the excellent snooker facilities upstairs. It is, as you say, a great shame that the club seems to be relatively unknown locally but I think Carla's point about the place being somewhat 'unwelcoming' at times is especially valid.
Of course the problem I think everybody appreciates is that in the cases of establishments such as the Langham which are struggling to stay afloat there simply is no money to implement any aesthetic improvements to the venue/advertise/offer new services and intice new customers.
Unfortunately this is an issue which concerns numerous 'community establishments' across the borough and indeed the country, be they pubs, clubs, pool halls or whatever, and is well reflected in the fact that Haringey used to boast many more social clubs, cinemas, swiming pools and even stadiums, than it does today.
With explosions in TV, computer games, the internet etc etc people are increasingly opting for 'individual' forms of recreation with everything at their fingertips. This means going out and getting involved with one's local community is something that has been in decline for decades, and is not just concerning but damaging to society more generally. Therefore income for local establishments drops as demand drops and places are forced to close.
How we stop the decline is a really tricky question to put it mildly. It is hard to bring in new customers without the profits from new custom, securing a loan is difficult and not really adesirable option at the moment, and public funding/grants are going to be increasingly scarce whichever party wins nationally in May/June.
So somehow we need to reengage locals communities with their local venues without much cash - it would be really interesting to have a brainstorm on how that could be done specifically in Harringay.
Any ideas?
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hi Chris
agree with all your points. These problems I have found up and down the country as I have been researching and writing about clubs. Getting communities themselves involved is an issue as well as various bodies and authorities, to bring in funding. Often, when regeneration takes place, the old centres are neglected and new ones built by councils which are not necessarily desirable places and more for show. There is a lot to be said but wont go into details here. There are some examples of clubs who are fighting back by rethinking ways of bringing back the locals and the communities and I am trying to see these as offering some sort of model. I just wrote about one yesterday and put up on my site see
www.clubhistorians.co.uk and go to the club fightback section. But that club is in a village with a strong sense of community which we dont have in Harringay. I feel there are 'communities' here which dont often come together. and with clubs, the current users might feel threatened by 'newcomers' even tho they need some! Would like to discuss more sometime. feel free to contact me via email
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Good idea. I will go down there and ask them if they are going to be present at the FF and what they are planning to do, if anything.
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