The first clubroom I remember when I joined the Rutland Cycling Club (the Club) in 1947 was a small church room at Daisy Walk, just off St.Phillips Road. Soon after this the Club moved its headquarters to the Rutland Hall where it was originally formed in 1908, at the junction of Rutland Road and Platt Street. I believe the Club began life there as part of the Rutland Church Hall Foundation, but had to leave the Hall early on in its life as the Foundation did not accept Sunday leisure activities, and Sunday club runs were the Club’s main activity at that time.
Ideas had changed between 1908 and 1947, and the Rutland Hall in 1947 was quite willing to rent a room to the Club, so once again the Club was back at the Rutland Hall. The Club left the Rutland Hall again in 1950 after some disagreement and had club meetings in a pub for a short period, however it returned again to the Rutland Hall for a few more years until 1954.
The Club’s next home was the British Railway Athletic Club situated in Platt Street, only about 100 yards from the Rutland Hall. By this time the Club was quite sound financially compared to the early post war years, when even meeting the cost of club event prizes was difficult.
The Club’s connection with the British Railway Club came about because three of its lady members worked at the British Railway offices. Through the secretary of their athletic club, the Club received an offer where it would be able to use their clubroom facilities. The offer was for the Club to enroll a nominal figure of 50 members, at an annual cost of £1 per member to the athletic club, and the Club would receive equipment to the value of this amount plus the use of the clubroom facilities. With the Club’s improved financial position certain ambitious Club members were promoting the idea of purchasing ‘roller racing equipment’ at a cost of £50. So by accepting the offer, the Club had the use of their club-room facilities and was able to purchase the ‘roller racing equipment.’
During the first year of membership the athletic club had a change of officials, some of whom were not so friendly towards the Club, and they soon realised that the agreement was heavily in favour of the cycling club and they were not prepared to honour the agreement after the first year, so the Club moved on again.
Club meetings moved around to different venues after this for a number of years, mainly to a variety of public houses. There was a strong feeling in the Club at that time, that with it being financially sound it should have its very own clubroom. Financially, the Club was carrying a balance of around £2000, equivalent to the cost of an average new house.
The opportunity to buy its own clubroom came about in an unusual way. The Clarion Club House Ltd was situated on the outskirts of Sheffield on the A625, on the road up to Fox House, with its junction with Sheephill Road. The Clarion Club House Ltd. was formed as part of the National Ramblers Association in the 1920’s to enable Sheffield ramblers to enjoy the countryside. There were several timber buildings at the Clarion location, some of quite reasonable size that had previously been used for weekend accommodation. One of the buildings was open as a tearoom, and through some of our club members calling on one occasion, it became apparent that the facilities were being used less and less. An agreement was reached with the dwindling members of Clarion Ltd. where by enrolling 50 or so Club members, at a cost of £1 per member, the Club would receive that number of shares in the Clarion Ltd. This would put more life into the Clarion and give the Club its own clubroom, and the Club’s active membership was far greater than that of the Clarions. So now the Club had its very own clubroom and at first there was lots of enthusiasm, with members helping to renovate the existing buildings. Although there were some good social gatherings there, including one ‘interesting’ bonfire night, it gradually became apparent that the venue was not in an ideal location for club meetings. As interest in the new clubroom deteriorated it was generally accepted that having its own clubroom was not practical or feasible and so the ‘Clarion’ episode was a lesson learned at a small cost financially.
A few years after leaving the Clarion behind, there was an advert in the local newspaper, stating that the Clarion Club House Ltd. had sold the land on the road up to Fox House, and there was notice of a share holders meeting regarding the proceeds from the sale. At a meeting the Club was accepted as a bona-fide shareholder, and received a substantial amount for its shares.

The next clubroom experience, apart from public houses, came through two of its club members that worked for British Telecom, who obtained permission to use the BT facilities at their clubroom in a sports field on Loxley Road, just below the Admiral Rodney public house. The Club was very fortunate here, as it had use of the bar with its club members in charge, but obviously it had to account for any beer that went ‘missing.’ Apart from club meetings, some good social functions were held here, including one competition with the Sheffield Phoenix CC, which included ‘Welly Throwing, Penalty Shoot-out and The Most Club Members Inside an Inner tube.’ The main disadvantage with this clubroom was that in colder weather the beer was very cold, as the facilities had no heating on for most of the week.

The Club moved to its next clubroom at the Sheffield University in the early 1980’s and then later to the University’s 197 Club on Brook Hill. Again this move came about through one of its club members being in the right job, as he was the catering manager at the University. This has probably been the Club’s longest stop in one clubroom, even though the club member, who enabled us to use these premises, left his position several years ago.

Apart from the public houses used for meetings the Club also hired five different venues over the winter months during the 1970’s and early 80’s for indoor training sessions, which mainly consisted of circuit training. One of the venues was the old Hillsborough Boys Club, the others being two church halls at Crookesmoor, one at Abbeydale and the other at Meersbrook.

Bert Ridge.
January 2008