History
A brief history of the club, as written by Elvin Rose
I’m not sure whether it was late 1971 or early 1972 when the Syston Labour Party held a special meeting at Queniborough to discuss the possibility of forming a labour club at the Bulls Head in Syston, the conclusion was negative.
In early 1972 the Thurmaston Labour Party were invited to a joint meeting in the top room of the Dog & Gun. The meeting was well attended and was very constructive. From the Syston Labour Party there was Jim & Sheila Winfield, Les Crump and Harry Birchwood, From the Thurmaston Labour Party was Bill & Janet Littlefield, Charles Fellows, Chris Campbell & I.
Jim Winfield, Bill Littlefield and I were voted as trustees and a committee was formed with Jim Winfield as Chairman, Charles Fellows as Secretary and Chris Campbell as Treasurer. We had no cash but we were on the way with the Chairman to contact the owners Ansells Brewery concerning the price and terms of purchasing the Bulls Head. I was determined that a princely sum of £5,000 over five years would have to be raised.
Nothing further was heard for several weeks, then one Sunday getting home from work I was given a message that I was wanted at the Bulls Head. At the time I didn’t belong to Syston and didn’t know where the Bulls Head was, I soon found it!
From the outside it didn’t look too bad, but inside it looked like a bombed out building. I went upstairs to find about 10 people working. Considering I had been at work since 5:00 AM I didn’t think it was out of order to ask for a cup tea. There were no facilities for this and poor old Charles was painting a door with a 1” brush.
I drove home, had a quick dinner and then returned with brushes and paint. In the mean time Jim had been home or tea, sugar and milk plus Sheila’s electric kettle, she would never get that back!
Although after thirty plus years it’s not easy to remember all the details, but the contract had been completed on the 10th of August 1972, there was a lot of work still needed doing. With £10 in the bank Bill Littlefield contacted the Labour Party’s Charnwood branch and I contacted several Trades Union branches, we got support in various ways.
The name “Syston & District Social Club” was agreed on, at that time “Jim’s dream” seemed more like a nightmare. The next target to be achieved was obtaining a licence as The Bulls Head had been vacant for a long time and squatters had occupied the premises.
Part of the building had been burned out, timbers charred and soot was all over the section where the little snug is now. Across the yard where the bottle skips are now was a building that had been used as a garage although we thought it was a stable. Next to that were the ladies with just one cubicle and the gent’s toilets which had no roof over the urinals. This always reminded me of the old Army song “Please don’t pull our toilets down or we’ll have to do it all in the rain”. The only good part of the building was the skittles alley and the top room and the top room. At the end of the skittles alley was an old shower facility, the access to which was from the yard and was full of old junk.
The main building was originally two properties and the postal address was 36-38 High Street. Number 38 was the gateway end and in 1972 was still separate and consisted of a front room with one window and a tiny kitchen at the back. From the front room was a narrow wooden spiral staircase leading to two rooms, one over the gateway and another which is now part of the flat. The entrance to this place was through the gateway.
The place was filthy and full of rubbish. There was access to No.36 at the back caused by fire damaged. Through the front door of No.36 on the left was a narrow room, the beyond that was a staircase to the landing. On the right was a bigger room where the bar would have been. There was no bar! The only things in the room were just rubbish and a big open fireplace. After the staircase on the left was a short corridor leading o the rear entrance. On the right the present stairs, the door to the skittle alley and the small cupboard, but facing was a very small snug. The stairs on the right were the same as now except there were no fire doors or petition at the top. On the left up three steps a door to a kitchen and then the top of the other stairs. The floor to the kitchen was lower than the landing, but higher than the concert room.
The concert room was where everyone was working on the Sunday when I found the “Bulls head”. It was the same size as the skittle alley a big open fire place to the right of the door but no bar. We all turned up the next night and became more organised. Jim said that he had renewed all the electric wiring, his son Robert the plumbing, Ken Birley the carpentry and the tea making. He was a good chippy! I took on the decorating, two good mates Monty Yeates and George Chantrel offered to do anything in the building trade. Stan Toone helped us as well if anybody deserved special mention it would be Bill Littlefield and Harry Birchwood. Bill of course was a steadying hand as well. The important thing was that we all mucked in. The upstairs was in better shape than the ground floor, the work in the concert room decorating, electrics and plumbing I don’t know how but Jim, Monty and Ken Birley lowered the floor of the kitchen to the level of the concert room in one night! By the end of the week there was a door into the kitchen from just inside the concert room and the old door on the landing taken out. Gradually the kitchen became a bar. Then the work started on the ground floor. One of our early members was Len Hollis President of the Leicester Co-op. He was informed that we hadn’t got a bar. Within a few days Jim and I were at the co-op works Dep’t picking up two shop counters due for the tip. They fitted the bill, table and chairs were picked the same way from British shoe. They came from shops that were being upgraded, these things were also destined for the tip.
Along the front wall Ken built the timber frame for a bench seat from the front door to the right, the bar was placed along the opposite wall that end of the room was looking quite good and Jim applied for the licence. It was premature when a police inspector paid a visit and politely explained to me that he couldn’t support the application at that stage. He was right! The area on the left of the door resembled a workshop. Looking back time can be deceiving, but, it must have been a few weeks later when we had another visit by the police inspector and we got his support as well as from the fire service. We then had notice of a date to attend the magistrates at the Leicester castle.
In the meantime Janet Littlefield had fitted us up with curtains and a red velvet one opposite the front door. A coach load of objectors attended the court but we had a good solicitor in Mr Berry. Jim Winfield stood up very well in the box. Everything went well except that we had to provide space for at least twelve cars. We had an army with picks and shovels. There was a big old well in the yard and we filled it up with all the rubbish including an old car wheel and a couple of tyres, then all the surplus soil went in to fill it. A load of shale was raked over and levelled to give us the space needed to park twelve cars. The magistrates visited the premises and were well satisfied. When the hearing resumed at the castle the objectors were there, but we were confident. We got the result that we wanted. In the castle yard, the Vicar who had objected asked Bill, Jim and I if we’d like him to consecrate the club. The reply was not very polite. A few of the folk who objected joined the club; others said we’d only last a month.
It’s been a long month! It didn’t take long to set up the bar and filled with bottle beers etc and draught. We had the offer of two pianos from the Methodist church. It was a bit of a laugh pushing these up the High Street at eight o’clock one night.
When we did open it was with unpaid staff. We were lucky to have people about like Brian and Paul Sutcliffe, Jill Littlefield, my daughter Jane and her husband Andy right from the start, Les Crump was another willing horse. Bill Littlefield cleaned the bar each morning with Janet’s cleaner until Marjorie Weston took over that role. If anybody wants a mention it is Marjorie she started as a cleaner then became the bookkeeper but over thirty years, there’s not much that she hasn’t done for the club. A lovely lady! It was months before we had a paid bar staff on union rates. It was hard work but we had banter and fun. They were the first two years or so, and we didn’t or couldn’t visualise how the club would be after thirty years. The club has come a long way since the make-shift bar.
