Birchmoor Working Men's Club

Birchmoor Working Men's Club, near Polesworth in north Warwickshire, was formed in June 1910 by miners from Birchmoor Colliery, who played football on the pitch the club still uses. It outlived the pit, which stopped producing coal in 1927, passed through the hands of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation in the 1950s, and is still a members' club.

The mining history in this record

Birchmoor, a coal-mining village a mile south-west of Polesworth, grew round Birchmoor or Cockspur Colliery, worked from 1860. In June 1910 miners from the colliery, who played football on a pitch in the village, formed a committee and a club; its first secretary was a Mr Deakin. In October that year the committee bought the building the club still occupies, built about 1876 as a baker's and later a butcher's shop. Its first steward, Robert Oakley, was presented with a gold pocket watch by the Polesworth and District Games League.

The club ran into financial difficulties in the 1950s and was taken over by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation, the miners' welfare body, until its members regained possession in the 1960s.

People

Mr Deakin, first club secretary. Robert Oakley, first steward.

Legacy today

The club is a members' club affiliated to the Club and Institute Union, whose centenary of affiliation it celebrated in April 2011; non-members are welcome. It keeps a main room with a stage, a smaller front room and a games room, and its football pitch is still in use.

Recorded claims

Individual factual claims, each tagged with how solidly it's grounded and attached to the source(s) that support it. Where sources disagree, both are kept.

• Birchmoor Working Men's Club was formed in June 1910 by miners from Birchmoor Colliery. (documented fact) ^1,2
• The founders played football on the pitch the club still uses. (documented fact) ¹
• The committee bought the club's premises, a former baker's and butcher's of about 1876, in October 1910; its first secretary was Mr Deakin. (documented fact) ¹
• The club fell into financial difficulty in the 1950s and was run by the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation until the members regained it in the 1960s. (documented fact) ¹
• The club is affiliated to the Club and Institute Union and marked a hundred years of affiliation in April 2011. (documented fact) ^1,2

Mines

• Birchmoor Colliery — Warwickshire
  The club was formed in June 1910 by miners from Birchmoor Colliery, who played football on the ground it still uses.

Real-world mining concepts used here

Coal, Colliery, Miners' Welfare Fund

Sources

1. (secondary) Birchmoor Working Mens Club - Our Warwickshire — Our Warwickshire (Warwickshire County Record Office)
2. (secondary) Birchmoor Working Mens Club, Birchmoor — CAMRA (Lichfield, Sutton and Tamworth branch)

Record created: 5 October 2026 · Last researched: 5 October 2026