FOUNDER members of a Worcester working men's club were begged at its opening a century ago never to gamble when playing cards or billiards, however small the stakes.

The warning came from Worcester solicitor and benefactor Martin Curtler when he officially opened the St Stephen's Working Men's Club.

He told those gathered for the ceremony: "I beg you not to commence playing for money, however small the stakes, as gambling is the cause of great distress. I hope members will do their utmost to keep out of debt."

I don't know how well his stern advice was heeded, save to say that now, 100 years on, that same St Stephen's Working Men's Club continues to thrive and is about to proudly celebrate its centenary.

A special Open Day at its modern premises in Penbury Street is being held on the precise date of the club's 100th birthday - Monday, December 4 - and members and guests are warmly invited along from 11am until midnight. Among VIPs will be Worcester's Mayor, Councillor Mary Drinkwater.

From a Memory Lane feature I did on the Curtlers some months ago, readers may well remember that the family had much to do with the building of St Stephen's Church, Worcester in 1852.

Martin Curtler's father, Thomas Gale Curtler of Bevere House, was a strong supporter of the two sisters who provided most of the money for the church, and his son, the Rev Thomas Curtler was the first vicar of St Stephen's, remaining in the post until his death in 1891.

Even so, the Curtlers were not so directly involved in the building of the St Stephen's Working Men's Club, though there must have been some input in view of the invite to Martin Curtler to carry out the official opening.

Today's officials have only scant documentary evidence of the club's founding and of its life and activities down the decades, so I delved into the bound archives of the world's oldest surviving newspaper, Berrow's Worcester Journal and luckily found a report of the official opening in the edition of December 8, 1900.

It appears that the club mainly owed its birth to one Sir Offley Wakeman who, I imagine, was a descendant of the Wakemans of Perdiswell House, the stately home which formerly stood on Worcester's northern edge. The Wakemans were leading bankers in the Faithful City in the 18th Century and the early part of the 19th Century.

The Berrow's Journal report of December 1900, was under the heading "St Stephen's Church Institute" and read:

"Some years ago, Sir Offley Wakeman gave a piece of land to St Stephen's Parish for the purpose of building an institute and the formation of a working men's club, and the trustees have recently been busily engaged in gathering a sum of money for the institute.

"By a sale of work and other means, the sum required has been raised, and the building at the back of the Vicarage is now complete and furnished.

"A number of parishioners and friends were present at the opening ceremony including the President, the Rev C.E. Hopton, Mr Leach (chairman), Mr J.C.R Day (hon. treasurer), Mr Coney (hon. Secretary), the Rev C. Poyntz Sanderson, the Rev C.W Beach, F. Dingle, W.M Lamb, J.M Harlow, R.W May, F.A Newell and E.W Whinfield.

"The President said he was very pleased the club had been taken up so enthusiastically by the working men, and he hoped the members would earnestly support the committee in the enforcement of the rules and regulations which had been framed after a good deal of trouble.

"He pointed out that at present the club had no billiard table, but one would be provided in the course of a week to 10 days, and the only thing necessary then to complete the fixtures and fittings would be a piano.

"He hoped that some kind person would present the club with one.

"Mr Martin Curtler, in declaring the club open, remarked upon the advantages that the working men of today enjoyed, compared with those of a century ago. A working men's club had been a long-felt want in the area.

"He did not believe in persons condemning public houses as he thought that if they were properly managed, they were of quite as much use as private clubs. One advantage in clubs, however, was that members met members only, but at a public house they were under the necessity of mixing with whoever came in.

"He hoped the club would get up good debates, and he thought the question of introducing old age pensions would be a very good one for the first debate.

"The honorary secretary Mr Coney said 70 subscribing members and 10 vice-presidents were already enrolled, which he considered was very satisfactory.

"Even so Mr Curtler, in wishing the club every success, hoped it would soon be able to boast 200 or more members."

Clearly, Mr Curtler would be gratified today, to know that St Stephen's Working Men's Club currently boasts more than 200 members, drawn mainly from north Worcester but also from the city as a whole and from as far afield as Malvern.

Club member Steve Mundy, who is helping arrange the centenary celebrations, says an elderly member once told him that the club building, so proudly opened in 1900, was severely damaged in a blaze in 1911 and had to be substantially re-built.

Among the few old records the club possesses is a minute book covering the years from 1937 to 1948, and this was kindly loaned to me by Steve Mundy.

Most of the entries deal with mundane business but there are a few interesting snippets.

6 In 1939, the committee was concerned about "the large number of glasses broken during the year" and warned members they might have to start paying for replacements.

6 In 1940, Mr W. Hubbard was paid 1/7d a yard for material used to make wartime black out curtains for the club premises.

6 In 1946, the committee felt it necessary to warn the charwoman that she had to keep the club "in a cleaner state" or lose her job. It was agreed to buy a geyser from the Gas Board "to enable the charwoman to wash the glasses in hot water."

6 In 1947, "the absence of ash trays in the club" was a cause of concern, and each committee member was "asked to bring one from home."

In the same year, a committee member resigned in anger over two packets of crisps.

He had bought them one evening but left them on a table while playing billiards. When he returned, he found they had been handed back to the bar and re-sold.

Nowadays, the thriving club is open at various times throughout the week for social activities and for crib, snooker, billiards and for watching sports worldwide on a large TV.