Social club bids to shake off its image as cricket venue

» ONE of Exeter’s ‘hidden’ familyfriendly venues is shaking off its cricket club associations as it aims to become a social hub.

Last December, St Thomas Cricket Club – tucked away on busy industrial estate Marsh Barton – changed its name to Marsh Barton Social Club to distance itself from its previous sporting past. The club was founded in 1954, but cricket has not been played there for “many years” because its large cricket pitch was sold off over the years.

All that is left is its building and a large garden which is an unusual feature on a large industrial estate. The club in Grace Road West hosts events to suit all ages and you don’t have to be a member to attend.

Paula Northway has been playing skittles at the venue for 12 years and joined the board of directors, who are all volunteers, four years ago. For the past two years, she has been the club’s vice-chairman.

She said: “We were still getting people ring us up asking about cricket games or trying to sell us cricket bats. People also said they didn’t want to come because they don’t like cricket. We want to be more of a social club so we decided to change the name and bring ourselves into the 21st century. We want to be a club for the community and bring in some younger people. It’s a beautiful club with a beautiful garden.”

Ballroom dancing, skittles and rock and roll nights are longstanding traditions which are still running alongside events such as live music tribute acts from Bon Jovi to Elvis, ladies’ nights and children’s discos where only a £1 entry fee is charged per child.

The club also has a kitchen which is now run in-house by Carrie’s Cakes and Catering. Breakfast, lunch and dinner menus are available and in the winter Sunday roasts are even delivered to local customers.

Paula said: “Usually our events nights have been on Fridays but we have been having the occasional Saturday one and hopefully by next year we will be doing it one Saturday a month. In the summer we will have a barbecue in the garden. It is lovely to see the children out there playing.

“The club itself is a big building with a large ballroom. The old snooker room has been converted into a small function room which can be hired for private functions. We also have a larger room which can also be hired out. Upstairs we have a games room with a pool table and darts board.”

Membership is £15 a year and includes 10% off food and drink.

Paula said: “We are cheap as it is a social club but being a member makes it even cheaper. We also welcome non-members.”