Inside the little village club that’s just been crowned the best in the country
Nestled in the middle of a village, the club is easily overlooked as just another house in a residential street. But something special has been created beyond its oak door, as Chris Hunter found out
No one answers at first. Perhaps the buzzer’s not working or maybe the heavy oak door, studded with antique iron rivets, is too thick for a modest knock to be heard on its other side.
But there seems to be life inside the best club in England – that’s Marden Village Club to be precise – just visible through the window, where a lively Friday lunchtime seems to be in full swing.
According to CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) judges, the club’s award-winning appeal stems from its “light, airy, and friendly atmosphere”, but standing on the doorstep, it’s easy to be struck by a sense of scepticism; a feeling that this quaint 18th Century building might look like a cosy hideaway, but it’s not for outsiders...
Then again, maybe that’s the point of a village club – the locked door and membership policy being the crucial giveaway when differentiating between a club and a pub. “Hello... the door’s open...” A disembodied voice rises from a speaker at the entrance, a latch clicks and suddenly the door handle works.
Inside, the bar resounds to a tumult of lunch-time chatter and clicking pool balls.
I walk up to the bar, wondering why no one’s blocking my path to question my membership credentials, and finally meet club manager Simon Banfield.
Over a pint of highly drinkable Surrey Hills’ Ranmore – 3.8% and an affordable £3.20 – he explains how the story of the Marden club’s evolution began back at the turn of the century. “We used to be a working men’s club,” says Simon. “In 2000 it changed its name to Marden Village Club – that was the big change. Then you start to change the spectrum of membership, but it didn’t change overnight. We had to work on that old working men’s club mentality and as a lot of people had grown up with that mentality it does take a bit of time.” Originally just a member, Simon began to help around the bar, before being roped in to work the odd shift, and when the job of club manager came up he applied and got the job. He comes across as an unassuming bloke who would rather stick to his job than brag about the club’s achievements but it’s fair to say the improvements that caught the eye of CAMRA have come under his watch. Not that the club has been going all out just for awards. “To be honest we do all of this for our membership,” he explains. “All the events and service is for the membership, so to receive an award on top of that is a bonus. The local branch of CAMRA are Maidstone and Mid Kent, and we’ve won their award a few times. If you win that you go on to be judged for the whole of Kent and we’ve won that three times. Then it’s
the South East, and then you get into the top 16. To get in the top four in the country is a big achievement in itself. We started getting recognition from Maidstone and Mid Kent about eight years ago, but it’s all been a work in progress. In 2017 we had a major refurbishment which has opened the place right up.” Simple changes include swapping
heavy tables with cast iron bases for lighter wooden ones that can be moved about and removing large pillars to open up the bar area.
It makes for a large, flexible space where people can move easily between the bar and the pool tables, and a larger seating area where regulars can watch live bands or other events. All of which hardly sounds like rocket science, but it works, and the proof is all around with people enjoying a light, open and friendly atmosphere. But of course there’s more to it than that, and perhaps the greatest change is in the club’s mindset – turning from a closed shop to place for the whole community. “You’ve got to be a member to get in, but that’s where it starts and ends,” says Simon. “Once you’re in, the surroundings are nice and it feels like you’re in a decent pub. A large part of the criteria for CAMRA is the quality of the beer, but when it moves up to national level they take into account the surroundings and the atmosphere. When people come here, once they’re in there’s no need to look over their shoulder and see who’s coming in. We’ve all been in places where the door goes and you think it’s time to drink up.” Certainly Marden Village Club is far from one of those places, although having said that, it’s time for me to drink up and go. Before I do that though, my ear’s caught by a familiar voice at the bar – that of radio legend John Warnett, a Marden man who offers some insight into how the club’s changed. “I didn’t come here for a long time,” says John. “I’ve been in the village for 20 years but I didn’t come here because I suppose I thought ‘working men’s club’ not really my sort of scene, but they refurbed it in 2017, a member brought me in and I thought it was fantastic. I’ve been here ever since.”
Regular top quality live bands are also a plus, but beyond that, he says the sense of community spirit is the club’s winning draw. “I think that’s one of the central tenets of this club is its community. It raises money for local charities, it does Christmas lunch for the OAPs in the village. It’s got a warm hub now on a Wednesday when people can come in and keep warm. The bar’s not open, so it’s not about selling beer, it’s about keeping warm. It’s very much a community asset.”
For manager Simon, words like that from his members mean as much as any award – not that he’s complaining about the title from CAMRA.
“I don’t think we’ve gone out of our way to please anybody apart from our membership, but in doing so we’ve obviously improved,” he says. “I’m thrilled to bits for us to have won it. It’s great to receive that recognition for the work you’re doing, especially when you take on board it’s for the whole of the country, when you think you’re just a little club in a small village in the countryside, and you receive that recognition.”
With that, it’s time to leave back through the oak door, vowing to return to try a few more of those award-winning ales and pit my snooker skills against Marden’s finest.