From a Bottle Behind the Bar to the Best Nights of Our Lives: The Club That Never Left Mirfield

Ask anyone in Mirfield where you'll find the town's real social life, and you'll likely get the same answer: the Con Club. It's been standing since 1958, and while the decor has changed — more than once, if the old photographs in the back corridor are anything to go by — the spirit hasn't budged an inch.

We caught up with a few of our longest-serving members over a pint or three, and what followed was a proper trip down memory lane.

It All Started With a Bottle

When the club first opened its doors in the late fifties, stock was modest to put it mildly. "We had one bottle of whisky behind that bar," laughs committee veteran Dennis, who's been a member since the sixties. "And I'm not sure it was there long, either."

Those early days were about something bigger than the drinks, though. Mirfield was a working town, and people wanted somewhere of their own — a place where a hard week's graft could end with a pint, a chat and a bit of music. The club delivered exactly that, and word spread quickly.

The Acts That Packed the Room

If you speak to anyone who's been coming here for decades, the live entertainment always comes up. Saturday nights at the Con Club were the stuff of legend — soul singers, comedians, bands hauling their gear up the steps in the rain, all for a fee that wouldn't buy you a round these days.

"Some of them went on to bigger things," recalls Margaret, who ran the raffle for the better part of twenty years. "And some of them were dreadful, if I'm honest. But we clapped all the same, because that's what you did."

Live music and cabaret remain at the heart of what we do. The names on the posters have changed, but a packed room on a Saturday night looks exactly as it did in 1965.

Raffles, Fundraisers and Looking After Our Own

The club has always punched above its weight when it comes to charity. Over the decades, members have raised thousands for local causes — hospital appeals, youth football teams, families down on their luck. The Christmas raffle alone became a fixture of the Mirfield calendar, with prizes donated by businesses across town.

"That's the thing people don't understand about a club like this," says Dennis. "It's not just a bar. It's a pot of money that goes back into the community, year after year."

The Little Things That Matter

For every big night, there were a hundred small ones. The dominoes league that ran for decades. The wedding receptions and christening parties. The regulars who held court at the same table so long it might as well have had their names on it.

Margaret puts it best: "People came here for their first drink as an adult and their last drink as an old friend. You can't put a price on that."

Still Going Strong

Sixty-five years in, the club isn't resting on its history — it's building on it. New members are always welcome, the entertainment calendar is busier than ever, and the community spirit that got things started in 1958 is alive and well.

So here's to the next chapter. Same room, same warm welcome, same promise: whatever happens out there, you've always got a seat in here.

Pop in, say hello, and become part of the story yourself.