A STALWART social club that welcomed hundreds of railway staff through its doors in its heyday will close for good.
Honeybourne Railway Social Club will be shouting last orders at the bar for good this April after over 80 years of being a prominent figure in the village’s history.
Sam Boulter said the club had “begun to go downhill after the demise of British Rail” when he took it over 23 years ago.
Since then, it has continued to struggle with costs and footfall.
RECCOMENDED READING:
New mural unveiled at station celebrates 200 years of travel
UK railway firm enters liquidation but site remains’fully operational’
Rare train will make exciting ‘first’ at Severn Valley Railway event
“I got great support from those members who lost their own clubs and stayed with me during my 23 years of keeping the club alive,” he said.
“Having struggled for the past two years, we concluded that the Honeybourne Railway Social Club would be a thing of the past and a piece of Honeybourne history.
GOODBYE: Outside Honeybourne Railway Social Club. (Image: Honeybourne Railway Social Club)
“Thank you all for so many great nights over the years and for coming to help keep the club for as long as we could.”
Honeybourne Railway Social Club will be auctioned on April 30, which will also be the members’ last day using the venue before closure.
The club was originally built for the Honeybourne Railway Station workforce in the 1940s when it was a much bigger station with hundreds of staff.
Sam Boulter after winning secretary of the year in 2026. (Image: 5015978504 Paul Jackson)
It became home to many families at first and was a source of entertainment for railway club members who were forced to travel across the country for work.
Long fight to keep social club open
However, in the 1960s, many railway stations were forced to close or reduce services, including Honeybourne Railway Station.
However, the club chose to continue serving the community.
Hundreds gathered to welcome the reopening of the line in Honeybourne in 1981. (Image: Cotswold Line Promotion Group)
“Sadly, the railways that owned the clubs and land they were on decided to sell off those clubs and were offered the clubs to either buy or were lost to the railway,” said Mr Boulter.
“Many clubs, including Honeybourne, decided to buy at an agreed figure, keeping a part of Honeybourne Railway Club as an iconic piece of railway history.”
In around 2003, railway employees began to dwindle, and there was a need for fresh blood to take over the club, or it would close.
Mr Boulter then took over and turned the social club into a ‘non-profit’ business to help with its upkeep and growing costs.
But over the past two years, the business has continued to struggle more with footfall and costs.
Do you have any fond memories of Honeybourne Railway Social Club? Please share them with us in the comments.
