'I did it for my nana': Meet the man bringing new life to Leeds community hub opened for World War One heroes

Originally opened as a place to accommodate and entertain the returning heroes of the First World War, the club has been at the heart of community life since 1926.

Over the decades the club has provided a front row seat to watching life unfold in Hawksworth Wood, in Leeds.

And it has a special place in the hearts of one Leeds family in particular.

Macauley Hunt took over from his grandma, Jane Hornby, as the chair of the club committee last year and has already overseen some significant changes.

He is now looking to spread the word and invite faces new and old back to the Cragside Walk venue as it celebrates its centenary.

He explained that in the lead up to the anniversary he was able to find old meeting minutes and documents dating back to 1925 when the proposals were first put forward.

Macauley said: “We were clearing out the office and came across it by chance.”

The club was opened as part of the Hawksworth Wood estate near Kirkstall, which itself was created in light of the First World War as part of the ‘Homes Fit For Heroes’ initiative.

The Butler family, who ran the Kirkstall Forge industrial site nearby, saw that the community club be opened for those working and living nearby and ran it for many years.

The club was initially a wooden hut that would serve drinks and host nights of entertainment for the community. However, a fire in the 1950s led to the building being renovated and other building works have led to it becoming what it is today.

Jane Hornby was the chair of the committee for the last 10 years before she passed over the reins to her grandson in December 2024, who had been visiting since he was a child.

“I did it for my nana more than anything”, Macauley said. “It was her life and soul.”

The club was at risk of closure at the time and Macauley has done everything he can to make it more viable over the last 12 months, which has meant making some difficult decisions that haven’t been to everyone’s approval.

Macauley said: “There are two main ones. Lifetime members don’t have to pay for membership but we were getting to a point where we had more lifetime members than paid members so we had to decide that from this point on there wouldn’t be anymore lifetime members. A lot of people weren’t happy.

“We also put the prices up by a quite a bit. We were still charging £2.90 for a pint and we’ve now put it up to £3.60.

“It’s still cheaper than most places but what you find in clubs is people don’t like change.

“They were hard decisions. I definitely got a lot of earache.”

He added: “They were hard decisions but at one point we only had £300 left in the bank and now it’s looking healthier - we must be doing something right.”

Despite the name, Macauley explained that the club does not have political leanings but is, and has been since it was set up, part of The Association of Conservative Clubs.

“It’s just the name above the door”, said Macauley. “We have to abide by their rules.

“I think the Butler family were Conservatives but it’s always been a working class pub. The association is just a body we have to pay in.”

There have been traditional, conservative rules in the past such as it there being no swearing and no women allowed but the club has changed and tweaked them over the years.

Macauley said: “We’ve been left to our own devices for a long time.”

He said that now the club is all about providing a space for members of the community to come together and interact and enjoy themselves.

The club was “thriving” at one point, with queues of people often stretching around the corner wanting to get in to see their friends and enjoy the entertainment such as bingo, hypnotists, clairvoyants, musicians and drag queens over the years.

But now its popularity has depleted hugely, and Macauley said he’s determined to use the 100th year anniversary as a chance to get the name out there and invite new faces and old.

The last year saw him hold a ‘Save Our Club’ campaign and he is now pushing on from there, saying: “We held a fayre and other events and it was a really good year.

“I want to do more and more but society has changed now and people don’t go out drinking like they used to in the 80s.”

He added: “At one point it got a reputation as a bit of a clique pub and I’m trying to get rid of that stigma and give it back to the community. I want to reach out and get people involved and using it through the day for coffee mornings and mental health groups.”

A 100th birthday celebration will be held at the club on Saturday, January 31, from 7pm.