BOLTON WOOD STREET CLARION
The 'Clarion' was a Socialist paper started in 1891 by Manchester journalist
Robert Blatchford and his friends. It was read every week by tens of thousands of
working-class people, including the members of Bolton Socialist Club, who sold
hundreds of copies atpublic meetings.
The Clarion's cycling column, written by Tom Groom, sparked the formation of
Clarion Cycling Clubs in towns all over the country, including Bolton in 1896.
Other offshoots of the paper were: Vocal Unions (choirs), Field Clubs (ramblers),
and Handicraft Guilds. All of these were started in Bolton, and after the Socialist
Club moved into 16 Wood Street in 1905, they were all based there. Most popular
of all was Bolton Clarion Cycling Club who used the downstairs front room (now
the bar) for their meetings and social activities.
By the late 1930s most of the other Clarion organisations had fallen by the
wayside, but the Cycling Club was more popular than ever. With more than 200
members, it was the biggest Clarion CC in the country. In the 1970s, however, with
the decline of cycling as a pastime, Bolton Clarion faded, until only a handful of
old-timers remained. They no longer met at Wood Street, having lost their rent-free
clubroom.
The 1980s saw a revival of interest in cycling, and the Clarion Cycling Club came
back to Wood Street for a few years with a large and active membership once again.
But sadly, many Clarion members, nationally and locally, objected to the Socialist
objects of the cycling club. Bolton Clarion CC left Wood Street and has not
returned. So in 2004 a separate club, Bolton Wood Street Clarion, was formed by
Socialist Club members to continue the century-old connection. Its activities
include not only cycling, but also walks and rambles, plus trips and visits using the
'Clarion Van' (a minibus).
Membership and participation (no subscription) is open to all Socialist Club
members and friends. Watch the Club noticeboards for details of activities and events.
Bolton Wood Street Clarion is affiliated to a new Socialist organisation,
The National
Clarion Cycling Club (1895) North Lancs. Union
www.nationalclarioncc1895.co.uk