History of the Social Club

Between 1971 and 1987

The first recorded meeting was held on 22nd June 1971 to see what interest there was in forming a Sports and Social Club and this was attended by Mappleton villagers and others from surrounding villages – a total of 29 people. Thus the Sports and Social Club was formed. The next item was to find premises; Sir Ian Walker Okeover was approached and agreed to let a field in Mappleton for an annual rental of £1.00 to the Social Club. The field was looked after by various members of the committee.

Fund raising was the next priority and many events (Field Day, Whist Drives, Domino knockout competitions etc.) were held and donations given and according to the records funds grew rapidly. The Club President was Mr Clowes.

The Football Team was formed at this time and during 1971 work took place preparing the field (draining, removing a hedge, mowing etc.) and buying equipment. The team continued to play in the Ashbourne Summer League and held friendly matches during the following years.

Between 1972 and 1975 various events were held including domino competitions, Ladies and Junior Football Matches, Dinner Dances at the Dog and Partridge and the Annual Field Day. A Ladies Darts Team was formed in 1976.

Minutes show that at a meeting held in October 1976 discussion took place about the purchase of a hut to put on the field providing permission could be obtained from the Estate. Permission was obviously given and the hut purchased at a cost of £60. It was a former tuck shop and had previously been sited at the corner of Green Road and Cokayne Avenue, Ashbourne. The next minutes dated July 1977 agreed that a request be made to the Estate for a water supply to be piped to the hut and toilet (toilet was still to be erected).

The Football Club was still being run but apart from notes in the minutes about fundraising for the team there are no details given.

A celebration event was held in 1977 to commemorate the Silver Jubilee.

Minutes dated May 1978 indicated that quotes had been accepted for the supply of water to the hut and that quotes for the installation of electricity were awaited.

By July 1979 the pavilion was ready for use and social club meetings and events were being held there. At a small charge the pavilion was available for use by the Parish Council, the Parochial Church Council and the W.I. During 1980 the pavilion was also used by children’s groups in the village e.g. The Joy Club.

By 1981 a football team was re-formed (although no mention of it having been disbanded was shown in the minutes of the Social Club) and the minutes of February that year gave details of the conditions under which the team could use the facilities.

On 29th July 1981 an event was held to celebrate the Royal Wedding.

Minutes available between 1982 and 1987 show that the Social Club went from strength to strength with regular meetings and social and fund raising events being held.

1988 to Present Day

As the hut was requiring a lot of repairs by this time, enquiries were made as to how much the repairs would cost. The costings were high and it was decided that in the long term it would be better to try and raise funds to replace the hut with a more substantial building/pavilion. Permission was given by the Okeover Estate to replace the hut with a Pavilion and plans were put in motion to obtain grants from the various Councils in the area. One of the conditions of receiving grants was that the Club should be a Registered Charity and application was made to the Charity Commissioners to do that. In due course (1989) the Club became a registered charity.

Plans for a replacement pavilion were presented to the DDDC in the summer of 1990, were approved and with the help of grants from various authorities, donations from local businesses and fund raising efforts work on the pavilion was started. Unfortunately the site the committee had chosen for the pavilion (nearer the road than the existing hut) was not acceptable to the Okeover Estate Trustees/Sir Peter Walker Okeover. Volunteers erected the pavilion and put windows in and it was fitted out with a small kitchen; it was opened in June 1991 and to celebrate the occasion in the afternoon a friendly rounders match was organised between Mappleton and Thorpe/Ilam and in the evening a cheese and wine party was held when the oldest resident of the village performed the opening ceremony. A new toilet block was built in 1992.

In 1992 The Mappleton Village Social Club won its section of a “Village Ventures Competition” organised by the Derbyshire Rural Community Council. The prize money was used to purchase a set of gang mowers to keep the playing field in good order for the Football Teams who were currently using it.

There were no major developments at the Social Club during the following years. Fund raising and social events took place and everything ran smoothly.

In 1999 a very successful “Promises Auction” was held at the Okeover Arms by invitation of Shirley and Trevor Taylor and funds were raised towards a Children’s Play Area. In the meantime basket ball posts were erected and were well used by the children of the village and visitors.

Mappleton Football Club was disbanded in 1999; funds remaining in the account were transferred to the Social Club.

To celebrate the Millennium a Summer Event (2nd July 2000) was held and to mark the occasion mugs with a map of Mappleton on the outside and a picture of the Annual Bridge Jump was printed on the inside. These were distributed to Mappleton families.

By this time the pavilion was beginning to show a lot of wear and tear and discussions took place with an officer of the Rural Community Council concerning the proposition to replace the pavilion with a more substantial building and plans to make an application to the lottery were put in hand. During 2001 correspondence took place between the Social Club and the Okeover Estate and Sir Peter agreed, in principle, that a new pavilion built of brick could be erected near to the main road access gate. All traces of the toilet block, existing building etc. would have to be removed. The estate also had no objection to a small car park and children’s play area being built. A questionnaire/village survey was distributed to everyone in the village; only 8 replies were received. The application for funds from the Lottery was not completed and so we were left with the existing pavilion.

Several successful and enjoyable fund raising and social events were held during 2001 and according to the minutes were very well attended – Vegetable show, Bingo evenings, Bonfire evening with refreshments, international cuisine evening, quiz, car boot sale, Christmas Party etc.

A very successful and enjoyable event was held on the playing field on 22nd June 2002 – “Robot Wars”. It was profitable too with approximately £900 being raised. Other popular events during 2002 were a Cheese and Wine Tasting Evening; Car Boot Sale; Fun Day to celebrate the Jubilee and Theatre Trip.

2005 was a very quiet year on the events and meetings front. The only income received was from the Summer League Football Teams and the Aztecs Junior Teams. However in the Autumn a meeting was held and it was decided to hold a Children’s Christmas Party. In due course this took place and comments received included one which said “it was one of the best Christmas Parties held in the village”. So, congratulations to the organisers!

2006 - Meetings are again being held regularly and plans for events to be held during the year are going ahead and updates will be put on the website - www.mappleton.org.uk