Yahoo News Kent club in gorgeous tight-knit village named one of the best in the UK
A club in a gorgeous tight-knit village in Kent has been named as one of the best in the whole of the UK. The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) included Marden Village Club in Albion Road, Marden, not far from Maidstone, in its list of the best four member clubs in the country as part of its Club of the Year 2024 competition.
The four finalists will now have a chance to win the overall Club of the Year title. Marden Village Club, which sounds inviting with its comfy chairs, sofas and artwork on the walls from locals and regular entertainment, will go head-to-head with the three other clubs from across the UK: Firs Club in Codsall; Kettering Midland Band Club in Kettering; and Haydock Reading Rooms in St Helens.
Phil Gregg, National Club of the Year co-ordinator, said the clubs "exemplify what people come to expect from an excellent social club - important community spaces that promote the social wellbeing of their local area with a commitment to top quality cask beer".
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This extra special club in Marden - a village with a population of around 4,000 - is in an impressive Grade II-listed building, and it serves six cask beers at the bar, usually from small, local breweries, with one dark beer always available. Its range of changing beers regularly includes the following rare beer styles: mild, porter and stout. Breweries include Goacher's, Kent, and Pig & Porter, which is based in Tunbridge Wells.
But plenty of work goes in behind the scenes to make this village club the thundering success it is, from many hardworking people. The club's chair Les James paid tribute to them, saying: "We are very proud and honoured to be named by CAMRA as one of the top four clubs in the UK.
"This is testament to the tremendous efforts and accomplishments of Simon, the club’s manager, his amazing bar team and the dedicated cleaners. They are all ably assisted by the club’s committee in ensuring the club has a warm and welcoming atmosphere for members to socialise and drink. None of this would have been possible without the continued support of the club’s members."
'Heart of the community'
And this club at the heart of its community, which is around nine miles south of Maidstone, is no stranger to accolades as it has scooped the coveted Club of the Year title for the past two years. It is dog-friendly, has a function room for hire, monthly bands, live rugby and football on the sports TV, and games include darts, cribbage, shove ha'penny, table tennis, pool and snooker.
Phil Gregg added: "We have a very exciting competition this year, with a fantastic final line up to the Club of the Year award. These four clubs exemplify what people come to expect from an excellent social club - important community spaces that promote the social wellbeing of their local area with a commitment to top quality cask beer. I urge everyone to seek out the top four clubs in the UK, and to visit social clubs in your local area."
The winner of the Club of the Year 2024 competition will be in announced early next year.
More about CAMRA
CAMRA campaigns to protect and promote clubs, as well as pubs, which are "important community assets that promote the social wellbeing of their local area". It is a not-for-profit consumer group with over 147,000 members which has been operating since 1971.
Its vision is to have "quality real ale and thriving pubs in every community". The Club of the Year competition is run in conjunction with Club Mirror magazine and is the highest honour the campaigning organisation can award a social club.
Clubs in the competition are selected by CAMRA volunteers and judged on their atmosphere, decor, welcome, service, value for money, customer mix and most importantly – the quality of beer.
