And we’re back after a break!
It might be a little more complete now, but here’s a photo of the interior of The Village Artisans Clubhouse, located at the end of the course on the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
It was kindly sent in to me by Brett Chalmers who took the photo in 2010 having played golf at Hoylake and received an invite to have a look in by one of the Village Artisan members. If you follow the public footpath from Stanley Road onto the golf course you’ll see the green building on your left as you follow the blue line. From the outside it looks like a big, green shed for the ground staff but as you can see from the photo above it’s a bit more than that inside. If you’re attending the forthcoming Ricoh Ladies Open next month, you’ll see the building then.
I’ll repeat a comment from Sheila Stott, posted in 2009 that explains more about the Village Artisans:
“Originally the RLGC was a horse racing course and, when it was bought by the RLGC, a stipulation of the purchase was that local tradesmen, i.e. Artisans, had to be able to use the course. Members of the Village Artisans (known as ‘The Villagers’) at the RLGC did not pay a fee to use the course but paid a fee to belong to the Artisans. For this privilege they helped to maintain the course, replacing divots, marshalling at matches, etc. but had restricted teeing off times at the weekends. But at least they got to play on a great golf course. As they weren’t allowed to use the member’s clubhouse (they had a wooden hut), they would meet during the 1960′s at The Ship Inn which was run at the time by Edna House. There was an Edna House Trophy and also a Glenda Jackson Trophy as Glenda’s father, Mickey, used to be a member of the Villagers.”
Below is a photo taken when the clubhouse was being extended. If you know anything more about The Village Artisans please leave a comment below.
My Dad was a member of The Villagers (Bill Halewood) He worked as a caddy for Mrs Sangster for some years. He wasn’t a bad golferr either. If you look at the memorabilia you will see his name. My Dad passed away in 2005 aged 96 and his I scattered his ashes over the 18th fairway
My Grandad, Tom Shakeshaft was a member of “The Villagers”, he was a painter and decorator and lived at 46, Ferndale Rd, next door to a man named Tom Shakeshaft who was also a painter and decorator!!
my grandad harry fleet was a member I would love to hear if anyone has any stories