History of the harbour club..

The present Harbour Club building was built alongside the old single-story wooden building (which is now the car park). The new clubhouse was opened to the current members on Saturday, 19th July 2003, with much anticipation and enthusiasm, after 18 months of planning, building, sweat & toil by the then Committee & many volunteers!!! A few months later, the old building was demolished, and the car park resurfaced.

The Harbour Club has been in existence for nearly 60 years and has been the hub of the Shoreham Beach community for most of it. Below, you can read an abstract of the building of the original clubhouse by the late June Stirling (Founding Member)

History of the old harbour club building by the late June Sterling..

Back in the late 1950s and 1960s, when Shoreham Beach was far less populated, there was a group of close friends who loved to party and spent many happy hours at the Tudor Public House (now the Waterside Inn), enjoying their regular darts sessions in the beautiful wooden-panelled back room. When the pub was to be refurbished (not to the group’s liking), Derek Stirling and John Metcalf, whilst on holiday with their families in Spain, set upon the dream of starting their own social club.

Once back in England, they set about making their dream come true and began by getting Toni Stirling and her friend Patsy Clarke (now Jennings) to deliver letters to all the houses on the beach to see who would be interested in helping fund the venture.

When the funding was in place and everyone was anxious to contribute to the building, John Metcalfe’s position as Housing Officer helped obtain three possible locations for the club. Eventually, the Old Fort and a site off Weald Dyke were rejected, and the Silver Sands site was approved. It was then favoured to erect a wooden building in memory of the many wooden bungalows, which had been demolished because of the invasion threat during the war.

This was to have a flat roof to facilitate a second floor, thus enabling the ground floor to be used for billiard tables, skittle alley, etc., for the members as and when enough profit was made.

Many people helped with the construction, and the foundations were dug by Derek Stirling, Denis Stirling, John Metcalf, Phil Branston, Reg Head, Dick Steele Robinson, and countless others, in difficult conditions, with cold and rain. The wives and families were roped in to paint, paper, and polish the beautiful dance floor, and gradually the interior was complete, with cosy alcoves and a welcoming ambience.

Finally and joyously, the club opened on May 28th 1966.

As the club flourished, an extension was built, and a boat park with a slipway was provided for members’ use.

At first, a flat was rented for the steward and his wife, but in the fullness of time, a flat was purchased, and then finally, a house was acquired immediately opposite the club building. Also, the freehold to the land was purchased.

Sadly, John Metcalf died relatively early on in the club’s history, and ironically, he actually passed away when working on the boat park, but he did see his dream become a reality.

There was always a Committee member on duty in those days, and there was always a function on a Saturday night, and many theme evenings, such as Beer Keller, Scottish Dancing and the unforgettable shows performed by the members under the guidance of Bob Langley, which raised a considerable amount of money for charity, as did Andrew Lamb and Ray Minter in the Bath Tub races.

The club has endured for many years and seen much joy and tragedy amongst its members. It survived the hurricane unscathed and has always enjoyed a good reputation in the locality. It is proof that if a community all pulls together, anything is possible.

I can truthfully say that we all enjoyed the hard work in building the club, and have everything to thank John and Derek for.

June Stirling.