The first record we have of the Women’s Clothing Club is found in the back of the Coal Club book. Here, in 1875, 23 names and in 1876 32 names are listed, the book shows 2s.2d paid in per woman. No other information was shown so we don’t know if they got a bonus in these two years. Unlike the Coal and Shoe clubs the amounts paid in by the members was not a standard, amounts ranging from 7 shillings to 15 shillings, however it would appear that everyone who saved for the whole year was rewarded with a bonus of 2/6d each. This bonus in a similar way to the other thrift clubs was made up from donations from the local gentry bank interest and discount allowed by the shops.
The accounts show the shops used to make purchases each year. The most popular shop every year was Burgess, this shop changed owners and names in 1890 to Beynons and continued to be the most popular until 1900. Another 14 shops were used over the years, Jackson was the second most popular shop up to 1890. In later years McIlroy & Rankin and Camp Bazaar took over in second and third places. A chart of the shops used can be seen below.
With 1877 as an exception, when there were 48 names in the club, the membership averaged in the middle 20’s from 1875 for the next ten or more years. However numbers were much higher during the later half of the 80’s and the 90’s. A comparison with the other clubs to see if the pattern was the same would be interesting.
Members can view the complete information available in Excel spreadsheet or photographic images
