The development of working men’s clubs: a case study of implicit cultural policy

Abstract

This article examines working men’s clubs (WMCs) in Britain as agents of implicit cultural policy. Several key themes prominent in the early years of WMCs are highlighted, including the drink question, patronage and related notions of respectability, and the struggle to find an acceptable balance between social, educational and entertainment roles. It is argued that WMCs played a significant role in culture‐shaping activities, with the specific intention of changing the leisure habits of the working classes. It is argued that an account of both the development of these activities and of the resistances to them represents an important but neglected element of cultural policy history.

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