Banff+Town+and+County+Club

=Banff Town and County Club=

Company Number: SC001082 Date of Incorporation: 19 January 1882 Contact Details: 11 Boyndie Street, Banff, AB45 1DY Operating Details: Active (Private, limited by guarantee, no share capital) Other names (if known): Function of Company*: Bars (5540) Headquarters/Base of Operations Location: Banff Area of Operation: Banff


 * Taken from Standard Industrial Classification 2003, as used by Companies House in 2010

Records
Held By: Privately held, please contact above address

Scope/type: Minute Books dating from 1881

Conditions governing access/use: Please contact owners

Related records: None identified. For more historical information on the town, please contact Banff Preservation and Heritage Society.

Company History
Banff is a town that received its charter from Robert the Bruce in 1324, and is the old county town of Banffshire. The town enjoyed considerable growth in the 1700s, and features many Georgian townhouses and buildings.

The Town and County Club was incorporated in 1881 by a group of locally-based people mostly drawn from the high-end of Banff society. Through the act of subscription the committee was able to raise the money to purchase the clubs original premises in Banff at 6 South Castle Street (now known as Castle Street). At its inception there were three classes of membership; ‘Life members’ tended to be more aristocratic, ‘Local members’ were mostly drawn from the town’s middle class and ‘Reading members’ paid to have access to the club’s library. At this point the social club did not have a licence to serve alcohol.

In the 1930s the club applied for a licence, a move which precipitated a large number of resignations from the board. The club also moved into its current premises, the sizeable townhouse on Boyndie Street built in 1772 by George Robinson, a wealthy cotton industrialist.

Although the club enjoyed a boom in membership during the Second World War, due to the nearby airbase, by the 1950s it came close to dissolution. However it survived this scare, and is an important institution in the town today. It still has a restaurant and bar, and a bowling green for members. In the past it has housed various other local social clubs, and also meetings of the Banff Town Council.

[]-

With thanks to Mr James Gifford, Company Secretary, for his help and advice in completing this entry