Last orders as Conservative club which hosted Winston Churchill and Enoch Powell shuts after 140 years

Wednesbury Conservative and Unionist Club, in Walsall Street, will shut its doors on January 31 after more than 140 years of service.

The club, which also used to be a favourite of Winston Churchill, was founded in 1874 and moved to its current premises in 1911.

During it's heyday it had around 3,000 members and played host to some of the Conservative party's biggest names including former leader William Hague, former deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine and controversial Wolverhampton MP Enoch Powell.

Former prime minister and wartime hero Winston Churchill used to visit the club regularly before the war whenever he visited Wednesbury.

Former councillor Bill Archer said it was a sad news as the club used to be at 'the heart' of the town.

Mr Archer, who was a member for more than 40 years, said: "It used to be very popular and very well run, even if it was political. It had nearly 3,000 members at one stage, but that's down to about 20 or so at the minute if I'm being generous.

"I remember meeting the likes of Enoch Powell, Michael Heseltine and William Hague in there. Churchill used to come in here quite a lot before the war, but that was before my time.

"There's a big notice outside now saying it's going to close. It is incredibly sad as it was a massive part of Wednesbury.

"It will be a sad sad day when it closes as it was the heart of the town for so long.

He added: "With so many pubs, clubs and other venues closing down in the area it is another one to add to the list."

The club contained a large function room, lounge bar, games room and bowling green.

It would often be used for special occasions, clubs, sporting events and musical tribute nights.

It has been experiencing financial difficulties for a number of years and in 2011 members were asked to dig into their own pockets to keep the club afloat and avoid it having to take out long term loans.