In 1876, Calver House and its grounds in Roundwell Street, Tunstall, were converted into a non-political and inter-denominational workingmen’s club.
The idea of using the house and its grounds to give Tunstall a workingmen’s club came from Sir Smith Child, who gave £100 towards the cost of conversion.
Inside the clubhouse, there were rooms for conversation, smoking, and playing games, including bagatelle, draughts, and chess. It contained reading rooms where members could read books and newspapers, a lecture theatre and a bar that sold alcoholic drinks.
The management committee intended to open a lending library, enabling members to borrow books and planned to create a recreation ground and build a gymnasium.
Membership of the club costs 2d per week, 6d a month or 1s 3d a quarter.
Smith opened the club on 14 July 1876. The opening ceremony was preceded by a parade led by the Tunstall Volunteer Band from the town hall along High Street to Calver House. During the ceremony, Smith said he was always happy to support any project that benefited Tunstall and its citizens. He believed the club could become the second home for many young working men who had only a bedroom in the house they lived in, that they could call their own.
North Staffordshire Heritage 