'How we brought Basford Miners' Welfare club back to life'

Miners' welfares often come with the only green space in an area, the charity that represents them says

When the word went round that Basford Miners' Welfare was due to close, the regulars refused to accept final orders were just that. Almost a year later, the beloved institution has reopened, complete with a bar, an events room and a full-sized snooker table.

BBC News talked to those behind the campaign to find out how they breathed new life into an old stamping ground - known, quite simply, as "The Welfare".

'We're just family'

Josie Hart says The Welfare gives her a place where she feels comfortable, following the loss of her husband

Club trustee Josie Hart said: "Everyone's got an emotional attachment to this place. You can walk in this place and a memory will hit you just like that."

Josie's husband Dave died seven years ago, but she can step into a room at Basford Miners' Welfare and a physical reminder of him remains.

"I can walk in here and look at a mark and just think, that's where my late husband sat," said Josie.

"He used to sit with his back to a board and the chair made a mark, and it's still there. So, I know when I walk in and see that mark, I think about Dave."

Memories of Dave and the other regulars who once frequented the venue are found all over The Welfare

The door to that memory was abruptly closed in February, when Basford Miners' Welfare announced it was shutting after decades serving those who had worked in the nearby Babbington Colliery.

It was a situation that has been replicated across the country.

The coal industry in the UK once stretched from South Wales, through the heartlands of Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire, up to the North East and into the central belt of Scotland.

And with the mines came the clubs.

The social clubs were where miners and their families would come to share a drink, celebrate a wedding, or mark the passing of a loved one.

These buildings, like the mines whose communities they once supported, have been closing.

'Over my dead body'

The world seemed to have moved on. So how does a community manage to revive a well-loved institution that might seem to have had its day?

It was a question Josie and a group of volunteers faced as they started their campaign to reopen Basford Miners' Welfare.

"It came up on Facebook that it was going to be permanently closed," she said.

"I put on there 'over my dead body'.

"Since then, all I've done, everything we've all done, is about getting this place reopened."

To reopen the venue, the volunteers had to find and appoint new trustees, redecorate the building and change its traditional role so The Welfare could operate as somewhere for families and the whole community, instead of being a members-only social club.

"It's family," said Josie. "You know, when I lost Dave I could've never gone out again, but, because I was coming down here, I knew I could come here, I could sit with anybody and I would never be by myself.

"And you're not by yourself. All the time, there's somebody there for you. And we're just family."

'It's something to look forward to all week'

On their first date, John asked Polly to pretend she was 18 so she could get into The Welfare

Polly Rylance's first visit to The Welfare was more than 60 years ago. It was also her first date with her now husband John, who worked as an electrician at the pit.

"I had just met John and he said we were just going for a walk, but we ended up here," said Polly.

"I said, 'what's this about?'

"He said, 'oh, this is through my work. This is the miners' welfare'.

"He said, 'when you go in, just say you are 18', but I was 17. Well, that made me nervous, but I had a lovely night."

Given the happy memories she associates with the place, Polly said she was delighted to see it reopen.

"People have worked hard for this place over many years, so I'm glad it is back open," she said.

"It's something to look forward to all week. I'm thinking, 'oh it's Saturday night, get ready'."

'A very good local hub'

Mick Wilson says the club is trying to move with the times

Behind the bar is trustee Mick Wilson.

He is expecting a busy festive season with a calendar full of acts and entertainment lined up in the evenings.

In the new year the focus will shift for him.

The volunteers want the welfare to be a local hub with a wide appeal to the community

"We are trying to get out of that stigma of being an old miners' welfare and move to the modern days," said Mick.

"We want families to come, we've bought TVs in so people can watch the football and get the community involved.

"In the daytime we are planning charitable activities.

"So, we are bringing in Men In Sheds, which is a mental health service, and we are going to have a warm space for pensioners once a week.

"We are just trying to make it a very good local hub for people."

At least 230 miners' welfares are still operating in the country

As it stands there are still at least 230 miners' welfares still operating in the country.

But to keep them going, the charity that supports them - the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO) - says they need to adapt.

"The miners' welfares in the UK that are successful are those who are looking more broadly at community activity," said CISWO's chief executive Nicola Didlock.

"I'm really pleased that Basford Miners' Welfare has reopened and really pleased that it will become far more than a social club.

"In the future, we hope that miners' welfares can evolve into the vibrant community hubs that can provide activity and recreation for everyone, not just those who were mineworkers but those community in those areas.

"Often, the miners' welfares and the recreation ground around them is the only green space in that area and for the community it's so important that we protect that space."