Tory Ladies Tea Club

THE TOWN HAS MANY active organisations catering for all tastes and last summer it was therefore sad to hear that one of the more prestigious, the Bourne Tory Ladies Tea Club, had closed down through lack of support after 52 years. For more than half a century, members had met mostly on Friday afternoons to chat over a cup of tea and hear selected guests speaking on a variety of topics.

The first meeting of the club took place in the Burghley Arms in North Street on Monday 22nd September 1958 when the guest speaker, Airey Neave, soldier, barrister and politician and then the Conservative member of Parliament for Abingdon, Berkshire, who was to be assassinated in a car bomb attack in 1979 for which the Irish National Liberation Army later claimed responsibility.

About a dozen ladies were present, all smartly dressed in hats and gloves, and it was a most successful meeting with such a distinguished guest. From those small beginnings, its popularity increased and the club moved its weekly venue, first to the Corn Exchange, then to the Darby and Joan Hall in South Street and finally the club relocated to the function room at the Conservative Party headquarters in North Street in 2000.

The founder of the club was Mrs. Kate Cooke (1896-1978), wife of a local landowner, who also became the first chairman. She was a most enthusiastic Tory and also became the first woman chairman of the former Rutland and Stamford Conservative Association which included Bourne and was eventually awarded the MBE in the 1953 New Year Honours List for her public service.

She was succeeded as chairman in 1971 by Dr Ruth Finn (1903-92), a local doctor who had given notable service to the town during the Second World War as commandant of the Girls’ Training Corps and when she retired in 1979, Mrs Dorothy Alexander was elected to the post and continued in office until the club closed in 2010.

The meetings were always held on the last Friday of the month at 2.30 pm from September through until the following May. They were friendly, social occasions with a limited business meeting and members looking forward to the visiting speaker and it has been estimated that at least 300 men and women who had made their mark in life were guests who talked entertainingly on a wide variety of topics although the political speakers made the biggest impression.

"We sounded rather twee", admitted Mrs Alexander, "but that was far from the truth because we were very organised and sometimes the gloves came off.”

As well as the monthly meetings, many events were held to raise money for the party funds. Coffee mornings were popular, especially those held in members’ houses. Others took place in the function room and the organisers also tried to stimulate interest in Bourne by staging attractions promoting local traders presenting their wares or individuals with various talents. There were also some evening events of cookery demonstrations, quizzes, followed by a fish and chip supper, and even a fashion show staged by Marks & Spencer which was a particular favourite.

All of the meetings, luncheons and latterly strawberry teas, were open to visitors although it was the members who prepared the meals and they became well known for their desserts. There was also an active fund raising ethic and with so many events taking place over the years, the club raised a tidy sum for the Conservative Association, not forgetting their work at election times, national or local, when the ladies would turn out to stuff papers into envelopes and other necessary chores.

There were also many staunch members with a long service to the club, notably Mrs Kathleen Ewles, of Gladstone Street, a member of the well known butchery family which once traded in North Street and now aged 93, who was a founder member and always did her best not to miss a meeting.

On the club’s 25th anniversary in 1983, it was decided to celebrate with a lunch and the committee invited Baroness Airey of Abingdon, widow of the very first speaker who had been made a life peer in 1979. This turned out to be a wise choice because the event was such a success that members decided to have one every spring and autumn with distinguished guests on each occasion.

So began some very exciting meetings with people from all walks of life, cooks, authors, flower arrangers, and as well as Baroness Trumpington, the former minister who was made a life peer in 1980, Dr Mary Archer, wife of the author and life peer Lord (Jeffrey) Archer, Fiona Castle, widow of the popular entertainer Roy Castle, and Emma Nicholson, the MP for Torridge and West Devon and vice-chairman of the Conservative Party (later an MEP and now a life peer since 1997), who in turn invited members to join her for a strawberry tea at the Conservative Party headquarters in Smith Square, London, the only provincial club at that time to be entertained there.

This was the club’s most successful period but it was not to last and in the final years, attendance began to decline to such an extent that the officers decided with extreme reluctance that they could not continue with such poor support. Only 12 turned up for the final engagement on 25th June 2010, a poignant occasion but celebrated with suitable élan.

Dorothy Alexander said afterwards: "It is rather sad after 52 very active years but lifestyles have changed and in particular for women. Where we should be welcoming the 30 year olds plus it is not the case. We had hoped that the younger generation would join us but they do not appear to be as politically motivated as we were. They might vote but tend not to join an organisation. Then there are careers to consider or the necessity to take employment.

"The decision to close down was not taken lightly but with attendances of twelve at a meeting it was not practical. Many lasting friendships have been made over the years and we went out with a bang on Friday with strawberries and Buck’s Fizz."

In the picture above: Lady Airey (centre) with the Mayor of Bourne, Councillor Don Fisher
and Sir Kenneth Lewis MP with (back row) Lady Lewis and (front row) Freda
Wilkinson, Maud Graham, Dorothy Alexander and Dr Ruth Finn.