Welcome to The Wolversdene Club, Andover
The Wolversdene Club was originally a 16th Century Manor House, records show that most of the land around this area was part of the estate, and our resident ghost has been mentioned in many books around the world, she comes from the time of the civil war, and the story goes that after being discovered by her Father (the then owner of the house) walking out with a Gentleman friend along the Lady's Walk, he chastised her and sent he home saying she was never to see this Gentleman again, this being to much for her to bear, she ran home and jumped out of her bedroom window, fatally injuring herself, and to this day, her presence can still be felt.
The last owner of the house was Mr Labett, and it's from his ownership, that the story of the club starts to be revealed. One of the most important decisions that was made in the twentieth Century, probably laid the foundation stone for the Wolversdene Club: that was when the World declared war on Germany. Buildings all over the country were commandeered for the training of local Home Guard battalions, and Wolversdene House was taken over and used for training for the 1st Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment Home Guard, with a rifle range down in the cellar (now the skittle alley).
During these years the Regiment held various functions to raise funds, which they did very successfully, and in consequence, considerable amounts were accumulated, and in 1942, a trust was formed so that these funds could be suitably administered. At a meeting of the Trust held on the 24th February 1945, it was ascertained that the Wolversdene House was for sale, the purchase price being £3000. The property was at this time requisitioned by the War Office but it was understood that the probability was that it could be de-requisitioned without much trouble, and it was decided it would be a good idea to purchase the Wolversdene House for the purpose of a Home Guard Club, subsequently in September 1945, the sale of the property including the walled garden was completed for £2500 from the owner of the house Mr Labett, and rent for the premises was paid by the War Office,to the Wolversdene Trust. The MOD released the house to the Wolversdene Trust in August 1946 and from this time until the actual opening of the house as a club, volunteers from the Home Guard carried out work for the conversion, and the club was officially opened on the 1st October 1948, by General Sir George D Jeffreys.
It is with thanks to these dedicated volunteers, being visionaries of the future, that we have the club as it is today, a family club, providing many facilities for our local community. An extension was built during the 70's, which gave the club an extra dimension, providing a separate function room for Weddings and all types of celebrations. The new extension was named The Hayward Suite, after a founder member, Ernest Hayward. Bringing us up to date, the Club has always been interested in Football, having Wolversdene Football teams from the 60's to present day. From this interest, five years ago, we formed the Wolersdene Youth, with eight football teams, playing from the Wolversdene Club, this has now grown to seventeen boys and girls teams, from under 7's to under 16's. So dedicated are all the organisers involved, that last year we achieved one of the highest accolades, this being Charter Standard from the Football Association. As well as football, the Club has always had teams in all fields of activities associated with social clubs and pubs, we have excelled in all, having winnings teams in darts, crib, snooker, pool, table tennis and in times gone by dominoes and skittles. Long may this continue, so that we can carry on serving our community, with the facilities that those Men and Ladies of the Home Guard had their vision of over 60 years ago.
Club History