The president of a ‘cherished and historic’ community hub in Maidenhead has warned it will close without immediate help.

The Maidenhead Ivy Leaf Club, founded in June 1918 by soldiers returning from the First World War wanting a place for camaraderie and friendship, has launched a £150,000 appeal to stay open.

The club originally operated as a traditional working men’s social hub, from a site in Marlow Road, moving to Holmanleaze in 1976.

Today, it hosts a variety of entertainment and charity events, and sports teams such as pool and darts. In June 2018, the Ivy Leaf celebrated its centenary.

But after being hit hard by Covid, it never really bounced back; people popping in after work ‘gradually drifted off’, said president of the club Maggie Schaap-Smith.

Lately, running costs at the Ivy Leaf Club have soared and it has reduced its opening hours to about half.

“Pubs are closing at a horrific rate,” said Maggie. “It doesn’t matter how many days a week you close, you still have the costs of running the place.

“You’ve got electricity, you’ve got gas – minimum wage has gone up and we can’t afford to pay staff to stand there doing nothing.”

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The Ivy Leaf Club is ‘a huge place’ with higher running costs – its function hall can hold up to 150 people.

“Without immediate help, it’s going to close and it’s going to be a huge loss to the local community,” said Maggie.

“The older generation needs the club. For a lot of them, it’s their only source of social interaction. It is good for their mental health.”

These core members will often come in the afternoon and stay for many hours.

“It’s comfortable, it’s safe and they can have a good chinwag,” said Maggie. “There is a lot of passion for the place. They really do cherish it.”

She added: “Our bread-and-butter members have been there through thick and thin.

“When we opened after Covid and they had to stay at their tables, when we could have music, but nobody could dance – they still came, and they’re still there every week.”

Something that people don’t always realise, said Maggie, is that it is actually open to the public. Non-members simply pay a small fee at the door and add their names to a sign-in book.

“It totals £4 per person, and the bar prices are one of the cheapest in Maidenhead,” said Maggie.

Different crowds come for live music every Saturday, country music on Friday and bingo night on Thursday, and the club often holds bigger entertainment like tribute shows, as well as children’s discos in the holidays.

“We try and keep everything for everybody from age zero to our oldest member, Mary, who is 89,” said Maggie. “Kids are welcome – I’ve grown up in the place, and my children have.”

Over the years, the club has hosted well-known and rising stars, including Ed Sheeran – who played then reportedly could not afford his train fare home.

But despite all the Ivy Leaf offers, it has suffered at the hands of circumstance; the club used to benefit from passing trade generated by the Magnet, but amid the redevelopment and construction of high-rise flats, the club has become less visible, said Maggie.

Overgrown bushes and trees along the main road further make the club easy to overlook, she said – and planning restrictions mean it cannot easily put up signs and banners.

But hope is on the horizon in the form of a fundraising drive with a £150,000 target to clear the club’s debts and help with refurbishment to broaden its appeal.

“We’ve tried to shift it to make it more appealing to the younger generation, but without a pot of money to spruce it up, it’s hard,” said Maggie.

See the fundraiser at tinyurl.com/save-the-ivy-leaf-club