In Britain, working men's clubs are private social clubs which began as a movement in the mid-19th century. In the main they are to be found in the industrial areas of North England, the Midlands, Scotland and the Valleys of South Wales. Initially, their purpose was to provide recreation and education for working class men and their families.

According to Wikipedia, the first working men's club to open was in 1857 in Reddish, historically part of Stockport in Lancashire, some 4.6 miles SE of Manchester city centre.

Wisbech Working Men’s Club & Institute was formed in 1864 in Wisbech, Isle of Ely, and moved to its present site in 1867. It was once the most financially successful of all the clubs in England, with over 1,300 members in 1904.

Although the founders had the ambition to provide education - and some, such as that of Ebbw Vale, had a technical school for boys attached to them until the 1960s, most working men's clubs are now mainly recreational. Typically, a club would have a room for the sale and consumption of alcohol, though this was often a bone of contention in areas where religion was strong. Many have a room for playing snooker, pool or bar billiards. Since the mid-1950s televisions for sport entertainment have been popular, and many provide food or snacks. A much larger room would be connected, often called the concert or entertainment room, with a stage and a layout of tables, stools and backrest sofas. They often provide night time entertainment, mainly at the weekends such as bingo, raffles, live music cabaret and comedy, playing popular music. They were and still are also known for their charitable works.

Declining membership has seen many clubs close down and others struggle to remain open, particularly since the smoking ban of 2007.

Many working men’s clubs also had a connection to a political party.

Working men's clubs are cooperatives run by their members through a committee, usually elected annually. Larger clubs often employ a steward and his wife. Each club has rules that tend to be vigorously enforced. The committee will discipline members (common punishments being a warning, or a ban for a period) for violations. Despite the name, women are allowed to be members in many clubs, and virtually all clubs allow entry to women. Non-members are not allowed entry unless signed in by a member.

In the UK they are registered as co-operatives under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, normally using model rules supplied by the Clubs and Institutes Union.

A dispute at Wakefield City Workingmen's Club in 1978 led to a national campaign for equal membership rights for women. Sheila Capstick, whose husband was an activist in the NUM, had been a regular snooker player at the club before a ban was instituted on women playing snooker. Her protest, ‘A Woman's Right to Cues’, developed into a nationwide campaign for equal rights: ERICCA – Equal Rights in Clubs Campaign for Action. In April 2007, after the resolution had been consistently rejected over years, the Club and Institutes Union accepted equal membership rights for women.

Most clubs affiliate to the Working Men's Club and Institute Union. A member of one affiliated club is entitled to use the facilities of other clubs. There are some 2,200 affiliated working men's clubs in the UK. The CIU has two purposes: to provide a national voice for clubs, and to provide discounted products and services for clubs.

Until 2004, clubs ran a brewery at Dunston, Tyne and Wear, which brewed ales and lagers under the Federation brand. The brewery and brands were sold to Scottish & Newcastle for £16.2 million, although CIU clubs still receive discounted beer.

Some club members who performed services such as door keeping were rewarded with tokens or checks which could be exchanged for a pint of beer or other goods sold at the bar.

The Working Men's Club Movement, 1862-1912: a study of the evolution of a working class institution. A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD by Laurence Marlow at the University of Warwick can be found at http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap/4209
University of Warwick institutional repository: http://go.warwick.ac.uk/wrap