AN historic Silsden club has closed.

Dwindling membership has forced the town's 115-year-old Conservative Club to shut its doors for good.

For the past two years, it had been losing about £1,000 a month.

"Financially we were OK but some nights we had only two people in and you can't carry on like that," said secretary Dr Tom Chilton.

"I became secretary about 20 years ago, soon after joining, and the club was struggling then.

"We did have an influx of younger members and spent some money on the place, but things didn't really turn around.

"There were darts and dominoes, pool and snooker.

"We've tried all sorts over the years to try to attract new people – even dropping the cost of drinks to £1.50 for a pint and £1 for shorts."

Trustees wrote to the Association of Conservative Clubs last autumn, and it agreed that the club – in Briggate – should shut.

"There were still several months to pay on the building's lease but following our AGM last week we closed," said Dr Chilton, 65, who has just retired from UKAR at Crossflatts.

"It's very sad, but we'd reached the point where we felt it just wasn't worth opening.

"We had around 40 members on the books but in reality we were looking at half that on a Friday night, and Mondays and Wednesdays you could have as few as two.

"In financial terms we could have continued but we simply didn't have the people coming through the doors.

"Unfortunately other pubs and clubs have gone the same way. People's lifestyles have changed and they want different things now."

Dr Chilton, whose profession was chartered engineering, says the club's demise is a blow.

It had occupied the same building since 1900.

"On a personal level I will really miss it," he said.

"I'd been involved in Conservative clubs before moving to Silsden.

"When I arrived in the town I remember going to the club for the first time.

"I was signed-up as a member and then within a few weeks was asked if I would take on the secretary role!"