Welcome to the website of the Bridge Ward Club, which celebrated its 90th anniversary in January 2020!
The Club exists to promote the Ward of Bridge and Bridge Without, and its connections with this historic ward are symbolised by the Club badge, which shows the Bridge Mark – the mark of the Bridge House Trust, who administer London Bridge – beneath a representation of the Monument.
Anyone who lives, works or has an interest in the ward may apply to join the club. Membership enquiries are welcome – contact our Membership Secretary.
On Thursday 29th February we celebrated the life of John Gavin at the Church of Saint Magnus-the-Martyr.
Thank you to those who celebrated and sent their well wishes to John’s friends and family. Those who knew him knew how much the City of London meant to him and how involved he was in so many different areas, which was shown by the great attendance at his memorial and the beautiful sharing of stories. With love and best wishes to John’s friends and family.
Chairman’s Message 30/05/2024
As you will know, we sadly lost our Chairman, John Gavin in January this year. Those who knew him are feeling his loss deeply. I stepped in as Chairman from Deputy and am most certainly learning the ropes as I go along, however I am enjoying getting more involved in the city’s events and bringing people together to help build and strengthen Bridge Ward Club.
A little bit about my background, I am a Financial Planner in the City and I work with mainly private clients to help build their financial plans to support their longer term goals, whether that be assisting with retirement, inheritance tax planning or generation wealth transfers. I often travel to meet clients however my base is the city and it has been great to see a real buzz come back following Covid.
The charity which I have nominated this year is Headway – The Brain Injury Association, which is a cause close to my family.
We are really looking forward to bolstering the events we have this year, including a visit to Hatton Garden, our annual Carol Concert and a visit to Bletchley Park.
Our Annual General Meeting is on June 18th 2024. We would really like to see more people get involved with the club so please do invite friends and family to our events and speak to myself or one of the other members if you would like to get involved with the committee.
Thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing you over the coming year.
Ellie Armson
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The club is run by a main committee who organise the events and run the administration of the not for profit club. The main committee is steered by a Chairman and Deputy Chairman who are elected bi-annually, in addition to other officers fulfilling various roles. Bridge Ward Club also has a ‘corporate’ sub-committee which addresses the needs and interests of the working members of the ward.
Each Chairman has designated charities for the two year tenure in the Chair, in 2018/19 it was Cambridge Samaritans and for 2019/20 the Chairman’s Charity was in aid of the Bridge Ward 5-a-side football Challenge Cup for adults and less advantaged schools, which raised over £1,200. For 2020/21, the Chairman’s charity was the North Weald Airfield Association. The Chairman’s Charity 2022/23 is the Tom Bowridge Youth Cancer Foundation.
Bridge Ward Club was founded in January 1930 by 31 initial members who all had addresses in the Ward. The object of the Club was to provide electors and those who work and have an interest in the Ward with an opportunity to promote social activities and discussion of topics of local and general interest and also to exchange Ward and parochial information.
The first President was Alderman Charles H Collett and the Vice President was Sir John Knill Bt, who was Alderman of the Ward of Bridge Without. The Club’s third President, Sir George J Cullum-Welsh Bt, became Lord Mayor in 1956.
In 1931 the Club’s inaugural dinner was held at the Fishmongers’ Hall and was attended by 122 Members and their guests. The 50th Anniversary Dinner was held in the same hall in February 1981 and was attended by 176 diners. Since then the Bridge Ward Club’s membership has steadily grown to over 200 members.
The Club now has a varied social programme and usually meets at least 12 times a year for events ranging from the carol service at the Ward Church (St Magnus the Martyr) to talks of City interest or visits to interesting places such as the Isle of Wight, Kings College Cambridge, the Heathrow Animal Reception Centre and the Thames River Police Museum.
email us at – bridgewardevents@gmail.com