The Wall's Club closes for good after 60 years

The doors to a long-standing social club closed for good on Easter Sunday.

The Wall's Club announced in February that it was set to close after 60 years of serving Walls' Factory employees and the wider community.

Its liquidation has been blamed on "a combination of the COVID pandemic, a cost of living crisis, high inflation, high interest rates, a building requiring urgent renovation and an extremely difficult hospitality market".

Unilever said the closure was "very sad".

A petition to save the Wall's Club has garnered more than 1,400 signatures.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire listeners have paid tribute to the club.

Sue in Tewkesbury said: "Losing The Wall's Club means one less venue for touring bands or local bands.

"It is heart-breaking.

"It is small enough to feel very friendly and those of us who used it fairly regularly felt like part of an extended family."

Unilever, which took over the Wall's Factory in Gloucester, is the land owner of the Barnwood social club, but did not run it.

A Unilever spokesperson said it was "looking at what is next".

"We're very sad to hear about the closure of the Wall's Club which has been at the heart of the community for many years," a spokesperson said.

"Whilst The Wall's Club has been run by a business independent and separate to Unilever for over 20 years, we have continued to have a close relationship with the Wall's Club and would like to thank the team for the memories, celebrations and events our teams have enjoyed at the club over the years."

When it announced its closure, the Wall's Club "sincerely apologised" to those who had events planned at the social club in the near future.

A spokesperson for the club said in February: "All these bookings were taken in good faith believing that we would be able to fulfil them.

"We have reached out to every customer individually and we are working with the proposed liquidator to understand the next steps as quickly as possible as well as offering to try to help them find an alternative venue."

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