A LONGSTANDING Winchester men’s club close its doors for the last time at the weekend.
The Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes (RAOB) club on Cross Keys Passage, next to Maison Blanc, shut on Sunday.
The RAOB, whose members are known as Buffs, has suffered from lack of custom and its building needs significant repairs.
The city centre group, which began in 1964, used to have between 200-400 members, but has since declined to be measured in tens, according to a man behind the bar.
Its grand lodge is based in Harrogate, Yorkshire, but the organisation has branches across the UK.
The earliest known branch was in the Harp Tavern near Drury Lane Theatre in London in 1822, and during the 19th century it spread throughout the British Commonwealth.
The Winchester club was in the middle of the Silver Hill redevelopment and had negotiated with the developers of the £150 million scheme. It was unclear whether the developer was going to relocate the club or simply buy its site. The current ownership of the freehold was unclear at the time of going to press.
It was one of the last old-style working men’s clubs in the city, following the closure of the East Winchester Social Club on Chesil Street.
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