Clarion Cycle Club

In the 1890s The Bolton Evening News warned readers of a new threat to the country’s road users – cyclists known as ‘scorchers’, who rode at dangerously high speeds.

Cheap personal transport

This period saw the introduction of chain driven bicycles. These new bicycles were similar to the ones we have today, with two equal sized wheels with rubber tyres, and pedals driving the back wheel via cranks and a chain. They were safer, faster and more comfortable then earlier designs like the Penny Farthing.

They were also mass produced and low in cost, making then available to all but the very poor. For the first time in history nearly all the population could afford a mode of personal transport, and Britain went barmy for bicycles.

Cycling affected marriage patterns

It has also been claimed that bicycles effected marriage patterns; the mass uptake of cycling let budding Romeos ride beyond their villages to romance lasses further afield. Female cyclists had to combat the notion that cycling was an unsuitable pastime for ladies, and even affected fashion by making trousers for women more acceptable.

Bicycles also provided a new form of recreation. Cycling clubs sprang up all over the country. The Clarion Club was formed in 1894. It was different to other clubs in that it aimed to combine the pleasures of cycling with the promotion of socialism. The club was named after the socialist Clarion newspaper, and members would often hand out the paper on their weekend rides.

The Bolton Clarion Club

The Bolton Clarion Club was formed in 1896. Thomas and Elizabeth Calderly were members in the 1920s and early 1930s. Thomas and Elizabeth went on many trips with the club, and Thomas took lots of photos of their outings on his camera. Their son Robert has gifted a collection related to their Clarion days to the Museum.

With the importance of the car in today’s society, the bicycle is no longer ‘King of the Road’. But it continues to provide an eco-friendly mode of transport and a healthy form of recreation.

‘All distance pocket ensign camera’. This camera was used by Thomas Calderly to photograph his cycling trips with the Bolton Clarion Cycle Club in the 1920s and 1930s.

Brass Clarion Club badge. The two mottos of the club are: ‘fellowship is life’ and ‘socialism is the hope of the world’.

The bell from Elsie’s bicycle.