About Us

There is a stone outside the building laid by Mrs Strachey in 1895 on investigation. She was called Constance the wife of Lord Lieutenant Edward Strachey (1st Baron Strachey), who was a Lieutenant of the 4th Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry. He held office as a member of parliament for Somerset South. He was also a Deputy Lieutenant and Justice of the Peace for Somerset South. 

 

The Liberal Club was requisitioned and originally occupied by the 1st. Battalion Grenadier Guards in September 1939. ​

The ministry of foods set up “Community feeding centres” primarily to help people who had been bombed out, had run out of ration coupons or otherwise needed help. They were a local answer to combating the severity of rationing. At the insistence of Winston Churchill, the name was changed to “British Restaurants”. They were run by local government or voluntary agencies on a non-profit basis and were to sell basic, wholesome meals at reasonable cost and off the ration. They were situated so that they could be easily reached to most families. 

Meals were sold for a set maximum price of 9d or less. No one would be served with a meal of more than one serving of meat, game, poultry, fish, eggs or cheese. Ordinary restaurants in the United Kingdom were not subjected to rationing although some restrictions were placed on them, for example no meal could have more than three courses and the maximum price was five shillings.  

British Restaurants were quick and cheap to set up because existing halls were requisitioned for the purpose. Church halls and Working Men’s clubs were typical locations because they already had basic cooking facilities, tables and chairs. In Yeovil, the Liberal Club in Middle Street was commandeered. The meals could be provided cheaply because the catering, cooking, washing up and so forth were all done by unpaid volunteers, this was often older women who regarded their input as a contribution to the war effort. At their height in 1942 there was more than 2000 British Restaurants across the UK. 

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Liberal Party  

In the 1970’s The Liberal Democratic party rented rooms upstairs in the club. With Paddy Ashdown and David Laws holding their surgeries at the club on the weekends. They were big supporters of the club. We the club were never formerly affiliated to the Liberal party only through association. In 2004 they moved to 5 Church Street in Yeovil.