Since opening its doors as a Working Men’s Club (WMC) in 1904, The Crescent has seen two world wars, twenty five different prime ministers, six monarchs and a monumental amount of struggle. We spoke to The Crescent’s co-owner and general manager Bob Morwood-Leyland to discuss how a venue so steeped in history has cemented itself as York’s premier Music venue.
Bob opened the interview by addressing the amount of hardship The Crescent has faced in the last 20 years, discussing how, as recently as 2015, the venue itself folded and was forced to sell up. The reasons for this, Bob discusses, are due to how “drinking habits changed when the 24 hour drinking licensing came in place” stating that, “it wasn’t long after that you couldn’t smoke indoors [and] night time culture became more prevalent. Working men’s club’s got left behind”.
In recent years, WMC’s in Britain have often been fighting to keep the doors open. Once pillars of community spirit and recreation, the private members clubs have seen a radical drop in membership, with the number of clubs in Britain dropping from 4,000 in 1970 to 2,200 in 2024. Originally built on the peripheries of city centres or housing estates to be close to a working class community, WMC’s became desirable for developers, with many converted into flats and hotels due to the decline in business.
In January 2019, The New York Institute, a WMC only a short walk from the Crescent, was forced to close its doors after 90 years in business, later to be developed into twenty flats. Bob stated that The Crescent itself would have been “worth a lot of money” stating that the reason for the development of the venue into a gig venue and maintenance of the community space was due to the fact that York “can’t lose it to developers”.
Thus, the conversion of The Crescent into the cornerstone of York’s bustling music scene was born from adversity. As recently as 2015, the club itself “couldn’t afford to run anymore” with The Crescent’s efforts to keep the doors open due in a large part to their rebranding as a music venue. When voting on the decision to sell The Crescent, Bob stated that the members “knew we would keep it open, we wouldn’t just flip it over…and make money on it”, thus voting to sell it to brothers Bob and Ed Morwood-Leyland and mother Alice Morwood-Leyland at a reduced price, with Bob stating that “it was in our interest, and the interest of the people around us, to have somewhere like this”, with similar venues such as Fibbers and Duchess closing not long after The Crescent reopened as a music venue.
Originally built as a community space for recreation and education of working class men prior to the creation of a welfare state, the venue became revitalised from imminent closure to vibrant revitalisation. In the last year alone, artists such as DEADLETTER, English Teacher, Porij Radio, Ben UFO, Dj Yoda, Wheatus and Goldie Looking Chain have all played the venue, becoming a vital component in not only the York music scene, but the Yorkshire music scene as a whole.
The club itself had at least one sold out show a week in August 2024, with many more planned for the rest of the year. Bob cited the Brudenell social club as an influence, a Working Men’s Club whose successes as an independent gig venue allowed them to create a 400 capacity concert hall in 2017, whilst still operating effectively as a centre for the local community as well.
This is undoubtedly a vital component in The Crescent’s philosophy; it serves not solely to operate as a gig venue, but maintains its roots as a community space, preserving the principles it was established with in 1904. Upon entering The Crescent for the interview, loud music could immediately be heard, with DJ decks in the bar. I was later informed this was “Wednesday Night’s Open DJ Decks”, with Bob describing how locals “meet up once a week, have a catch up, swap stories, [and] listen to some music” with the club becoming innovative with their ways to “get bums on seats”. Bob went on to state that “what they [WMC’s] used to do is the bingo and the quizzes”, however now “unless you’re keeping it fresh, people lose interest.” The Crescent still provides quizzes, has a regular dominoes and darts team, whilst also offering pool and free bar billiards in the games room, yet is simultaneously innovative in the events it offers to the community.
What is made abundantly clear when visiting The Crescent is the community spirit. The space maintains its identity as a space for recreation and community, yet continues to innovate the ways in which it provides this. The venue’s success is attributable to its diversification and ability to “adapt to survive.” We may never be certain where The Crescent would be without becoming a gig venue in 2015, or if other struggling Working men’s clubs may follow suit, for now however the Crescent remains a pioneer, and a cornerstone of York’s music scene.
Special thanks to Bob Morwood-Leyland for his time during this piece.