About the Nonsuch Folk Club Bishops Waltham Social Club, Bishops Waltham, SO32 1AR Email for information: nonsuchfolkclub@yahoo.com Phone enquiries via Lyn on 01730 858953 The Nonsuch Folk Club has established itself as a friendly, welcoming folk club on the local scene. Currently established in Bishops Waltham, it has suffered the vagueries of most folk clubs to find a base at which to enable other like-minded folk music enthusiasts to listen, sing and perform 'live' music. The Nonsuch was initially formed in Winchester at the Black Boy pub by Bill Long, who encouraged local folk singers to display their individual style in a relaxed atmosphere. Despite the popularity and
success at the Black Boy, changes of pub management enforced the migration of the club, first to the Riverside, then to the Railway in Eastleigh and later to Bishops Waltham.
In the early days at Bishops Waltham, Bill and
his other co-organisers often declared that they were irritated by having to keep changing the club name just because of a change in venue and sought another
apt, ‘neutral’ name. Coincidentally, Bill had been reading a historical description
of Henry VIII’s lost palace, located between Ewell and Cheam in Surrey.The King had a sumptuous palace constructed there
in celebration of his 30 years reign and the birth of his first male heir, who later was to become Edward VII, and as a glittering demonstration of his extravagant Tudor
power. He engaged the finest craftsmen to construct the ‘Nonsuch Palace’ which was named so because he was determined
that “None such would match it in the
world.” A visiting influential visitor at the time declared that no building was as grand and commented: ‘This which no equal has in art or fame, Britons deservedly do Nonsuch name.’ Considered to be one of the finest architectural
wonders of the world, it stood for 150 years until it was sold and completely demolished
in 1682 in order to settle the gambling debts of the mistress of the later King,
Charles II. Ironically, the Palace was rarely visited by any Monarchy and now has little remains, being covered by 700 acres of grassland. It was thus agreed to change the name to the Nonsuch Folk Club, which could be used wherever the club was operating. Some people suggested that the name may have derived
from one of the Royal Navy ships, HMS Nonsuch, but no links between the Royal Navy, Bishops Waltham, or the club, has been discovered.to support this hypothesis.
Although the current venue at the Bishops
Waltham Social Club may not be the ideal location to run a folk club, the club
members still try to maintain the original intentions of providing somewhere to
listen to live music, by mainly local people, in a cosy, relaxed, atmosphere.
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