Folk Club research · newspaper source
Chelmsford Folk Club — 1995 Closing Newspaper Source
A user-supplied photograph of a newspaper cutting headed “Folk fans sad as club closes”. The supplied social-media caption identifies the paper as the Chelmsford Weekly News, dated 21 September 1995.
Archive status: Contemporary press source
This is retained as a source item, not turned into a reconstructed gig list. It documents the club's closure and gives contemporary context about its final period.
| Source supplied | User-supplied screenshot, received 6 October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Paper identified in supplied caption | Chelmsford Weekly News |
| Date identified in supplied caption | 21 September 1995 |
| Article headline | “Folk fans sad as club closes” |
| Subject | Chelmsford Folk Club closing after a long-running history in the town |
| Named people visible | Richard Christian (songwriter and club organiser); Malcolm Campbell (landlord) |
| Final venue mentioned | The Cock and Bell in Writtle |
Newspaper image
A readable crop from the supplied screenshot is shown here. The complete original screenshot remains preserved in the source collection.
Source-derived findings
- The article reports the closure of Chelmsford Folk Club and describes it as the end of an era.
- It says the club had played host to many big names and had shut after about 30 years.
- Richard Christian is identified as songwriter and club organiser. The article attributes the closure to lack of money/attendance, quoting his explanation that there were not enough people attending to cover costs.
- The article says the club's last days were spent at The Cock and Bell in Writtle, after it had moved around the area over the preceding three decades.
- The article mentions a regular group in Terling, a club in Maldon, and folk musicians being invited to the Star and Garter in Moulsham Street on Sundays for jamming sessions.
- The photograph caption identifies Malcolm Campbell as upset at the folk club closing.
Evidence boundary: this cutting establishes contemporary closure/context evidence. It does not establish the exact opening date, every previous venue, every performer, or a complete 30-year gig chronology.
Original supplied screenshot
Folk Club Paper Findings → · Folk Club Paper Trail → · Venue Source Ledger → · Research Queue →