![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_SG_BGS_240925_seymours_03_result.jpg\")
The exterior of the club pictured in 2005, before its closure two years later(Image: Barbara Evripidou\/ Bristol Post archive)<\/p>\nOnly memories remain as the bright yellow building no longer existsThe exterior of the club pictured in 2005, before its closure two years later(Image: Barbara Evripidou\/ Bristol Post archive)<\/p>\n
Old photos have brought back memories of a lost Bristol club that closed down almost two decades ago. Seymour’s Family Club, located behind the Barley Mow pub in St Philips<\/a>, threw its final parties in 2007 after it was put up for sale.<\/p>\n It has since been demolished for flats, but pictures from its heyday <\/a>were documented in the pages of the Bristol Post, the sister newspaper of Bristol Live.<\/p>\n The club took its name from its founder Richard Seymour, who chaired the Dings Community Association for two decades and lived in the neighbourhood with his partner Janice Skinner for 18 years, according to an archived <\/a>article in the Post. Some articles referenced the club’s opening in 1991 though others said it had been operating for 35 years when it closed.<\/p>\n Photos show the bright yellow building lit with neon signs, advertising “parties, weddings, skittles and cabaret”. Memories shared with the Post and on social media recall an eclectic mix of events hosted there, from kids’ parties to lively gigs and performances.<\/p>\n The couple sold the club, which doubled as their home, due to retirement and moved out to Knowle<\/a>, though Mr Seymour continued to play a key role in the Dings\u2019 community<\/a>. The Post reported on Janice’s death in 2011 following a cancer diagnosis, recalling her role in raising thousands of pounds for charity through events at the club and her love for Cliff Richard’s music.<\/p>\n The report read: “The couple lived at the club and did everything from putting on the entertainment and booking acts to cooking for guests and even cleaning the toilets. Thousands of people spent many a happy hour at Seymour\u2019s, and many of them will today go to the Pip\u2019n\u2019Jay church on Tower Hill to celebrate Ms Skinner\u2019s life at her funeral.”<\/p>\n At the time, Mr Seymour said he was comforted by the “overwhelming” support from the community, having received more than 100 condolence cards from friends and family. The club served as a filming location for several TV shows including Only Fools and Horses, Teachers and Skins.<\/p>\n One singer, Rose Kemp, told the Post in 2006 the reason Seymour’s had been chosen for the launch of her latest single. The article noted: “Seymour\u2019s Family Club in St Philip\u2019s is not, perhaps, the most high-profile venue for a CD launch, and it has a very narrow stage to accommodate a band, but Rose doesn\u2019t see that as a problem.<\/p>\n “She said: ‘I love Seymour\u2019s. It is an instant atmosphere \u2013 you just have to add people. I like it a lot.'”<\/p>\n The club was also home to a variety of societies, including East Bristol Jazz Club. Though there were hopes of someone else continuing the club’s legacy beyond its sale, the Post reported in 2006 that a struggle to find a buyer meant it might be snapped up by a property developer instead.<\/p>\n Mr Seymour, who said he was retiring to spend more time with his family including nine grandchildren, said at the time: \u201cWe have had about five people look round the place who were interested in taking the venue over and keeping it as a club, but the building is 38 years old and, although it has a lot of character, people don\u2019t seem to be interested.<\/p>\n “Health and safety regulations are getting tougher every year and people are not prepared to take that on. I wanted Seymour\u2019s to remain a club, but it now looks as though it will have to be built on.\u201d That prediction did come true, as the club was demolished and flats were built in its place that still stand today.<\/p>\n One former regular shared memories of the club on Reddit a couple of years ago, describing it as “a place covered in neon post-it notes with rules about kids not running, and Cliff Richard\u2019s Fanclub Headquarters being a couple of corner tables and a glass cabinet”.<\/p>\n The post also documented “astonishingly good band nights” and “a bowling alley actually in the bar”. In an eclectic mix of comments in response, one Redditor recalled it being a venue for kids’ parties while another remembered it as hosting strip nights.<\/p>\n Martin H, writing in a letter to the Post in 2007, said he and his wife enjoyed a free Elvis and Cliff disco night at the club before its closure. He said: “It was our first visit, and we didn\u2019t realise that the place was about to shut.<\/p>\n “There weren\u2019t many people there, but we had an enjoyable time. I\u2019m sure that the people of The Dings will miss it, and Mr and Mrs Seymour have obviously done a good job, and made people feel welcome whenever they went there.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Only memories remain as the bright yellow building no longer existsThe exterior of the club pictured in 2005,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,14720,748,393,4884,16656,9417,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-454861","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-bristol-nostalgia","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-knowle","14":"tag-st-philips","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115275211204262942","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_SG_BGS_240925_seymours_02_result.jpg\")
Richard Seymour (right) with club regular Jim White pictured in July 2005, when locals were fighting to save it(Image: Barbara Evripidou\/ Bristol Post archive)<\/p>\n![\"Richard](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/0_SG_BGS_240925_seymours_result.jpg\")
Richard Seymour at the venue in 2005 with members of the East Bristol Jazz Club(Image: Barbara Evripidou\/ Bristol Post archive)<\/p>\n