Ashdown Probus Club
The original Crowborough Probus Club was formed out of The Royal Tunbridge Wells Club in 1987 with a nucleus of just 4 members. By January 1991 the Crowborough Club had reached its constitutional ceiling of 50 members and had a waiting list of 14 with others showing an interest in wishing to become members. The Crowborough Club under its then President, Eric Nailard, set up a meeting on 28th February 1991 to discuss the formation of a new club and thus the Ashdown Probus Club was born. By the time of the first AGM of April 1992 the membership had risen from 16 to 47.
Ashdown Probus Club currently has 50 members and is administered by a committee comprising The President; Vice President and up to 9 other members elected at the AGM held in April/May each year. The committee allocates responsibilities as it sees fit provided that there shall be a Treasurer and Secretary.
Ashdown Probus Club is for retired or semi-retired professional or business people, who meet once a month, for social drinks and a Lunch, at which we host a Speaker.
Centred on Crowborough, our general catchment area extends northward towards East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells, southward towards Heathfield and Uckfield, eastward towards Wadhurst/Mayfield and westward towards Danehill/Forest Row, and including all locations in between.
The purpose of The Ashdown Probus Club is purely social and to promote fellowship and friendship among its members. The Club used to meet for a monthly luncheon at The Plough & Horses pub in Crowborough until this establishment closed its doors in 2016. It then relocated to Crowborough Beacon Golf Club, Beacon Road, Crowborough, TN6 1UJ for its monthly meeting and luncheon on the second Monday of each month and has remained there ever since. Members gather at 12.00 noon for a 12.30 p.m. two course meal and coffee followed by a guest speaker and questions.
With the exception of the monthly luncheon, members’ wives and partners are invited to join in all social activities. 2025 functions included the President’s Lunch in the Spring at the Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne, a Summer picnic hosted at a member’s private home and, the highlight of the year, in early December – the Christmas lunch, when members, their wives/partners and guests gathered at the Golf Club to celebrate the start of the Christmas season.
Outings to varied and fascinating places were enjoyed last year. We started with a trip to Wings Aviation Museum Balcombe followed by a trip to one of the City of London’s ancient Livery companies – the Drapers Hall in March. In July a group attended the 2025 Rude Mechanical theatre company’s production of Gentle Harry’s Farm staged outdoors in Wadhurst and in September Ashdown Probus Club members and partners visited the Newhaven household waste energy recovery facility operated by Veoli.
Planned 2026 outings include tours of two more City livery halls – the Worshipful Company of Tallow Chandlers and the Salters Company and it is hoped we can schedule a tour of the House of Commons hosted by local MP Nus Ghani later in the year. We’ll also be scheduling another trip to this year’s Rude Mechanicals outdoor theatre production “The Wife”.
There is also an active Golf section with last year’s Spring and Autumn meetings scheduled at London Beach, Tenterden in early June and Weald of Kent, Headcorn at the end of September. In 2026 we are once again returning to London Beach for the Spring meeting with the late Summer event to be held at Tudor Park near Bearsted, Kent.
Other activities include Croquet in Tunbridge Wells on the second Tuesday of each month (May to October) and three walking groups organising regular monthly countryside walks of around four miles during the Spring, Summer, and Autumn typically ending with a pub lunch.
If anything of what you see on this website is of interest to you, we would be pleased to welcome you to lunch as a guest, with a view to your becoming a member. Please use the ‘Contact’ tag at the top of this webpage or e-mail: info@ashdownprobus.org.uk.