The Bakewell and District Probus Club was founded in 1984 with the aim of providing fellowship and convivial discussions on a wide range of topics of interest to retired or partially retired professional or businessmen in the Bakewell District. The word PROBUS is an abbreviation of the words PROfessional and BUSiness, but membership is not restricted to those two groups. It also embraces former executives of government and other organisations and, in fact, any man who has had some measure of responsibility in any field of endeavour.

We meet at the Cavendish Club, Chatsworth, in Edensor near Bakewell, at 10 a.m. on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Morning coffee is followed by a presentation which lasts about 45 minutes before we continue our meeting with drinks and lunch. You can view the list of subjects covered in recent presentations by selecting the ‘Talks’ page from the menu above.

Each year we hold a Club debate on a topical subject. Topics have included: ‘The British Empire – a Force for Good?’, ‘Independence would be Good for Scotland – Yes or No?’, ‘This House Believes that the UK should be a Federation’ and ‘Britain and the EU: In or Out? Most recently the proposition for the debate was ‘Our National Health Service should embrace the Private Sector’’.

Apart from fortnightly scheduled meetings, there is an annual Afternoon Tea, Guests’ Luncheon and a Christmas Luncheon. Wives, partners and guests are invited to all of these events.

In recent years there has been an outing during the summer to somewhere of interest to our membership. Visits have included: Bletchley Park, the Imperial War Museum at Duxford, the former naval Dockyard at Chatham, Winston Churchill’s home at Chartwell, Beamish Industrial Museum, Alnwick Gardens, Cragside and in 2015, Lancaster Castle and South Lakeland. In 2017, we had a day trip to Leicester which included a visit to the King Richard III exhibition and tomb. In 2019, we made a day trip to North Staffordshire where we visited the Wedgwood factory and museum, followed by the National Trust Biddulph Grange garden. In 2023, we visited Stratford-upon-Avon to see a performance by the Royal Shakespeare Company of ‘As You Like It’ and, more recently, in 2025, we visited and dined at the Cutlers Hall in Sheffield. 

 

We are a thriving, active and friendly club of about 50 members. The current chairman is Paul Davies.