History of the Club

Formation of the Club

The early years of The North of England Bearded Collie Club.

During 1984 there was a general feeling that there was an opening for a much needed Bearded Collie Club to be formed to serve all Bearded Collie owners in the North of England offering Open and Championship shows, working tests, fun days, educational days and general get-togethers.

The formation of the North of England Bearded Collie Club, NEBCC (or as most people say "NEBCOL") came about as a result of the whole committee of the Northern Branch of the Bearded Collie Club standing down at the AGM on the 25th April 1985.

There was an open meeting held at the White Lion Pub in Bury Lancashire on the 26th May 1985 which was independently chaired by Harry Baxter.

Kennel Club approval for The North Of England Bearded Collie Club was granted on 21st March 1986 and the inaugural meeting held at the White Lion on 11th May 1986.

The Club's first Officers were: President - Violet Yates, Chairman – Derek Stopforth, Vice Chairman – Tom Pearce, Secretary – Jean Stopforth and Treasurer – Jo Pickford. The committee comprised Gill Auker, Sandra Taylor, Maddy Beaumont, Irene Hirst, Jean Keith, Audrey Taylor, Janet Steel, Keith Derry, John Beaumont, Alan Furby and Mick Taylor. There were a further 20 founder members.

The club was granted Championship Status in July 1989 and held its first Championship Show at Adwick-le-Street on 24th November 1991.

The North of England Bearded Collie Club is known for its innovative ideas, being the first Beardie club to organise a Championship show based on "no benching".

The Breed Stand was initially founded with £100 anonymous donation (we can now reveal that it was the late Janet Hancock) plus some very hard work from Gill Auker and Maddy Beaumont, who donated their time to making waterproof dog coats, the profits from which were also donated to the Breed Stand. From this time the Breed Stand has never looked back.

All the Officers and Committee donate the homemade produce for catering at all the events.

This all helped to create the foundations of the club that we know today, which continues to go from strength to strength. We are proud to have been part of it.