Telford club is calling last orders for final time

He has a drink and speaks to the people working behind the bar and fellow members of the working men's club.

It's his routine and he enjoys it – but it's about to change.

For The Anstice – Britain's oldest working men's club – is set to close on Friday after its members voted overwhelmingly for its liquidation.

The club, built in 1868, has fallen into financial difficulties.

It has also fallen foul of rules set up to ensure that both men and women benefit from any funding for which it is able to apply. Because the club does not offer equal rights for both sexes, it does not meet the criteria to apply for grants to maintain the Grade II listed building.

As a result, Mr Bailey will be drinking elsewhere from Monday.

"I like the people here," said the 65-year-old. "I just like coming here.

"It is a real shame that it has come to this, more should've been done.

"I've got nowhere really I can go. They've closed most of the pubs around here."

The decision to close the doors at the end of this week was taken at an extraordinary general meeting of its 700-strong membership on Monday.

At least 300 full members attended and the majority – 82 per cent – voted in favour of winding the club up in its present form. Women associate members were barred from the decision-making and had to wait downstairs for the news.

A new five person committee has been set up to try and find a way to secure the future of the building for the people of Madeley.

However, Mr Bailey does not feel the future is bright for the Anstice.

He said: "There's not a lot they can do with it now, except sell it.

"Hopefully it would be another pub. But they would need to do a lot of work to do it up."

Barmaid Tuts Musgrave has worked at the Anstice for four years. She said it needs updating in order to bring more customers in, but said she will be sad to see the building lost.

She said: "My honest answer is it is not in the 21st century. It's been let down by not being brought up to date.

"It's not just doing it up, it needs to be brought into 2014, there needs to be more of what the customers want.

"These lot have been members for years," she added, pointing to the handful of customers in the bar. "I think they should let them have a say in what happens. As a barmaid I feel for the customers because they are the ones that pay."

Jeremy Hughes, 67, has been a member for 30 years. He comes into the bar around four times a week.

He said: "I didn't want it to close because I use it all the time. There's a lovely dance hall upstairs and they will miss that if that goes."

He hopes that the building might remain as a pub. "It would be nice if it was somewhere that did food as well."

Susan Colley is the stewardess at the Anstice and will be losing her job when it closes on Friday.

She has held her position for nine years but has worked in the building for a total of 14. She said: "I don't know how I am going to close those doors on Friday without breaking my heart.I'm totally gutted, I never thought it would come to this. People will find somewhere else to go, but they don't want to, they want to stay here."

Ken Newbrook has been a member of the Anstice for 56 years and the chairman of the committee for the past 14. He said that they have previously tried to get funding from English Heritage and the National Lottery Fund but to no avail.