It belongs to the people of Petersfield and is one of the oldest venues in town.

But now the people in charge of Petersfield Social Club are reaching out as they need a helping hand to keep a piece of the town’s history alive.

“I don’t think the people of Petersfield realise what they have here,” said PSC committee chair, Laura Miller.

“But this club belongs to the people of Petersfield as we’re a member’s club. So we thought we would reach out and ask them for a hand because we haven’t before.”

Social media users may have seen posts for a ‘Save the Social Club Petersfield’ appeal on www.gofundme.com

The appeal was launched around a month ago by fellow PSC committee member, Paula White, in a bid to raise funds for desperately-needed repairs and improvements at a club that’s well over 100 years old.

The original Victorian building was home to a London & South Western Railway Club before being transferred “to the people” for a shilling in 1903.

It’s had some modern and less sympathetic extensions over the years but it’s now showing its age and in need of some improvements.

With the club facing historical debts, rising costs and changing lifestyles, it’s been hard finding the money with around £20,000 needed to do everything on the wish list.

Laura added: “We need some new décor and a bit of a refurbishment, while the whole system needs re-wiring.

“We’re quite fortunate in that a lot of our members are businessmen, and do things like tiling or are in the decoration trade, so a lot of work will be done by them.”

“It’s not really changed in about 30 years,” said Paula, adding: “The committee did some painting about ten years ago but you can probably tell where they did.”

People who visit the club often become as the company you find at PSC is different to high street pubs. It’s a family club and has a strong social scene with pool tables, a snooker room and a large hall that hosts everything from parties to Tai Chi.

“Part of the appeal is about getting people to come up here,” said Paula.

“We want people to come along and join our events because there’s a lot that happens here.”

“It would be nice to have new members because it would make us stronger,” added Laura, who joked she “grew up” in the club, eating crisp sandwiches and falling asleep on the benches while her parents socialised.

“It’s tucked away a bit, and it always surprises me that people don’t know we’re here.

“Yes, we could sell the property but we don’t want to because we would legally have to buy somewhere else smaller and more manageable.

“But we don’t want to lose the space because it’s a great one – we just want the people of Petersfield to realise what they have, and make more use of it.”

To donate look for ‘Save the social club-Petersfield’ on www.gofundme.com