Goodbye To The Members Bar

With the pandemic restrictions lifting, we fear that more changes are about to happen at Hamptons.

All the bars were closed and ripped out soon after the Chelmsford Muslim Society (CMS) took over ownership in February 2020. A brave move considering that the bars were the club’s primary revenue stream. At the time, the spokesperson for CMS (Ayman Syed) was clear that the club would focus on “health and fitness”.

Of course, the real reason for the venue purchase is to create the biggest mosque in Essex, and the CMS are being ably assisted by Chelmsford City councillors and council officers.

There have been so many versions of the CMS “plans” that it’s hard to keep up, but it’s clear that the area previously used as the Members Bar will become an area for ritual ablutions known as Wudu and Ghusl. The plans also show access and entry points that lead to the Main Hall.

This is the same area that was to become the new cafe, creating “extra hours for the current staff”.

Wudu is the Islamic procedure for cleansing parts of the body, a type of ritual purification, or ablution prior to prayer. Wudu consists of washing the face, arms, then wiping the head and finally washing the feet with water. Read more here.

Wudu is often described as 'partial ablution', as opposed to Ghusl ('full ablution') where the whole body is washed (after ejaculation or completion of the menstrual cycle).

Both rituals will involve the installation of expensive and specialised plumbing, and despite having very little income for the best part of a year, the CMS are still looking to proceed with the installation.

Times are so hard that the CMS has taken to advertising chicken shops on their Facebook page to try and raise captial.

If you are a current member, you might question where your monthly fees are going ?

Of course these facilities will eat up another chunk of rentable community space, and although it doesn’t need planning permission, it will then make the Place of Worship the dominant use of the centre.

With Ramadan and Eid fast approaching, we expect the installation to begin soon.