This year sees the British Nun Club reach the milestone of 100 years in continuous existence. The high point of this year will see our Centenary Club Show being held at the Eccleshill Mechanics Institute, Eccleshill, Bradford on Sunday 28 January 2007. This promises to be the best and largest Nun show held in the UK in modern times, and anybody interested in Nuns is welcome to visit.
When I took over as the present BNC secretary in 1988 I found it very interesting reading through the old minutes books, that is once I could decipher lots of different styles of writing. Unfortunately the only existing minutes I have start in 1911 and membership and cup winners records from 1922. No doubt those lost records will never be found. The remainder of what I have found out about the Club's early history is from old magazines, catalogues and books and is as accurate as what is written in them. If anybody has any other information relating to this period I would be very interested.
The Nun, a type of tumbler, is a very old breed sharing a common ancestry with the Helmet and is mentioned in books like Treatise, and those by Moore and Aldrovandi dating back to the 1600s. During the mid-1800s the Nun became very popular in the UK and the shows were well supported. This culminated in a first 'Nun Club' being established in 1888, with a Mr L Millar of Eaton, Norwich as secretary, and the first written Nun Standard being drawn up. However by the early 1900s it had ceased to function, although Nuns were still very popular with birds shown at most shows.
Because of this popularity and his enthusiasm for the breed, several leading breeders were contacted by J Y Baldwin in early 1906, with the intention of forming a new club. The new club, 'The British Nun Club' was therefore formed later that year at a meeting held at James Baldwin's house, 21 Green Park, Bath, with around 12 Nun breeders attending. At that time there were over a dozen Nun breeders alone in and around the city of Bath. James Baldwin was made the first chairman and treasurer, Henry Ryman was elected secretary and Fred Butcher, a very successful breeder for many years was elected president.
