The Probus Club of Crowborough was established at around 9pm on Thursday the 16th of April 1987 at a meeting organised and chaired by Bill Pickering, the Chairman of the Activities Committee of the Crowborough Rotary Club. He told the 10 other people at the meeting that the Crowborough Rotary Club was willing to sponsor the formation of a Probus Club in Crowborough and to make available a donation of £25 to help with it.

At that time several Rotary Clubs were sponsoring the formation of Probus clubs – in part so their retired members would have another club to join!

Two of the most active of the 11 at that auspicious meeting had both been members of the recently formed Tunbridge Wells Probus Club and so they brought with them lots of enthusiasm and knowledge. One, Jim Nicholson, was elected as the Club’s first President, with the other, Ken Dowling, as its first Secretary.

The Club met monthly at the Winston Manor Hotel and then in 1988 moved to the Plough and Horses Public House.

Our membership outgrew this venue and in 2016 we moved to the Barnsgate Manor. When this closed in 2020 we moved to our current venue, the Crowborough Rugby Football Club at Steel Cross. In February 2021 our membership criteria changed to include both men and women, and the most recent notable change occurred a year later when we relaxed our dress code to ‘smart casual’ for all monthly lunches except our key annual President and Christmas lunches. Finally, it is important to note that the management of the Club is shared amongst our members and is currently as shown in the Club Committee listing below.