On Tuesday afternoons at the Patcham Community Centre there used to be a strong solo whist afternoon (about 15 tables) until they all stayed away when table money was introduced (about 25p). I heard about bridge, called the number on the notice board and spoke to Ken Ingate. There were usually 3-4 tables playing Chicago. The numbers dropped and replacements were hard to find, so with help from Mavis Harris we ‘persuaded’ a change to duplicate on the first Wednesday of the month, then first and third Wednesdays, and so on. In the very early days Mavis tried to score, but none of us knew how to do it until Terry Kelly at the Excelsior gave Mavis a copy of a computer scoring program. We started to look like a real bridge club and numbers began steadily to increase. (John Burton)

The PBC was formed in 1999, and is a well supported club with a membership of over 300. When our members join the PBC they are joining the Patcham Community Association, which accounts for our low table fees and joining fee. In 2003 the move to the new Community Centre with better facilities and space, the bridge club began to receive better recognition which increased membership currently approximately 300, culminating in extra sessions with up to 20 tables. Recently being home to some of the County's equipment, duplimated hands/records are now a regular format for Thursday evenings and most Wednesdays.Some well known Sussex names play reguarly at the club. Amongst them;

Sally Bugden, Former EBU Chairman and EBU Gold award winner.

Peter Langston, (Current Chairman) winner of the Dimmie Fleming Award for his contribution to bridge for the club and county.

Sandra Landy, former World Champion and World Grand Master and in 2016 awarded the EBU diamond award at a special presentation at Patcham

David Galpin, winner of EBU award for contributions to Sussex Bridge

In 2015/16 PBC was ranked 35th in the country for number of players as ranked by the EBU.