There’s a house in Cheltenham which, if you walk past it, looks just like any other building in this wonderful town of ours.

What makes this house different, though, is that it is actually ‘home’ to well over 500 people.

Okay, so it’s not home in the conventional sense, but it is home to Cheltenham Bridge Club, one of the largest bridge clubs in the country who just happen to have around 550 members.

The house in question is 4 Tivoli Road and it has been Cheltenham Bridge Club’s HQ for more than 50 years.

“A small number of members bought the house in 1966,” explained committee member Nicola Renshaw. “The club was founded in 1966 and opened on 1st January 1967.”

Nicola has been a member of the club since moving to Cheltenham 12 years ago – her husband Martin is also a member – and she continued: “The rooms on the first and second floors are where we play bridge. In the basement we’ve got a kitchen area and a teaching room.”

Nicola is responsible for player development.

“We put on a programme of training sessions to help members improve their bridge, as you never stop learning," she said.

“We start our new season of lessons at the end of September for people who wish to learn bridge or refresh their skills, especially if they learnt to play informally years ago. We are always very keen to welcome new members.”

So what makes a good bridge player?

“Concentration, a good memory and the ability to communicate with your partner,” said Nicola. “We teach bridge in a way that it is easy to learn the basics, and it is good fun to play as the cards are never the same so it’s never boring.”

Bridge is officially classified as a game rather than a sport and Nicola says that a typical session of between 24 and 28 hands will last about three hours.

“It’s such a good game,” Nicola continued. “It exercises your brain and thinking skills and it’s very sociable. You’ll always find a partner at the club and the great thing about bridge is it breaks the age barrier and is cheap and portable. You just need a pack of cards!

“In a way it’s like learning a new language because you’ve got to be able to communicate with your partner what is in your hand.

“Bridge is a great hobby. We get a quite a few people who have retired or are about to retire joining the club because they want to make new friends but all ages are very welcome.”

Anyone wanting to know more about the club or wanting to learn how to play bridge should email Nicola at nicola_renshaw@hotmail.com or visit the club website https://www.bridgewebs.com/cheltenham/