Here are some of the chess club printed histories I was aware of several years ago (the list has not been updated recently). They vary between very slim booklets and quite substantial works. The list also includes some club rules documents which are usually only a few pages, but not booklets or books on individual contests (e.g. correspondence matches) of which there are several.John Foley wrote: ↑Mon Sep 07, 2020 11:09 amIt would be great if the ECF kept a page of links to chess histories - for club or county. Perhaps we can start here with a list of histories. This may inspire others to write a history of their area. I am aware that Roy Maddock compiled a 117-page history of Harrow Chess Club for its centenary in 2006.
Williams, Elijah (ed.), Souvenir of the Bristol Chess Club; containing one hundred original games of chess, recently played, either between the best players in that society, or by them with other celebrated players of the day, with copious notes (London 1845).
Burt, John, The Bristol Chess Club — its History, Chief Players and 23 Years’ Record of Principal Events; 151 games by 64 past and present members etc. (Bristol 1883).
Bannock, P. H., History of the Norfolk & Norwich Chess Club: 1836 1936 (Norwich 1936). The British Library copy was, I think, destroyed in WW2 but it's available elsewhere.
Edgar, J. S., Liverpool Chess Club. A short sketch of the club from its first meeting, 12th December 1837, to the present time (Liverpool 1893). This can be found on the Liverpool club website I believe and maybe in Google Books.
Gould, D., Chess in Leicester 1860-1960: Centenary History of the Leicestershire Chess Club (Leicester, 1960).
Leach, C[harles] H., History of the Bradford Chess Club on the occasion of its Centenary 1853-1953 (Bradford 1953).
Luce, Arthur Aston, A History of the Dublin Chess Club (Dublin 1967).
Thorpe, Adrian (ed.), The Bury and West Suffolk Chess Club 1867-1997, incorporating ‘Proceedings of the Bury and West Suffolk Chess Club 1867-83’ (Preston St. Mary 1997). A lovely piece of work.
Walker, J[ames] M[anders], The history of the Oxford University Chess Club, compiled from the Club Minute Books, by J. M. Walker, formerly President of the Club (Oxford 1885).
Walsh, Peter W., The Story of Dundee Chess Club: its personalities and games (Dundee 1984).
Rules of the Manchester Chess Club, established 1817, with Philidor’s laws of chess annexed (Manchester 1817). In Manchester Central Library.
Rules of the Oxford Hermes Chess Club (Oxford 1855). This and the next in the Bodleian Library.
Rules of the Oxford University Chess Club; with a list of the members & officers of the club from its foundation (Oxford 1873).
Fifty years of chess at Battersea.
Edited and compiled by L. C. Birch (Battersea Chess Club, London, 1935). This and a few others I could only find in the KB (Royal Dutch Library) in The Hague.
Chess in Bedfordshire
By F. Dickens and G. L. White (Leeds, 1933)
Eric Nowell (ed.), Chess and Manchester: Published by Manchester and District Chess Association in celebration of One Hundred Years of League Chess 1890-1990 (Manchester 1990). Not a history of one club but covers the region. Includes contributions by Alan Smith.
A history of the Metropolitan Chess Club, 1890-1990 / by J.J. Moore & T.F. Deery (London 1990)
I have to stop now and don't claim this list is anyway complete. There was a master's thesis on chess in Nottingham done a couple of years ago but I don't know if it's been published.