Founded by a Church of England vicar in Hackney, the 59 Club became one of the most improbable and significant institutions in the history of British motorcycle culture.
The 59 Club began in 1959 as a youth club attached to St Mary of Eton Church in Hackney, east London, founded by the Reverend John Oakes. Its original purpose was conventional enough — to give local young people somewhere to go on a Friday night. What made it extraordinary was what it attracted and what it became. When motorcycles began appearing outside in numbers, the club's character was transformed permanently.
It was Father Bill Shergold who shaped the 59 Club into legend. An unconventional clergyman with a taste for fast machines and no patience for the assumption that Christianity and motorcycle culture were incompatible, he became the club's figurehead in the early 1960s and held the role for decades. He rode a motorcycle himself, wore leathers himself, and made it absolutely clear that the church door was open to anyone who pulled up on two wheels. In doing so, he built something unprecedented — a community that was simultaneously devout and determinedly rocker.
Membership grew rapidly. The badge — a distinctive emblem worn on jackets and helmets — became a mark of belonging recognised across the British bike scene. Runs were organised, chaplaincy extended to riders in hospital after accidents, and a genuine pastoral network developed around what had started as a Friday night social. The 59 Club was doing something churches rarely manage: it met its congregation where they actually were.
The club's influence on the rocker scene was profound and largely benevolent. It provided structure, community, and a degree of social support to young people who were otherwise regarded with suspicion by mainstream institutions. Father Bill's legacy is a reminder that the most unexpected combinations — faith and throttle, church and cafe racer — can produce something more durable than either alone.
