Oddfellows, as it exists today, was opened back in 1986 by business partners Jimmy Sample and Carl Nicholson, who already owned the nightclub next door. Up until that point the premises had been derelict for a number of years having originally been built as a house in the nineteenth century. “Marlow's”, as the club was known at that time, was extended into the upstairs of number seven and the downstairs became Oddfellows. Although initially both ran by the same Manager the two operations always existed as separate entities.

The name Oddfellows was adopted, not because as is the rumour goes Jimmy and Carl were a couple of odd fellas, but because a few hundred yards away, on the corner of Grey and Coburg street, there once existed a pub by the name of “The Oddfellows Arms” where Jimmy and Carl had spent much of their formative years enjoying a drink together. This pub was known to many as “The Little Bar” which also seems quite fitting given the size of the current “Oddies”.

By the end of the first three years of the new Oddfellows existence Jimmy and Carl had dissolved their partnership, leaving Carl with the interest in what was now the the "Top Deck" club and the pub was sold to former Manager Peter Condliffe. Although the club closed shortly after, Peter and his wife, Janet, carried on running the pub for the next 14 years, giving it a couple of refurbishments in that time.

In 2000 Peter acquired the upstairs of number seven and turned it into a flat, sealing off the now derelict ex-nightclub premises next door. This building was eventually razed to the ground in 2004. In the meantime Peter and Janet eventually decided to call it a day and retired to sunny Spain in 2003, having sold up to present owners Graeme and Jane.

The rest, as they say, is history…