The EFDSS was running a folk (song) club in Cecil Sharp House in about 1949 - I am not at home at the moment so don't have the exact date to hand. There was also a Birmingham Folk Song Club from about 1949 / 1950, and also the club in Cambridge juat about the same time (see earlier message from Michael GM). All these pre-dated the MacColl initiatives, although the latter perhaps had the larger impact on how the rest of England (especially London) developed.
Derek