Oriental Club
Encyclopedia
| Founded | 1824 |
|---|---|
| Home Page | www.orientalclub.org.uk |
| Address | Stratford House, Stratford Place, WC1 |
| Clubhouse occupied since | 1962 |
| Club established for | East India Company East India Company The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China... officers |
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is a traditional private members' club established in 1824 that now admits both gentlemen and ladies to membership. It is conveniently located near Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, and Bond Street
Bond Street
Bond Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London that runs north-south through Mayfair between Oxford Street and Piccadilly. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century and is currently the home of many high price fashion shops...
, London W1.
Foundation
The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany reported in its April, 1824, issue -The founders included the Duke of Wellington and General Sir John Malcolm
John Malcolm
Major-general Sir John Malcolm was a Scottish soldier, statesman, and historian-Early life:Born at Burnfoot, Dumfriesshire, Malcolm was the son of George Malcolm, a gentleman farmer of Eskdale and Burnfoot. Jock, as he was then known, was one of the four Malcolm brothers who attained knighthoods...
, and in 1824 British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
was still controlled by the Honourable East India Company.
History and membership
The early years of the club, from 1824 to 1858, are detailed in a book by Stephen Wheeler published in 1925, which contains a paragraph on each member of the club up to 1858.James Grant said of the club in The Great Metropolis (1837) -
On 29 July 1844, two heroes of the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
, Sir William Nott
William Nott
Sir William Nott GCB was a British military leader in British India.- Early life :Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales, the second son of Charles Nott, a Herefordshire farmer, who in 1794 became an innkeeper of the Ivy Bush Inn at Carmarthen in Wales...
and Sir Robert Sale
Robert Henry Sale
Major General Sir Robert Henry Sale GCB was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War....
, were elected as members of the club by the Committee as an "extraordinary tribute of respect and anticipating the unanimous sentiment of the Club".
On 12 January 1846, a special meeting at the club in Hanover Square presided over by George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, GCB, PC was a British Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served as Governor-General of India between 1836 and 1842....
, a former Governor-General of India
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
, paid a public tribute to the dying Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe
Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe
Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe, Bt, KCB, PC , known as Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bt between 1822 and 1845, was a British colonial administrator...
, which Sir James Weir Hogg
James Weir Hogg
Sir James Weir Hogg, 1st Baronet was a lawyer and Liberal Conservative Member of Parliament.-Background and education:Hogg was born in Lisburn, County Antrim, Ireland, the eldest son of William Hogg and his wife Mary, née Dickey...
described as "a wreath upon his bier".
With the formation of the East India Club
East India Club
The East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club, usually known as the East India Club, is a gentlemen's club founded in 1849 and situated at 16 St. James's Square in London...
in 1849, the link with the Honourable East India Company began to decline.
In 1850, Peter Cunningham wrote in his Hand-Book of London -
In 1861, the club's Chef de cuisine, Richard Terry, published his book Indian Cookery, stating that his recipes were "gathered, not only from my own knowledge of cookery, but from Native Cooks".
Charles Dickens, Jr
Charles Dickens, Jr
Charles Dickens, Jr, born Charles Culliford Boz Dickens , was the first child of the novelist Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine. A failed businessman, he became the editor of his father's magazine All the Year Round, and a successful writer of dictionaries...
, reported in Dickens's Dictionary of London (1879) -
In 1889, the words "Noblemen, Members of Parliament and Gentlemen of the first distinction and character" appeared in the club's own Rules and Regulations, and the total number of members was limited to eight hundred.
When Lytton Strachey
Lytton Strachey
Giles Lytton Strachey was a British writer and critic. He is best known for establishing a new form of biography in which psychological insight and sympathy are combined with irreverence and wit...
joined the club in 1922, at the age of forty-two, he wrote to Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
-
Stephen Wheeler's 1925 book Annals of the Oriental Club, 1824-1858 also contains a list of the members of the club in the year 1924, with their years of election and their places of residence.
In 1927, R. A. Rye could write of the club's library - "The library of the Oriental Club... contains about 4,700 volumes, mostly on oriental subjects", while in 1928 Louis Napoleon Parker mentioned in his autobiography "...the bald and venerable heads of the members of the Oriental Club, perpetually reading The Morning Post.
In 1934, the novelist Alec Waugh
Alec Waugh
Alexander Raban Waugh , was a British novelist, the elder brother of the better-known Evelyn Waugh and son of Arthur Waugh, author, literary critic, and publisher...
wrote of-
Another writer recalling the club in the 1970s says -
The Club now says on its web site that it has "moved gently into the 21st century, providing modern facilities". Full membership is open to both Ladies and Gentlemen, proposed and seconded by existing members. Associate membership is open to the spouse or partner of a full member. Within the club there are now eleven specialist Societies for members, for those with an interest in various sports and pastimes (Bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
, Billiards
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
, Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, Game Shooting
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
, Sports, Sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
), Younger Members and the eleventh, formed in 2011, for those interested in Wine.
As of 2011, the membership subscription costs between £240 and £850 per year, with a £120 rate for younger members and £140 for associate members. The entrance fee is an additional £850, but is waived for younger members as well as those over 70 years of age. Members over 65 and of 10 years standing pay a reduced membership fee http://www.orientalclub.org.uk/html/membership.htm.
Club houses
The club's first purpose-built club house, in Hanover Square, was constructed in 1827-1828 and designed by Philip Wyatt
Philip Wyatt
Philip William Wyatt was an English architect, the youngest son of the architect James Wyatt nephew of Samuel Wyatt, cousin to Sir Jeffry Wyattville....
and his brother Benjamin Dean Wyatt
Benjamin Dean Wyatt
Benjamin Dean Wyatt was an English architect. He was the son and pupil of the architect James Wyatt, and the brother of Matthew Cotes Wyatt....
.
Edward Walford, in his Old and New London (Volume 4, 1878) wrote of the Hanover Square club house
The club remained in Hanover Square until 1961. The club house there was in use for the last time on 30 November 1961.
Early in 1962, the club moved into its present club house, Stratford House in Stratford Place
Stratford Place
Stratford Place is a small road in London, off Oxford Street, next to Bond Street underground station. The road is a cul-de-sac.Number 7 Stratford Place was the London home of Martin van Buren....
, just off Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
, London W1C, having bought the property for conversion in 1960.
The central range of Stratford House was designed by Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
and was built between 1770 and 1776 for Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough
Earl of Aldborough
Earl of Aldborough, of the Palatinate of Upper Ormond, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 9 February 1777, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Amiens, for John Stratford, 1st Viscount Aldborough...
, who paid £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
4,000 for the site. It had previously been the location of the Lord Mayor of London
Lord Mayor of London
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...
's Banqueting House, built in 1565. The house remained in the Stratford family until 1832. It belonged briefly to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, a son of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I of Russia
Nicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
. The house was little altered until 1894, when its then owner, Mr Murray Guthrie, added a second storey to the east and west wings and a colonnade in front. In 1903, a new owner, the Liberal politician Sir Edward Colebrook
Edward Colebrooke, 1st Baron Colebrooke
Edward Arthur Colebrooke, 1st Baron Colebrooke PC, GCVO , known as Sir Edward Colebrooke, 5th Baronet, from 1890 to 1906, was a British Liberal politician and courtier....
, later Lord Colebrooke
Baron Colebrooke
Baron Colebrooke, of Stebunheath in the County of Middlesex, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1906 for Sir Edward Colebrooke, 5th Baronet. He held several positions at the British court. The Colebrooke family descended from the London banker James Colebrooke. His...
, reconstructed the Library to an Adam design. In 1908, Lord Derby
Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby
Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby KG, GCB, GCVO, TD, PC, KGStJ, JP , known as Lord Stanley from 1893 to 1908, was a British soldier, Conservative politician, diplomat and racehorse owner. He was twice Secretary of State for War and also served as British Ambassador to...
bought a lease and began more alterations, removing the colonnade and adding a third storey to both wings. He took out the original bifurcated staircase (replacing it with a less elegant single one), demolished the stables and built a Banqueting Hall with a grand ballroom above.
In 1960, the Club began to convert its new property. The ballroom was turned into two floors of new bedrooms, further lifts were added, and the banqueting hall was divided into a dining room and other rooms. The club now has a main drawing room, as well as others, a members' bar, a library and an ante-room
Antechamber
An antechamber is a smaller room or vestibule serving as an entryway into a larger one. The word is formed of the Latin ante camera, meaning "room before"....
, a billiards room, an internet suite and business room, and two (non)smoking rooms, as well as a dining room and 32 bedrooms.
Stratford House is a Grade I listed building.
The flag flying above the club house bears an Indian elephant
Indian Elephant
The Indian Elephant is one of three recognized subspecies of the Asian elephant, and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, Elephas maximus has been listed as endangered by IUCN as the population has declined by at least 50% over the last three generations, estimated to be 60–75 years...
, which is the badge of the club.
Art collection
The club possesses a fine collection of paintings, including many early portraits of Britons in India such as Warren HastingsWarren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
. The Bar is overlooked by a painting of Tippu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore (1750–1799). There are portraits of the club's principal founders, the first Duke of Wellington (by H. W. Pickersgill) and Sir John Malcolm (by Samuel Lane
Samuel Lane
-Life:The son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lane, he was born at King's Lynn on 26 July 1780. After a childhood accident he became deaf and partially dumb. He studied under Joseph Farington and then under Sir Thomas Lawrence who employed him as assistant....
). Other portraits include Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
(1738–1805), also by Samuel Lane, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy, 1st Baronet (1783–1859), by John Smart
John Smart
John Smart , was an English painters of portrait miniatures. He was a contemporary of Richard Cosway, George Engleheart, William Wood and Richard Crosse.-Biography:He was born in Norfolk, but not much is known of his early life...
, Clive of India
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
(1725–1774) by Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Nathaniel Dance-Holland
Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet was a notable English portrait painter and later a politician.The third son of architect George Dance the Elder, Dance studied art under Francis Hayman, and like many contemporaries also studied in Italy...
, Major-General Stringer Lawrence
Stringer Lawrence
Major-General Stringer Lawrence was an English soldier, the first Commander-in-Chief, India, sometimes regarded as the "Father of the Indian Army"....
by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, Major General Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet (1761–1827), by Ramsay Richard Reinagle
Ramsay Richard Reinagle
Ramsay Richard Reinagle, was an English portrait, landscape, and animal painter, and son of Philip Reinagle.-Biography:...
, Edward Stratford, second Earl of Aldborough
Earl of Aldborough
Earl of Aldborough, of the Palatinate of Upper Ormond, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 9 February 1777, along with the subsidiary title Viscount Amiens, for John Stratford, 1st Viscount Aldborough...
(died 1801) by Mather Brown
Mather Brown
Mather Brown was a portrait and historical painter, born in Boston, Massachusetts, but active in England....
, Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
(c. 1769-1849) and General Sir William Nott
William Nott
Sir William Nott GCB was a British military leader in British India.- Early life :Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales, the second son of Charles Nott, a Herefordshire farmer, who in 1794 became an innkeeper of the Ivy Bush Inn at Carmarthen in Wales...
, both by Thomas Brigstocke
Thomas Brigstocke
Thomas Brigstocke was a British portrait painter.-Life and work:Brigstocke first studied in Sass's studio, then at the Royal Academy Schools, and under Henry Perronet Briggs, and subsequently under John Prescott Knight...
, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
(1845–1927) by Sydney P. Kenrick after John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey
Richard Strachey
Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey, GCSI, FRS , British soldier and Indian administrator, third son of Edward Strachey and grandson of Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet was born on 24 July 1817, at Sutton Court, Stowey, Somerset...
(1817–1908) by Lowes Dickinson (the bequest of his widow, Jane Maria Strachey), Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe
Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe
Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe, Bt, KCB, PC , known as Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bt between 1822 and 1845, was a British colonial administrator...
by F. R. Say, Thomas Snodgrass by an unknown artist, and a bust of the first Lord Lake
Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake
General Gerard Lake, 1st Viscount Lake was a British general. He commanded British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and later served as Commander-in-Chief of the military in British India.-Background:...
.
President of the Club
- 1824-1852: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
(Honorary President)
After Wellington's death in 1852, no further Presidents were appointed.
Chairmen of the Committee
- 1837: Sir Pulteney MalcolmPulteney MalcolmAdmiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm GCB GCMG was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, and his wife Margaret, the sister of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley...
GCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
RNRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
(brother of the founder, Sir John Malcolm) - 1843: Major-General Sir J. L. Lushington
- 1918: C. A. MacDonald
- 1932-1933: Sir Reginald Mant
- 1951: Sir Charles Innes (Governor of Burma, 1927–1932)
- 1954 and 1958-1962: Sir Arthur Bruce
Founding Committee
The first club Committee of 1824 included:- Lord William BentinckLord William BentinckLieutenant-General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck GCB, GCH, PC , known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman...
GCB (1774–1839) - Right Hon. Charles Williams Wynn MPMember of ParliamentA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(1775–1850) - General Sir Alured ClarkeAlured ClarkeField-marshal Sir Alured Clarke KB was an officer of the British army, lieutenant governor of the colonial Province of Quebec, and civil administrator of Lower Canada...
GCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1744–1832) - General Sir George Nugent, Bt GCB (1757–1849)
- Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King, BtSir Richard King, 2nd BaronetVice Admiral Sir Richard King, 2nd Baronet KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, who fought with distinction at the battle of Trafalgar despite being amongst the youngest captains present.King was the son of Sir Richard King, 1st Baronet, a...
(1774–1834) - Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney MalcolmPulteney MalcolmAdmiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm GCB GCMG was a British naval officer. He was born at Douglan, near Langholm, Scotland, on 20 February 1768, the third son of George Malcolm of Burnfoot, Langholm, in Dumfriesshire, and his wife Margaret, the sister of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley...
KCB (1768–1838) - Major General Sir John MalcolmJohn MalcolmMajor-general Sir John Malcolm was a Scottish soldier, statesman, and historian-Early life:Born at Burnfoot, Dumfriesshire, Malcolm was the son of George Malcolm, a gentleman farmer of Eskdale and Burnfoot. Jock, as he was then known, was one of the four Malcolm brothers who attained knighthoods...
GCB KLS (1769–1833) - Sir George Staunton, Bt.George Thomas StauntonSir George Thomas Staunton, 2nd Baronet was an English traveller and Orientalist.-Early life:Born at Milford House near Salisbury, he was the son of Sir George Leonard Staunton , first baronet, diplomatist and Orientalist...
MP (1781–1859) - Sir Charles Forbes, 1st BaronetForbes BaronetsThere have been five Baronetcies created for people with the surname Forbes, four in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom...
MP - Lt General Sir Thomas Hislop Bart GCB
- Lt General Sir Miles Nightingall, KCB
- Major General Sir Patrick Rose
- Sir Robert Farquhar, Bt.
- Sir Christopher Cole KCB MP
- Major General Malcolm GrantMalcolm Grant (lieutenant-general)Malcolm Grant was an English lieutenant-general in the East India Company's service.-Life:Grant was appointed to an infantry cadetship on the Bombay establishment in 1776, left England in January 1777, and was made ensign on 20 November following. In 1779 he served with a corps employed against...
- Major General Haldane, CB
- Rear Admiral Lamber
- Major General Rumley
- Colonel Baron TuyllTuyllTuyll is the name of a noble Dutch family, with familial and historical links to England, whose full name is van Tuyll van Serooskerken. Several knights, members of various courts, literary figures, generals, ambassadors, statesmen and explorers carried the family name.-Early and High Middle...
- Colonel Alston
- Colonel Baillie MP
- Alexander Boswell, Esq.
Notable members
- William Beresford, 1st Viscount BeresfordWilliam Beresford, 1st Viscount BeresfordGeneral William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, GCB, GCH, GCTE, PC , was a British soldier and politician...
(1768–1854) - Sir Hudson LoweHudson LoweSir Hudson Lowe KCB, GCMG was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who is best known for his time as Governor of St Helena where he was the "gaoler" of Napoleon Bonaparte.-Early life and career:...
GCMGOrder of St Michael and St GeorgeThe Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(1769–1844) - Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st BaronetHenry BlackwoodVice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB , whose memorial is in the St. John's Church, Killyleagh, was a British sailor....
(1770–1832) - Mountstuart ElphinstoneMountstuart ElphinstoneMountstuart Elphinstone was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay where he is credited with the opening of several educational institutions accessible to the Indian population...
(1779–1859), Governor of Bombay and author - Sir William NottWilliam NottSir William Nott GCB was a British military leader in British India.- Early life :Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales, the second son of Charles Nott, a Herefordshire farmer, who in 1794 became an innkeeper of the Ivy Bush Inn at Carmarthen in Wales...
(1782–1845), hero of the First Anglo-Afghan WarFirst Anglo-Afghan WarThe First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
, by special election - Sir Robert SaleRobert Henry SaleMajor General Sir Robert Henry Sale GCB was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War....
(1782–1845), another hero of the First Anglo-Afghan War, by special election - George Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, GCB, PC was a British Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served as Governor-General of India between 1836 and 1842....
(1784–1849), Governor-General of IndiaGovernor-General of IndiaThe Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
1835-1842 - Pownoll Pellew, 2nd Viscount ExmouthPownoll Pellew, 2nd Viscount ExmouthPownoll Bastard Pellew, 2nd Viscount Exmouth was an English peer and officer of the Royal Navy. He was the eldest son of Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth. Like his father, and his younger brother Fleetwood Pellew, he served in the Royal Navy and attained the rank of Post Captain in 1806...
(1786–1833) - George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of MunsterGeorge FitzClarence, 1st Earl of MunsterGeorge Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster PC , was the eldest natural son of William IV of the United Kingdom and his long-time mistress Dorothy Jordan....
(1794–1842), son of King William IVWilliam IV of the United KingdomWilliam IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death... - Mansur ali Khan, Nawab of BengalNawab of BengalThe Nawabs of Bengal were the hereditary nazims or subadars of the subah of Bengal during the Mughal rule and the de-facto rulers of the province.-History:...
(1830–1884) - 1st Earl of Inchcape (1852–1932)
- Sir Archibald Birkmyre, 1st BaronetSir Archibald Birkmyre, 1st BaronetSir Archibald Birkmyre, 1st Baronet CBE was a Scottish jute manufacturer and merchant in India.Birkmyre was born in Port Glasgow. He became senior partner of the family firm, Birkmyre Brothers, in Calcutta and also served on the Viceroy of India's Legislative Council and the Bengal Legislative...
(1875–1935) - Sir John Jardine PatersonJohn Jardine PatersonSir John Valentine Jardine Paterson was a Scottish business man whose career was mostly in India.He was Chairman of the family firm, Jardine Henderson of Calcutta , from 1963 to 1967, Chairman of the Indian Jute Mills Association in 1963 and President of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry...
(1920–2000), Calcutta business man. - Austen KarkAusten KarkAusten Kark CBE was a managing director of the BBC World Service. He was one of three former holders of that post, along with Gerard Mansell and John Tusa, to oppose the plans of John Birt to merge the service into the BBC...
(1926–2002), managing director of the BBC World ServiceBBC World ServiceThe BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays... - Sir George MartinGeorge MartinSir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
(born 1926), fifth BeatleThe BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr... - Simon Mackay, Baron TanlawSimon Mackay, Baron TanlawSimon Brooke Mackay, Baron Tanlaw is a crossbench member of the House of Lords.- Family and business interests:Tanlaw is the third son of the 2nd Earl of Inchcape...
(born 1934) - 4th Earl of InchcapePeter Mackay, 4th Earl of InchcapeKenneth Peter Lyle Mackay, 4th Earl of Inchcape , known as Peter Inchcape, is an earl in the Peerage of the United Kingdom....
(born 1943) - Christopher BeazleyChristopher BeazleyChristopher John Pridham Beazley is a British politician for the Conservative Party, who served as a Member of the European Parliament 1984–1994 and 1999–2009.-Background:...
MEPMember of the European ParliamentA Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
(born 1952) - The Earl of DerbyEdward Stanley, 19th Earl of DerbyEdward Richard William Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby is a British peer. He is known for ownership of the racehorse Ouija Board and for his controversial plans to build houses and an industrial estate on of greenfield land he inherited in Newmarket, Suffolk...
(born 1962) - Sir Mark TullyMark TullySir William "Mark" Tully, OBE is the former Chief of Bureau, BBC, New Delhi. He worked for BBC for a period of 30 years before resigning in July 1994. He held the position of Chief of Bureau, BBC, Delhi for 20 years. Since 1994 he has been working as a freelance journalist and broadcaster based in...
(born 1936) former Chief of Bureau, BBC, New Delhi - Alan DuncanAlan DuncanAlan James Carter Duncan is a British Conservative Party politician. He is the Member of Parliament for Rutland and Melton, and a Minister of State in the Department for International Development....
MP - David DaviesDavid Davies-Politics:*David Davies , also known as David Davies Llandinam, MP for Cardigan, 1874–1885, and Cardiganshire, 1885–1886*David Sanders Davies , Liberal politician, MP for Denbigh 1918–1922...
MP - Richard Harrington MP
Members in fiction
- Early in William Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace ThackerayWilliam Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
's novel Vanity Fair (1848), Thackeray says of Joseph Sedley that "...he dined at fashionable taverns (for the Oriental Club was not as yet invented)." By the time of Sedley's return from India in 1827, "His very first point, of course, was to become a member of the Oriental Club, where he spent his mornings in the company of his brother Indians, where he dined, or whence he brought home men to dine." - In Thackeray's The NewcomesThe NewcomesThe Newcomes is an novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in 1855.-Publication:The Newcomes was published serially over about two years, as Thackeray himself says in one of the novel's final chapters...
(1855), Colonel Thomas Newcome and Binnie are members of the Oriental Club. Writing of Thackeray, Francis Evans Baily says "...the Anglo-Indian types in his novels, including Colonel Newcome, were drawn from members of the Oriental Club in Hanover Square".
External links
- The Oriental Club - official web site
- The Association of London Clubs - official web site
- Listed Buildings in Stratford Place, Westminster - at westminster.gov.uk (official web site of the City of WestminsterCity of WestminsterThe City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
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