Savage Club
Encyclopedia
| Founded | 1857 |
|---|---|
| Home Page | www.savageclub.com |
| Address | 1 Whitehall Place Whitehall Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square... |
| Clubhouse occupied since | 1990 |
| Club established for | The arts The arts The arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and... , science Science Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe... and law Law Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus... |
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...
.
History
Many and varied are the stories that have been told about the first meeting of the Savage Club, of the precise purposes for which it was formed, and of its christening. But it would hardly be possible to discover a more reliable record than that written by Andrew Halliday, who was elected a joint honorary secretary at the first Annual Meeting in 1858, and who later became its first president:- The Savage Club was formed to supply the want which Dr Samuel JohnsonSamuel JohnsonSamuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...
and his friends experienced when they founded the Literary Club. A little band of authors, journalists and artists felt the need of a place of reunion where, in their hours of leisure, they might gather together and enjoy each other’s society, apart from the publicity of that which was known in Johnson's time as the coffee house, and equally apart from the chilling splendour of the modern club.
- When about a dozen of our original members were assembled in the place selected for their meeting, it became a question what the Club should be called. Everyone in the room suggested a title. One proposed the “Addison”, another the “Johnson”, a third the “Goldsmith”, and so forth. At last, after we had run the whole gamut of famous literary names of the modern period, a modest member in the corner suggested the “Shakespeare”. This was too much for the gravity of one of the company (the late Robert BroughRobert Barnabas BroughRobert Barnabas Brough was an English writer. He wrote poetry, novels and plays and was a contributor to many periodicals.-Life and work:...
) whose keen sense of humour enabled him, in the midst of our enthusiasm, to perceive that we were bent on making ourselves ridiculous. “Who are we,” he said, “that we should take these great names in vain? Don’t let us be pretentious. If we must have a name, let it be a modest one - that signifies as little as possible.”
- Whereupon a member called out, in a spirit of pure wantonness, “The Savage”. Robert's sense of humour was once again tickled. “The very thing!” he exclaimed. “No one can say that there is anything pretentious in assuming that name. If we accept Richard Savage as our Godfather, it shows that there is no false pride in us.” And so, in a frolicsome humour, our little society was christened the “Savage” Club.
The history of Richard Savage
Richard Savage
Richard Savage was an English poet. He is best known as the subject of Samuel Johnson's Life of Savage , on which is based one of the most elaborate of Johnson's Lives of the English Poets....
gives ample proof of the lack of pretentiousness and false pride (and of “the spirit of pure wantonness”) which settled the choice of its name. For Richard Savage, a shady, satirical poet, had died, after a very chequered career, more than a century before the Savage Club was born. We read of him as a crony of Dr Johnson, and that he had occasional successes with his plays and poems. But his history also records the facts that he killed a man in a brawl, and was reprieved only by the intercession of a noble patron, that his life was mainly a story of quarrels, bitterness and vindictiveness, that he was prosecuted for libel, and finally that, after his irregular habits had reduced him to penury, he was imprisoned for debt and died in the year 1743.
This grim record will correct the assumptions that Savage was either one of the original members of the Club, or a distinguished person whose name the members wished to honour – or that they were born in some vague savage clime surrounded by assegais and tom-toms, shields and skulls, and other barbaric trophies such as those which decorate the walls.
Taken from "Brother Savages and Guests: A History of the Savage Club" by Percy Bradshaw
Location
The club has moved around over the years, from its original home at the Crown Tavern, Vinegar Yard, Drury LaneDrury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
, the next year to the Nell Gwynne Tavern, in 1863 to Gordon's Hotel in Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, then to 6-7 Adelphi Terrace
Adelphi, London
Adelphi is a district of London, England in the City of Westminster. The small district includes the streets of Adelphi Terrace, Robert Street and John Adam Street.-Adelphi Buildings:...
, later to 9 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square
Berkeley Square is a town square in the West End of London, England, in the City of Westminster. It was originally laid out in the mid 18th century by architect William Kent...
, London W1, and on to Carlton House Terrace
Carlton House Terrace
Carlton House Terrace refers to a street in the St. James's district of the City of Westminster in London, England, and in particular to two terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's Park. These terraces were built in 1827–32 to overall designs by...
in St James's and elsewhere.
At the moment it is based in the National Liberal Club
National Liberal Club
The National Liberal Club, known to its members as the NLC, is a London gentlemen's club, now also open to women, which was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 for the purpose of providing club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly-enlarged electorate after the Third...
, at 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1. The nearest underground station is Embankment
Embankment tube station
Embankment is a London Underground station in the City of Westminster, known by various names during its history. It is served by the Circle, District, Northern and Bakerloo lines. On the Northern and Bakerloo lines, the station is between Waterloo and Charing Cross stations; on the Circle and...
.
Founders of the Savage Club
The club was founded in 1857 by George Augustus Sala and 11 other members, including:-
- William BroughWilliam BroughWilliam Brough was an English royalist churchman, Dean of Gloucester from 1643.-Life:He was educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1613, graduating B.A. 1617 and M.A. 1620. He proceeded B.D. 1627, and D.D. 5 February 1636. He was presented to the rectory of St...
- Robert BroughRobert Barnabas BroughRobert Barnabas Brough was an English writer. He wrote poetry, novels and plays and was a contributor to many periodicals.-Life and work:...
- Gustav von FranckGustav von FranckGustav Ritter von Franck was an author and publisher.-Life and work:Gustav Ritter von Franck was born on the 22nd of March 1807 in Vienna and was the son of the banker and businessman Johann Jakob Ritter von Franck and his wife Anna Maria, née Graumann...
- Dr G.L.Strauss
- William Bernhardt TegetmeierWilliam Bernhardt TegetmeierWilliam Bernhardt Tegetmeier was a noted English naturalist , a founder of the Savage Club, and a writer and journalist of domestic science....
- William Brough
The club today
At present, there are 315 members. The club maintains a tradition of fortnightly dinners for members and their guests, always followed by entertainment. These dinners often feature a variety of famous performers from music hallMusic hall
Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
to concert hall. Several times a year members invite ladies to share both the dinner and the entertainment — sometimes as performers. On these occasions guests always include widows of former Savages, who are known as Rosemaries (after rosemary
Rosemary
Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
, a symbol of remembrance).
There are also monthly lunches, which are followed by a talk given by a member or an invited guest on a subject of which he has specific expert knowledge.
Membership
Members are classified into one of six categories which best describes their main interest: art, drama, law, literature, music or science. They must be proposed and seconded by two existing members, and if unknown by any members, are required to attend a club function in order to meet some members.The category of membership might mirror a member's profession, though there are many members with an interest in one or more of the membership categories, but who practise none professionally.
Membership fees range from £248 to £654 per annum depending on membership category. The joining fee for 2008 for gentlemen introduced by present Savages is £200 if aged 35 or over at the date of joining, or £90 for those under 35. For those who apply for membership without introduction the fees are £500 and £150 respectively.
Opening hours and reciprocal arrangements
The club is open to members from Monday to Thursday from noon to 11pm, on Friday from 4.00pm to midnight (or later depending on the number of members present), and on Saturday by private arrangement. The barman is Michael Leonard. Lady guests are welcome on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings; at other times, use is restricted to members, their male guests and male members of affiliated clubs. Gentlemen who are accompanied with ladies must use the bar in the National Liberal Club if they do not visit on Tuesday or Wednesday Evenings.During the weekend, members are permitted to use either the Oxford and Cambridge Club
Oxford and Cambridge Club
The Oxford and Cambridge Club is at 71 Pall Mall, London, England. The clubhouse was designed for the membership by architect Sir Robert Smirke and completed towards the end of 1837. It was founded for members of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge...
in Pall Mall
Pall Mall, London
Pall Mall is a street in the City of Westminster, London, and parallel to The Mall, from St. James's Street across Waterloo Place to the Haymarket; while Pall Mall East continues into Trafalgar Square. The street is a major thoroughfare in the St James's area of London, and a section of the...
, or 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 St James's Square. There are also reciprocal arrangements with more 40 other clubs worldwide, giving members a home-away-from-home when abroad.
Members of the Savage club may also use accommodation at the Savile
Savile Club
The Savile Club was founded in 1868 for the purpose of conversation and good company. Though located somewhat out of the way from the main centre of London's gentlemen's clubs, closer to the residences of Mayfair than the clubs of Pall Mall and St James's Street, it still contained some prominent...
, Lansdowne and Cavendish Clubs.
Notable members
- James AgateJames AgateJames Evershed Agate was a British diarist and critic. In the period between the wars, he was one of Britain's most influential theatre critics...
- Norman AllinNorman AllinNorman Allin was a British bass singer of the early and mid twentieth century, and later a teacher of voice...
- Richard ArnellRichard ArnellRichard Anthony Sayer Arnell was an English composer of classical music. Arnell composed in all the established genres for the concert stage, and his list of works includes six completed symphonies and six string quartets.-Biography:Arnell was born in Hampstead, London...
- Arthur AskeyArthur AskeyArthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
- George BakerGeorge Baker (record singer)George Baker was an English singer. He is remembered for singing on thousands of gramophone records in a career that spanned 53 years, beginning in 1909...
- Webster BoothWebster BoothLeslie Webster Booth , better known by his stage name, Webster Booth, was a British tenor. He is largely remembered today as the duettist partner of Anne Ziegler, but he was also one of the finest British tenors of his generation and was a distinguished oratorio soloist.He was a chorister at...
- Collin Brooks
- Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (Charlie ChaplinCharlie ChaplinSir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
) - Albert ChevalierAlbert ChevalierAlbert Onesime Britannicus Gwathveoyd Louis Chevalier was an English comedian and actor.-Early life:Albert Chevalier was born in the Royal Crescent, in London's Notting Hill...
- Alan CivilAlan CivilAlan Civil OBE was a British horn player.Civil began to play the horn at a young age, and joined an army band while still in his teens...
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark TwainMark TwainSamuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
) - Mortimer CollinsMortimer CollinsMortimer Collins was an English writer and novelist. He was born at Plymouth, where his father, Francis Collins, was a solicitor. He was educated at a private school, and after some years spent as mathematical master at Elizabeth College, Guernsey, he relocated to London...
- Wilkie CollinsWilkie CollinsWilliam Wilkie Collins was an English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. He was very popular during the Victorian era and wrote 30 novels, more than 60 short stories, 14 plays, and over 100 non-fiction pieces...
- Robert CourtneidgeRobert CourtneidgeRobert Courtneidge was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera Tom Jones and the producer of The Arcadians...
- Most of the members of The Crazy GangThe Crazy GangThe Crazy Gang were a group of British entertainers, formed in the early 1930s. In the mature form the group's six men were Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen, Jimmy Nervo, Teddy Knox, Charlie Naughton and Jimmy Gold...
- Augustin DalyAugustin DalyJohn Augustin Daly was an American theatrical manager and playwright active in both the US and UK.-Biography:Daly was born in Plymouth, North Carolina and educated at Norfolk, Va...
- Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
- Herman FinckHerman FinckHerman Finck was a British composer of Dutch extraction.Born Hermann Van Der Vinck in London, he began his studies training at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and established a career as the musical director at the Palace Theatre in London , with whose orchestra he made many virtuoso...
- Sir Alexander Fleming
- C. B. Fry
- W. S. GilbertW. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
- Dan GodfreyDan GodfreySir Dan Godfrey was a British music conductor and member of a musical dynasty that included his father Dan Godfrey...
- Walter GoodmanWalter GoodmanWalter Goodman was a British painter, illustrator and author.The son of British portrait painter Julia Salaman and London linen draper and town councillor, Louis Goodman , he studied with J. M. Leigh and at the Royal Academy in London, where he was admitted as a student in 1851...
- George GrossmithGeorge GrossmithGeorge Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades...
- Weedon GrossmithWeedon GrossmithWalter Weedon Grossmith , better known as Weedon Grossmith, was an English writer, painter, actor and playwright, best known as co-author of The Diary of a Nobody with his famous brother, music hall comedian and Gilbert and Sullivan star, George Grossmith...
- Mark HambourgMark HambourgMark Hambourg was a distinguished Russian-British concert pianist, among the most famous of his age.- Life :Mark Hambourg was the eldest son of the pianist Michael Hambourg , and was brother of the cellist Boris Hambourg and the violinist Jan Hambourg , and of the musical organiser Clement...
(pianist) - Tommy HandleyTommy HandleyThomas Reginald "Tommy" Handley was a British comedian, mainly known for the BBC radio programme ITMA . He was born at Toxteth Park, Liverpool in Lancashire....
and the cast of It's That Man AgainIt's That Man AgainIt's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
(ITMA) - John Hassal (artist)
- Macdonald HastingsMacdonald HastingsDouglas Edward Macdonald Hastings was a British journalist, author and war correspondent.Macdonald Hastings was born in London, and educated at Stonyhurst College, a Roman Catholic Jesuit school in Lancashire. He became war correspondent for Picture Post during the Second World War, sending...
- Jack HawkinsJack HawkinsColonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
- A. P. HerbertA. P. HerbertSir Alan Patrick Herbert, CH was an English humorist, novelist, playwright and law reform activist...
- Tom HoodTom HoodTom Hood , was an English humorist and playwright, son of the poet and author Thomas Hood. A prolific author, he was appointed, in 1865, editor of the magazine Fun. He also founded Tom Hood's Comic Annual in 1867....
- Sir Henry Irving
- Alex JamesAlex JamesAlex James may refer to:*Alex James , bassist in English band Blur, newspaper columnist and cheesemaker*Alex James , songwriter and producer...
- Gwynn Parry JonesGwynn Parry JonesParry Jones , known early in his career as Gwynn Jones, was a Welsh tenor of the mid-twentieth century.-Life and career:...
- Mark LemonMark LemonMark Lemon was founding editor of both Punch and The Field.-Biography:Lemon was born in London on the 30 November 1809. He was the son of Martin Lemon, a hop merchant, and Alice Collis. His parents married on 26 December 1808 at St Mary, Marylebone, London...
(Editor of Punch) - Sidney Kilner Levett-YeatsSidney Kilner Levett-YeatsSidney Kilner Levett-Yeats CIE, , an English novelist known professionally as S. Levett-Yeats, was the descendant of an old English trading family with connections to British India. S. Levett-Yeats became a soldier with the Indian Army and later joined the Indian Civil Service as a low-level...
- David Low (Colonel BlimpColonel BlimpColonel Blimp is a British cartoon character.The cartoonist David Low first drew Colonel Blimp for Lord Beaverbrook's London Evening Standard in the 1930s: pompous, irascible, jingoistic and stereotypically British...
) - Arthur LucanArthur LucanArthur Lucan was an English actor who gained fame as Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and also screen, with a series of comedy films between the late 1930s and early 1950s.-Biography:...
, aka Old Mother RileyOld Mother RileyOld Mother Riley was a music hall act which originally ran from about 1934 to 1954 played by Arthur Lucan, then from 1954 to 1977 by Roy Rolland.... - Phil May
- Malcolm McEachernMr. Flotsam and Mr. JetsamMr. Flotsam and Mr. Jetsam were an Anglo-Australian musical comedy duo of the 1920s and 1930s. Mr. Flotsam's real name was Bentley Collingwood Hilliam and Mr. Jetsam's real name was Malcolm McEachern . Hilliam wrote most of their songs, played the piano and sang in a light, high tenor voice. By...
('Mr. Jetsam') - Benno MoiseiwitschBenno MoiseiwitschBenno Moiseiwitsch CBE was a Ukrainian-born British pianist.-Biography:Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Moiseiwitsch began his studies at age seven at the Odessa Music Academy. He won the Anton Rubinstein Prize when he was just nine years old. He later took lessons from Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna...
- Earl MountbattenLouis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of BurmaAdmiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas George Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS , was a British statesman and naval officer, and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
- Fridtjof NansenFridtjof NansenFridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth a champion skier and ice skater, he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a...
- Prof. R. G. W. NorrishRonald George Wreyford NorrishRonald George Wreyford Norrish was a British chemist. He was born in Cambridge and attended The Perse School. He was a former student of Eric Rideal...
- Norman O'Neill
- E. Phillips OppenheimE. Phillips OppenheimEdward Phillips Oppenheim , was an English novelist, in his lifetime a major and successful writer of genre fiction including thrillers.-Life:...
- H.R.H. Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
- Dr. Magnus PykeMagnus PykeDr. Magnus Alfred Pyke was a British scientist and media figure, who, although apparently quite eccentric and playing up to the mad scientist stereotype, succeeded in explaining science to a lay audience...
- Sergei RachmaninovSergei RachmaninoffSergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
- Heath Robinson
- Carl Rosa
- Dante Rossetti
- Rafael SabatiniRafael SabatiniRafael Sabatini was an Italian/British writer of novels of romance and adventure.-Life:Rafael Sabatini was born in Iesi, Italy, to an English mother and Italian father...
- George Augustus Sala
- Charles SantleyCharles SantleySir Charles Santley was an English-born opera and oratorio star with a bravuraFrom the Italian verb bravare, to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill technique who became the most eminent English baritone and male concert singer of the Victorian era...
- Captain Scott
- Harry SecombeHarry SecombeSir Harry Donald Secombe CBE was a Welsh entertainer with a talent for comedy and a noted fine tenor singing voice. He is best known for playing Neddie Seagoon, the central character in the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show...
- Dylan ThomasDylan ThomasDylan Marlais Thomas was a Welsh poet and writer, Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 11 January 2008. who wrote exclusively in English. In addition to poetry, he wrote short stories and scripts for film and radio, which he often performed himself...
- Herbert Beerbohm TreeHerbert Beerbohm TreeSir Herbert Beerbohm Tree was an English actor and theatre manager.Tree began performing in the 1870s. By 1887, he was managing the Haymarket Theatre, winning praise for adventurous programming and lavish productions, and starring in many of its productions. In 1899, he helped fund the...
- Tommy TrinderTommy TrinderThomas Edward Trinder CBE known as Tommy Trinder, was an English stage, screen and radio comedian of the pre and post war years whose catchphrase was 'You lucky people'.-Life:...
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- James McNeill WhistlerJames McNeill WhistlerJames Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
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- Wee Georgie WoodWee Georgie WoodGeorge Wood, better known as Wee Georgie Wood, was a British actor and comedian who appeared in films, plays and music hall revues. Wood, who was a midget, worked most his professional life in the guise of a child, appearing in comic and sentimental sketches. He also wrote a column in the weekly...
(Music Hall comedian) - Henry Wood (conductor)Henry Wood (conductor)Sir Henry Joseph Wood, CH was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introducing hundreds of new works to British audiences...
- John WorsleyJohn WorsleyLieutenant General Sir John Worsley KBE CB MC was Commander of British Forces in Hong Kong.-Military career:Worsley was commissioned into the 3rd Bn 2nd Punjab Regiment of the Indian Army in 1934 and served on the North West Frontier in India from 1935.He served in World War II and fought at the...
- Sir Charles Wyndham
The Savage Club Masonic Lodge
In 1882, the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIIEdward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
) became an honorary member of the Savage Club and, appreciating its informal atmosphere, took a great interest in the affairs of the club. The Prince suggested that a good addition to the facilities at the club would be a Masonic
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
lodge. On 3 December 1886, Thomas Catling, the editor of Lloyd’s News, wrote to the Grand Secretary of United Grand Lodge
United Grand Lodge of England
The United Grand Lodge of England is the main governing body of freemasonry within England and Wales and in other, predominantly ex-British Empire and Commonwealth countries outside the United Kingdom. It is the oldest Grand Lodge in the world, deriving its origin from 1717...
as follows:
"A long cherished idea on the part of many members of the Savage Club has at length received an amount of support which justifies the accompanying application to the Most Worshipful Grand Master for a warrant for a new lodge. The Savage Club, which is “instituted for the association of gentlemen connected professionally with literature, art, the drama, or science”, now consists of 400 members, fully one-fourth of whom are masons, though many it is found are not at the present time subscribing members. From the interest evinced in the proposal there is a confident belief that if the new lodge is founded it will draw the majority of the masons in the club more closely together, and at the same time be the means of adding to the strength and prosperity of the craft by increasing its members. The petitioners are all “Savages”, but they do not bind themselves to admit none save their own members, though it will be their aim and endeavour to keep as close as possible to the principles which govern the elections to the Savage Club."
Enclosed with the letter was a formal petition to the Grand Master for the formation of the new lodge. The signatories were Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott, President of the Society of Artists, who was to be first Master of the new lodge, Sir John Somers Vine, the club’s secretary, who was to be the first Senior Warden, Lord Dunraven (Viscount Adair), then Provincial Grand Master of Oxfordshire, Catling, W. E. Chapman, Thomas Burnside and Archibald Neill, all described as journalists, another literary gentleman, John Paige, John Maclean, an actor, Raymond Tucker, an artist, and the actor Sir Henry Irving, who was not sufficiently experienced as a mason to take one of the more senior offices in the lodge, but agreed to act as Treasurer. Evidently Catling had been busy lobbying members of the Savage Club who were masons to assemble as imposing group of petitioners as possible. He had asked Lord Dunraven not only to support the petition but to agree if possible to take office in the new lodge. Dunraven had agreed to sign the petition, but could not take office.
The Savage Club Lodge was consecrated at Freemasons’ Hall on 18 January 1887, and Irving was invested as Treasurer of the new lodge. The lengthy report of the consecration in The Freemason refers to Irving’s presence but does not mention any speech by him. The Savage Club Lodge was enormously successful. In its first year, eleven meetings were held, and in the following year another ten. By the end of 1890, membership of the lodge had risen to 124. Many new masons had been initiated in the lodge and then passed through the various degrees in lengthy and elaborate rituals, and it was the working of these rituals which accounted for the large number of meetings. The club invited the Prince of Wales to become an honorary member, but although he refused this honour, he presented to the club for use in lodge meetings a gavel which had been used by the Queen when laying the foundation stone of the Imperial Institute at South Kensington.
Although there is no longer any formal connection between the club and the lodge, the lodge and its visitors still enjoy traditional Savage bonhomie at the club's premises in Whitehall following the quarterly lodge meetings in Covent Garden. Members of the lodge are also always invited to the frequent club events which are open to guests.
Founders of the Savage Club Lodge
- Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott, PGW
- John Maclean
- Sir J. R. Somers Vine, PGD
- Thomas Catling, PAGDC
- Sir Henry Irving
- Archibald McNeill
- W. E. Chapman, PAGDC
- Raymond Tucker, PPGSB Berks.
- Thomas Burnside
- Earl of Dunraven, PC KP
- John Paige
External links
- Official website of The Savage Club
- Official website of The Savage Club Lodge
- Article in the New York Times announcing the foundation of The Savage Club Lodge