United University Club
Encyclopedia
The United University Club was a London gentlemen's club
, founded in 1821. It occupied the purpose-built University Club House, at 1, Suffolk Street, London
, England
, from 1826 until 1971.
.
It was agreed that the Club would admit no more than one thousand members and former members of the Universities of Oxford
and Cambridge
, five hundred from each. This limitation remained in place for more than one hundred years. As a result, only eight years after the Club's foundation, its waiting list was so long that a second club was formed, called the Oxford and Cambridge Club
.
The initial entrance-fee was set at twenty-five guineas
and the annual subscription at six guineas. By 1879, these figures had increased to thirty guineas and eight guineas. It was reported in Dickens's Dictionary of London (1879) that "The members elect by ballot, one black ball in ten excludes".
near the north-west corner of Trafalgar Square
. They were designed by the neo-classical architect William Wilkins
RA
and by his colleague J. P. Gandy
and opened on 13 February 1826. Wilkins was also the architect of the nearby National Gallery
in Trafalgar Square, finished in 1838, and of the main buildings of Downing College, Cambridge
.
The Club was re-built on a grander scale in 1906, with Reginald Blomfield
as architect. In 1906, frieze
s by Henry Alfred Pegram RA (1862–1937) were also commissioned.
An extension was added on the north side of the building in 1924 (again designed by Blomfield) and another extension on the east side in 1939–40.
Sir Nicholas Pevsner described the development as "Sir Reginald Blomfield’s essay in Champs Elysées style".
. The merged University club reverted to the name Oxford and Cambridge in 2001.
, and since 1998 as the London Centre of the University of Notre Dame
. The Centre enables the Colleges of Arts & Letters, Business Administration, Science, Engineering and the Law School to develop their own programs in London.
51°30′29.34"N 0°7′49.64"W
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
, founded in 1821. It occupied the purpose-built University Club House, at 1, Suffolk Street, London
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, from 1826 until 1971.
Formation and membership
The Club was founded at a meeting held at the Thatched House Tavern on 30 June 1821 and held its first Annual General Meeting at Willis's Rooms on 27 April 1822, under the chairmanship of Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and EdinburghPrince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh
Prince William, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh was a member of the British Royal Family, a great-grandson of George II and nephew of George III.-Early life:...
.
It was agreed that the Club would admit no more than one thousand members and former members of the Universities of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, five hundred from each. This limitation remained in place for more than one hundred years. As a result, only eight years after the Club's foundation, its waiting list was so long that a second club was formed, called 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...
.
The initial entrance-fee was set at twenty-five guineas
Guinea (British coin)
The guinea is a coin that was minted in the Kingdom of England and later in the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom between 1663 and 1813...
and the annual subscription at six guineas. By 1879, these figures had increased to thirty guineas and eight guineas. It was reported in Dickens's Dictionary of London (1879) that "The members elect by ballot, one black ball in ten excludes".
Premises
The Club's rooms, called the University Club House, were at 1, Suffolk Street, London, at a corner with Pall MallPall 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...
near the north-west corner of Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a public space and tourist attraction in central London, England, United Kingdom. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. There are a number of statues and sculptures in the square, with one plinth displaying changing pieces of...
. They were designed by the neo-classical architect William Wilkins
William Wilkins (architect)
William Wilkins RA was an English architect, classical scholar and archaeologist. He designed the National Gallery and University College in London, and buildings for several Cambridge colleges.-Life:...
RA
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
and by his colleague J. P. Gandy
John Peter Gandy
John Peter Gandy , later John Peter Deering, was a British architect.-Family:John was the youngest child of the ten children of Thomas Gandy and his wife, Sophia, née Adams. His older brothers included the painter Joseph Michael Gandy ARA and the architect Michael Gandy...
and opened on 13 February 1826. Wilkins was also the architect of the nearby National Gallery
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
in Trafalgar Square, finished in 1838, and of the main buildings of Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
.
The Club was re-built on a grander scale in 1906, with Reginald Blomfield
Reginald Blomfield
Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period.- Early life and career :...
as architect. In 1906, frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s by Henry Alfred Pegram RA (1862–1937) were also commissioned.
An extension was added on the north side of the building in 1924 (again designed by Blomfield) and another extension on the east side in 1939–40.
Sir Nicholas Pevsner described the development as "Sir Reginald Blomfield’s essay in Champs Elysées style".
Merger with New University Club
A third club for members of the two Universities, founded in 1864 and called the New University Club, had its rooms at 57 St James's Street. This amalgamated with the United University Club in 1938.Merger with Oxford and Cambridge Club
After the Second World War, the gentlemen's clubs of London fell into a decline, and in 1971 the United University Club closed its premises. In March 1972, it was merged with the Oxford and Cambridge Club. The combined club was initially called the 'United Oxford and Cambridge University Club' and in 1972–73 was housed at the University Club House, but thereafter it occupied the club house further down Pall Mall designed for the Oxford and Cambridge Club in 1836. The lease of the University Club House was surrendered to the ground landlord, the Crown EstateCrown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
. The merged University club reverted to the name Oxford and Cambridge in 2001.
Uses of the Club House since 1973
Number One Suffolk Street was occupied from 1973 until 1980 by the bankers Coutts & Co., from 1980 to 1997 by the British School of OsteopathyBritish School of Osteopathy
The British School of Osteopathy is the largest and the oldest school of osteopathy in the United Kingdom.The BSO holds Recognised Qualification status from the statutory regulatory body for osteopathy in the UK, the General Osteopathic Council....
, and since 1998 as the London Centre of the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. The Centre enables the Colleges of Arts & Letters, Business Administration, Science, Engineering and the Law School to develop their own programs in London.
Notable members
- William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
(1809–1898), prime minister - Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of BewdleyStanley BaldwinStanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, KG, PC was a British Conservative politician, who dominated the government in his country between the two world wars...
(1867–1947), prime minister - John Maynard Keynes, 1st Baron KeynesJohn Maynard KeynesJohn Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
(1883–1946), economist - Arthur Peel, 1st Viscount Peel (1829–1912), Speaker of the House of CommonsSpeaker of the British House of CommonsThe Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
1884–1895 - Frederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount ChelmsfordFrederic Thesiger, 1st Viscount ChelmsfordFrederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC was a British statesman who served as Governor of Queensland , Governor of New South Wales from 1909 to 1913, and Viceroy of India from 1916 to 1921, where he was responsible for the creation of the Montagu-Chelmsford...
(1868–1933), Viceroy of India 1916–1921 - John George Dodson, 1st Baron Monk Bretton (1825–1897), politician
- Alexander Staveley HillAlexander Staveley HillAlexander Staveley Hill DL was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He was Member of Parliament from 1868 to 1900 representing Coventry, Staffordshire West and Kingswinford....
KC 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,...
(1825–1905), barrister and politician - Douglas FreshfieldDouglas FreshfieldDouglas William Freshfield was a British lawyer, mountaineer and author, who edited the Alpine Journal from 1872 to 1880...
(1845–1934), mountaineer - Sir Owen SeamanOwen SeamanSir Owen Seaman, 1st Baronet was a British writer, journalist and poet. He is best known as editor of Punch, from 1906 to 1932.-Biography:...
(1861–1936), editor of Punch 1906–1932 - Herbert TrenchHerbert TrenchFrederic Herbert Trench was an Irish poet.He was born in Avonmore, County Cork, and educated at Haileybury and Keble College, Oxford. From 1891 he worked as an examiner for the Board of Education....
(1865–1923), poet - Sir Leslie ScottLeslie Scott (UK politician)Sir Leslie Frederic Scott, KC, PC was a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, and later a senior judge....
KC 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,...
(1869–1950), barrister and politician - Sir Herbert Brent Grotrian, 1st BaronetSir Herbert Brent Grotrian, 1st BaronetSir Herbert Brent Grotrian, 1st Baronet KC was an English member of parliament from 1924 to 1929 who was created a baronet in 1934....
(1870–1951), barrister and politician - Geoffrey Winthrop YoungGeoffrey Winthrop YoungGeoffrey Winthrop Young D.Litt. was a British climber, poet and educator, and author of several notable books on mountaineering.-Mountaineering:...
(1879–1958), mountaineer and poet - Percy Herbert, Bishop of NorwichBishop of NorwichThe Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers most of the County of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. The see is in the City of Norwich where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided...
(1885–1968) - Sir Ivor Jennings (1903–1965), Vice-Chancellor of the University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
- J. C. C. Davidson, 1st Viscount DavidsonJ. C. C. Davidson, 1st Viscount DavidsonJohn Colin Campbell Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson GCVO CH, CB, PC , known before his elevation to the peerage as J. C. C. Davidson, was a British civil servant and Conservative Party politician, best known for his close alliance with Stanley Baldwin...
(1889–1970), politician
Further reading
- Graves, Charles, Leather Armchairs: The Chivas Regal Book of London Clubs (London, Cassell & Co. Ltd, 1963, with foreword by P. G. WodehouseP. G. WodehouseSir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE was an English humorist, whose body of work includes novels, short stories, plays, poems, song lyrics, and numerous pieces of journalism. He enjoyed enormous popular success during a career that lasted more than seventy years and his many writings continue to be...
). - Thole, John, and Matthews, Stephen, The Oxford and Cambridge Clubs in London (London, Alfred Waller, 1992). ISBN 9781872474014.
- Lejeune, Anthony, Gentlemen's Clubs of London, ill. Malcolm Lewis (London: Macdonald and Jane's, 1979). ISBN 0-8317-3800-6.
- United University Club, victorianlondon.org.
51°30′29.34"N 0°7′49.64"W