Grillion's is a London

dining club A dining club (UK) or eating club (US) is a social group, usually requiring membership (which may, or may not be available only to certain people), which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers. ...

founded in 1812. It was founded by the British diplomat Stratford Canning as a meeting place free from the violence of political controversy. The club had no premises but met at Grillion's Hotel on

Albemarle Street Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray was based here, and Oscar Wilde, a member of the Albemarle Club, where an insult he received ...

, from which it took its name. Later it would meet at the Hotel Cecil. The club met weekly during parliamentary session. The first fifty years of the Grillion's Club is recorded in the book ''Grillion's Club: From Its Origin In 1812 To Its Fiftieth Anniversary'', written quoting many of the club's records by Sir Philip Grey Egerton. The book was privately printed at the Chiswick Press in 1880. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many leading statesmen belonged to the club, including prime ministers

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, Balfour,

Asquith Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of ...

, and Baldwin.

References

Dining clubs 1812 establishments in England {{UK-org-stub