The Polish Hearth Club (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Ognisko Polskie'') is a

private members' club Private members' clubs are organisations which provide social and other facilities to members who typically pay a membership fee for access and use. Some were originally elitist gentlemen's clubs to which members first had to be elected; others ...

founded soon after the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the

British Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

and the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

at 55 Princes Gate,

Exhibition Road Exhibition Road is a street in South Kensington, London which is home to several major museums and academic establishments, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum. Overview The road gets i ...

in the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, close to the South Kensington museums, in a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building. It was intended as a social meeting place for diplomats, the military cadre and other officials. The facilities included a restaurant, (now leased), a theatre and an exhibition space. It faces the main entrance to

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

and is around the corner from the

Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum The Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum ( pl, Instytut Polski i Muzeum im. Gen. Sikorskiego), known as Sikorski Institute, named after General Władysław Sikorski, is a leading London-based museum and archive for research into Poland during W ...

, which was built as part of one development by

Charles James Freake Sir Charles James Freake, 1st Baronet (7 April 1814 – 6 October 1884) was an untrained English architect and builder, responsible for many famous 19th-century façades in London, including Eaton Square, Exhibition Road and Onslow Square, ...

History

The Polish Hearth Club was jointly founded by the British government and the

in 1939. On 16 July 1940 the club was formally inaugurated by HRH

Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain and the peerage of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom, most recently as a Royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom, royal dukedom ...

with the assistance of members of the Polish government, president Wladyslaw Raczkiewicz and prime minister and

Chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

general Wladyslaw Sikorski in the presence of foreign secretary

Lord Halifax Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, (16 April 1881 – 23 December 1959), known as The Lord Irwin from 1925 until 1934 and The Viscount Halifax from 1934 until 1944, was a senior British Conservative politician of the 19 ...

, Howard Kennard, British ambassador to Poland and Count Edward Raczyński Polish ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and chairman of the British Council,

Lord Lloyd Anthony John Leslie Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Berwick, (called Tony; born 9 May 1929) is a retired British judge, and a former member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Lloyd was born on 9 May 1929, the son of Edward John Boydell Llo ...

. The building was blessed by the Polish Field Chaplain, bishop

Józef Gawlina Józef Feliks Gawlina, born in 1892 in Strzybnik ( Racibórz County) in Silesia - died 1964 in Rome was a Divisional general in the Polish Armed Forces. He was an ordained priest, Doctor of Theology and from 1933, Catholic bishop in the Military ...

. The club became the cultural and social centre of independent Polish émigré life. General

Władysław Anders ) , birth_name = Władysław Albert Anders , birth_date = , birth_place = Krośniewice-Błonie, Warsaw Governorate, Congress Poland, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = London, England, United Kingdom , serviceyears ...

had his own table in the restaurant.

World War II and after

The club is the only survivor of several Polish social establishments in West London that began during

and were in the vicinity of the temporary Polish parish that was hosted by the

Oratorian Father The Confederation of Oratories of Saint Philip Neri ( la, Confoederatio Oratorii Sancti Philippi Nerii) abbreviated CO and commonly known as the Oratorians is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men (priests and lay- ...

s at Brompton Oratory and assumed greater significance after the war with the passing of the

Polish Resettlement Act 1947 The Polish Resettlement Act 1947 was the first ever mass immigration legislation of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It offered British citizenship to over 250,000 displaced Polish troops on British soil who had fought against Nazi Germany an ...

, when some 200,000 Polish veterans reached British shores. Throughout the ensuing years, Ognisko was not only a meeting place for Polish government ministers and officials, it also hosted Poland's exiled intellectual elite. Notable survivors of Poland's inter-war musical theatre and cabaret scene, including

Marian Hemar Marian Hemar (1901–1972), born Marian Hescheles (other pen names: Jan Mariański, and Marian Wallenrod), was a Polish poet, journalist, playwright, comedy writer, and songwriter. Hemar himself stated that before the outbreak of World War II he ...

Feliks Konarski Feliks Konarski (pseudonym: Ref-Ren) (9 January 1907 – 12 September 1991) was a Polish poet, songwriter, and cabaret performer. Early life Konarski was born in Kiev and attended a Polish school there. In 1921, he was able to get to Pola ...

Renata Bogdańska Irena Renata Anders (12 May 1920 – 29 November 2010), born Iryna Renata Jarosiewicz (Yarosevych), was a Ukrainian-Polish stage actress and singer. During World War II she performed with Henryk Wars' troupe and later with the ''Polska Parad ...

, Irena Delmar and Zofia Terné, revived their productions for the ''Ognisko'' stage. Its basement hosted in the 1960s and 70s a youth club under the moniker, "Pomidor" (tomato in Polish). The other Polish social clubs that have disappeared or have been amalgamated were: Hemar's "Orzeł Biały" (The White Eagle Café-Club) in

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, "Samopomoc Marynarki Wojennej" (The Polish Naval Club), on Chelsea Embankment (later in Wetherby Gardens, SW5), "Klub Lotników polskich" (Polish Airforce Club) in

Collingham Gardens Collingham Gardens is a garden square in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. Built between 1881 and 1888, the buildings on either side of the garden were designed by Ernest George and Peto, a firm that grafted Northern Europ ...

, SW5, "Stowarzyszenie Polskich Kombatantów" (SPK) (the Polish Combatants Association, part of a UK-wide network) in

Queen's Gate Terrace Queen's Gate Terrace is a street in Kensington, London, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, home to several embassies. The street runs west to east from Gloucester Road to Queen's Gate Queen's Gate is a street in South Kensin ...

. The commemorative booklet published on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the club announced: "In a four storey stucco villa, characteristic of

Victorian London During the 19th century, London grew enormously to become a global city of immense importance. It was the largest city in the world from about 1825, the world's largest port, and the heart of international finance and trade. Railways connecting ...

, with its

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

ed entrance at 55 Princes Gate, a building in the hands of the Relief Society for Poles, there is a Polish Hearth, an institution very like a metropolitan Polish club. It differs from its neighbours in the terrace, because of its generous bronze plaque, a tribute to the tragic

Hungarian Revolution of 1956 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

. The plaque was placed on the facade of Ognisko Polskie on behalf of Hungarian exiles and depicts Hungarians marching towards Soviet tanks. The

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

is the work of Hungarian artist Ferenc Kovacs and represents the patriotic Hungarian nation and its deep respect for freedom.” As the Polish community in London either emigrated to third countries or settled elsewhere in the UK, those who remained in the capital tended to move south or westward to areas such as Hammersmith, Ealing and Balham, where house prices were more accessible. In the 1970s the community had raised sufficient funds to build the Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK) in Hammersmith. To a degree Ognisko and POSK became rivals for the support a diminishing Polish community, until the next century.

Dispersal and decline of the diaspora

With the decline of war-time and post-war émigrés, by the start of the 21st century, the Club's future became uncertain. The building came close to being sold off to developers in 2012 by some members of the committee with an eye for the main chance, but the membership roused itself into action and saved this popular venue for a new generation.

Successful revival

A new committee brought in contemporary management skills to rejuvenate the venue. The bar and dining room are leased to restaurateur Jan Woroniecki. Portraits of prominent Poles and British people adorn the walls. Theatrical productions, concerts and exhibitions have resumed on the first floor of the building attracting a British audience boosted by the arrival of a new generation of EU Poles.

Jagiellonian University in London

The

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

's London outpost is housed in the Club's building.Jagiellonian University London Study Centre
/ref>

Presidents of the Polish Hearth Club

* Frank Savery OBE CMG (1940–49) * Jan Baliński-Jundziłł (1949–73) * Lieut. col. Kamil Bogumił Czarnecki (1974–76) * Eugeniusz Lubomirski de Vaux (1976–81) * Gen. Jerzy Morawicz (1981–85) * Gen. Jan Gawlikowski (1985–87) * Lieut. col. Kamil Czarnecki (1978–88) * Felix Laski (1988–89) * Jerzy Kulczycki (1989–90) * Włodzimierz Mier-Jędrzejowicz (1990–91) * Felix Laski (1991–92) * Andrzej Morawicz (1992-2012) * Barbara Kaczmarowska-Hamilton (2012-2013) * Jerzy Kulczycki (2013) * Col. Nicholas Kelsey OBE TD (2013-2018) * Dr Jan Falkowski (2018-2021) * Prof Jerzy Kolankiewicz (2021-22) * Andrzej Jurenko (2022-

References

External links

official website''Ognisko'' Restaurant website
review of Ognisko restaurant in London's ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', 2013]
Jagiellonian University Polish Research Centre in London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Hearth Club 1940 establishments in England Grade II listed buildings in the City of Westminster Clubs and societies in London Restaurants in London City of Westminster 1940 establishments in the United Kingdom Poland–United Kingdom relations Polish restaurants Polish-British culture