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
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 ...
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
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
,
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
![Ognisko polskie londyn4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Ognisko_polskie_londyn4.JPG)
The club is the only survivor of several Polish social establishments in West London that began during
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 ...
and were in the vicinity of the temporary Polish parish that was hosted by the
Oratorian Fathers at
Brompton Oratory
Brompton Oratory is a large neo-classical Roman Catholic church in the Knightsbridge area of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. Its full name is the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, or as named in its Grade II* archite ...
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 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
Chelsea Embankment is part of the Thames Embankment, a road and walkway along the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England.
The western end of Chelsea Embankment, including a stretch of Cheyne Walk, is in the Royal Borough of ...
(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-
See also
* Poles in the United Kingdom
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