The Savage Club, founded in 1857, is a gentlemen's club in

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 ...

, named after the poet, Richard Savage. Members are drawn from the fields of art, drama, law, literature, music or science.

History

The founding meeting of the Savage Club took place on 12 October 1857, at the Crown Tavern, Vinegar Yard,

Drury 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. Notable landmarks ...

, after a letter by ''

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

'' honorary secretary George Augustus Sala was sent to prospective members. The letter advised it would be 'a meeting of gentlemen connected with literature and the fine arts, and warmly interested in the promotion of Christian knowledge, and the sale of exciseable liquors' with a view to 'forming a social society or club'. The inaugural gathering would also decide upon the new association's 'suitable designation'. Richard Savage

Around 20 attended the first meeting including William Brough,

Robert Brough Robert John Cameron Brough ARSA (1872 – 21 January 1905) was a Scottish painter born near Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty. Life He was born on 20 March 1872. at Garty Cottage, Kilmuir Easter, near Invergordon. His mother was Helen Brough, ...

Leicester Silk Buckingham Leicester Silk Buckingham (29 June 1825 – 15 July 1867) was an English dramatist, who achieved considerable popularity as a playwright, several of his free adaptations of French comedies being produced in London between 1860 and 1867. Early li ...

, John Deffett Francis,

Gustav von Franck Gustav Ritter von Franck (born 22 March 1807, Vienna – died 8 January 1860, London) was an Austrian author and publisher. Life and work Gustav Ritter von Franck was born on 22 March 1807 in Vienna and was the son of the banker and businessma ...

, Bill Hale, Sala, Dr G. L. Strauss and

William Bernhardt Tegetmeier William Bernhardt Tegetmeier FZS (4 November 1816 – 19 November 1912) was an English naturalist, a founding member of the Savage Club, a popular writer and journalist of domestic science. A correspondent and friend of Charles Darwin, Tegetme ...

. Andrew Halliday, joint honorary secretary in 1858, and later club president, wrote in his 1867 anthology, of how the 'suitable designation' was determined: Savageclubmenujohnson

Many of the original members were drawn from the ranks of bohemian journalists and writers for ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

'' who considered themselves unlikely to be accepted into the older, arts related Garrick Club, but, within two decades, the Savage Club itself had become 'almost respectable'. The early requirement – 'a working man in literature or art' – was soon broadened to include musicians, and the club's first piano was hired in 1871, prompting Halliday to tell another member 'Hang your piano... it's ruining the Club'. An associated Masonic lodge was established in 1887. The club has hosted a variety of guests over the years including American writer and humorist

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, and the

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

during its 1934 English tour. In the aftermath of World War II,

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

, founder of the

British Union of Fascists The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...

, arrived as a guest of Henry Williamson, author of ''

Tarka the Otter ''Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers'' is a novel by English writer Henry Williamson, first published in 1927 by G.P. Putnam's Sons with an introduction by the Hon. Sir John Fortescue. It won the ...

'', but was asked to leave. The club features in

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

's classic novel, ''

The Lost World The lost world is a subgenre of the fantasy or science fiction genres that involves the discovery of an unknown Earth civilization. It began as a subgenre of the late- Victorian adventure romance and remains popular into the 21st century. The g ...

''. The club moved from its original home at the Crown Tavern, the next year to the

Nell Gwynne Tavern The Nell Gwynne Tavern is a Grade II listed public house at 1–2 Bull Inn Court, 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 ...

. In 1863 it moved to Gordon's Hotel in

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 si ...

, then to 6–7

Adelphi Terrace Adelphi (; from the Greek ἀδελφοί ''adelphoi'', meaning "brothers") is a district of the City of Westminster in London.Mills, A., ''Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names'', (2001) The small district includes the streets of ''Adelphi T ...

, later to 9 Fitzmaurice Place, Berkeley Square, London W1, and, from 1936 to the end of 1963, Carlton House Terrace in St James's (previously the home of the Conservative statesman Lord Curzon). In 1990, the club moved to a room within the

National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club (NLC) is a London private members' club, open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate f ...

at 1 Whitehall Place, London SW1. In 2020 it was issued with a year's notice by the General Committee of the National Liberal Club as part of a negotiation around its future occupancy. A source at the National Liberal Club commented: "The red line for us is whether one of our members, of any sex, could use the Savage Club's bar whenever it is opened." Members of the National Liberal Club (or indeed of any other non-reciprocal Club) would however not be allowed to use the Savage Club's facilities unless invited as guests, as is the case with any private Members' club, and the Savage Club does admit ladies as guests to the whole of its premises.

The club today

In 1962, the club had around 1,000 members, at present, there are over 300. It remains one of the small number of London clubs that does not admit women as members, although women are admitted as guests. The club maintains a tradition of regular dinners for members and their guests, always followed by entertainment, often featuring distinguished musical performers from the club's membership. Several times a year members invite ladies to share both the dinner and the entertainment, and on these occasions guests always include widows of former Savages, who are known as Rosemaries (after

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

, a symbol of remembrance). Savageclub1903marconimenu

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 other 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. There is a range of membership fees depending on membership category. During the weekend, members are permitted to use the

East India Club The East India Club is a gentlemen's club founded in 1849 and situated at 16, St James's Square in London. The full title of the club is the East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club due to mergers with other clubs. The club was o ...

in St James's Square and the

Oxford and Cambridge Club The Oxford and Cambridge Club is a traditional London club. Membership is largely restricted to those who are members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, including men and women who have a degree from or who are current undergraduates ...

in Pall Mall. There are also reciprocal arrangements with other clubs internationally. Members of the Savage Club may also use accommodation at the

Savile Savile is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Savile (1819–1870), English clergyman and cricketer * David Savile, actor, married to Lois Baxter * Douglas Barton Osborne Savile (1909–2000), mycologist * Dorothy Savile ...

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and

Lansdowne Lansdowne or Lansdown may refer to: People * Lansdown Guilding (1797–1831), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines naturalist and engraver *Fenwick Lansdowne (1937–2008), Canadian wildlife artist * George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735) ...

Clubs.

Notable members

* James Agate *

Norman Allin Norman Allin (19 November 1884 – 27 October 1973) was a British bass singer of the early and mid twentieth century, and later a teacher of voice. Early studies Allin was born in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1884. He studied at the Royal Manchest ...

Richard Arnell Richard Anthony Sayer Arnell (15 September 191710 April 2009) 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 (a seventh wa ...

* Arthur Askey * Alfred Louis Bacharach * George Baker *Sir J. M. Barrie, Bt. * A. H. Behrend * Webster Booth * Collin Brooks *Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

) *

Albert Chevalier Albert Chevalier (often listed as Albert Onésime Britannicus Gwathveoyd Louis Chevalier); (21 March 186110 July 1923), was an English music hall comedian, singer and musical theatre actor. He specialised in cockney related humour based on life ...

* Alan Civil *Samuel Langhorne Clemens (

) * Edward John Cobbett *Sir Hal Pateshall Colebatch *

Mortimer Collins Edward James Mortimer Collins (29 June 1827 – 28 July 1876) was an English novelist, journalist and poet. Some of his lyrics, with their "light grace, their sparkling wit and their airy philosophy", were described in the 1911 ''Encyclopædia B ...

* Wilkie Collins *

Robert Courtneidge Robert Courtneidge (29 June 1859 – 6 April 1939) was a British theatrical manager-producer and playwright. He is best remembered as the co-author of the light opera ''Tom Jones (Edward German), Tom Jones'' (1907) and the producer of ''The Arc ...

*Most of the members of The Crazy Gang * Augustin Daly *

Richard Davey Richard Innes Davey (4 November 1938 – 13 March 2013) was an Australian actor, director and writer. He was the founder of the Round Earth Company and advocate for the understanding of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station on Sarah Island ...

* Sir Edward ElgarR. Tames, London: A Cultural History (OUP, 2006), p110 *

Bernard Walter Evans Bernard Walter Evans (26 December 1843 – 26 February 1922) was a British landscape painter and watercolourist in the Romantic style, working mainly in Birmingham, Wales, London, Cannes and the North Riding of Yorkshire. Because he used a "h ...

* Herman Finck * Sir Alexander Fleming *

Brian J. Ford Brian J. Ford HonFLS HonFRMS (born 1939 in Corsham, Wiltshire) is an independent research biologist, author, and lecturer, who publishes on scientific issues for the general public. He has also been a television personality for more than 40 ...

C. B. Fry Charles Burgess Fry (25 April 1872 – 7 September 1956) was an English sportsman, teacher, writer, editor and publisher, who is best remembered for his career as a cricketer. John Arlott described him with the words: "Charles Fry could b ...

* W. S. Gilbert *

Dan Godfrey Sir Daniel Eyers "Dan" Godfrey (20 June 1868 – 20 July 1939) was a British music conductor and member of a musical dynasty that included his father Daniel Godfrey (1831–1903). His son, also Dan Godfrey, was also a musician, station man ...

* Walter Goodman * George Grossmith *

Weedon Grossmith Walter Weedon Grossmith (9 June 1854 – 14 June 1919), better known as Weedon Grossmith, was an English writer, painter, actor, and playwright best known as co-author of ''The Diary of a Nobody'' (1892) with his brother, music hall comedian ...

Charles Groves Sir Charles Barnard Groves CBE (10 March 191520 June 1992) was an English conductor. He was known for the breadth of his repertoire and for encouraging contemporary composers and young conductors. After accompanying positions and conducting ...

Mark Hambourg Mark Hambourg (russian: Марк Михайлович Гамбург, 1 June 1879 – 26 August 1960) was a Russian British concert pianist. Life Mark Hambourg was the eldest son of the pianist Michael Hambourg (1855–1916), a pupil o ...

(pianist)Summers, Jonathan
'Mark Hambourg', notes to ''A–Z of Pianists''
Naxos CD (2007) 8.558107–10 *

Tommy Handley Thomas Reginald Handley (17 January 1892 – 9 January 1949) was an English comedian, best known for the BBC radio programme ''It's That Man Again'' ("''ITMA''") which ran between 1939 and 1949. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, Handley went o ...

and the cast of ''

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'' (''ITMA'') * John Hassall (illustrator) *

Macdonald Hastings Douglas Edward Macdonald "Mac" Hastings (6 October 1909 – 4 October 1982), known as Macdonald Hastings, was an English journalist, author and war correspondent. Early life and education Hastings was born in Camberwell, South London, the son o ...

* Jack Hawkins *

Will Hay William Thomson Hay (6 December 1888 – 18 April 1949) was an English comedian who wrote and acted in a schoolmaster sketch that later transferred to the screen, where he also played other authority figures with comic failings. His film '' O ...

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* Stanley Holloway * Tom Hood *

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(writer) * Sir Henry Irving * Alex James *

C.E.M. Joad Cyril Edwin Mitchinson Joad (12 August 1891 – 9 April 1953) was an English philosopher and broadcasting personality. He appeared on ''The Brains Trust'', a BBC Radio wartime discussion programme. He popularised philosophy and became a celebr ...

panellist on The Brains Trust * Evan Rowland Jones *

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* Mark Lemon (Editor of Punch) *

Sidney Kilner Levett-Yeats Sidney Kilner Levett-Yeats (c. 1858–1916), 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 India ...

* Lord Kitchener * David Low (

Colonel Blimp Colonel Blimp is a British cartoon character by cartoonist David Low, first drawn for Lord Beaverbrook's London ''Evening Standard'' in April 1934. Blimp is pompous, irascible, jingoistic, and stereotypically British, identifiable by his ...

) *

Arthur Lucan Arthur Lucan (born Arthur Towle; 16 September 1885 – 17 May 1954) was an English actor who performed the drag act Old Mother Riley on stage, radio and screen, with a series of comedy films from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Early life ...

, aka

Old Mother Riley Old Mother Riley is a fictional character portrayed from about 1934 to 1954 by Arthur Lucan and from 1954 to the 1980s by Roy Rolland as part of a British music hall act. Old Mother Riley (full comedy name: Daphne Bluebell Snowdrop Riley) is an I ...

* Phil May *

Malcolm McEachern Walter Malcolm Neil McEachern (1 April 1883 – 17 January 1945) was a noted Australian Bass (voice type), bass singing, singer who enjoyed a successful career in the United Kingdom, both as a concert soloist and as one half of the comic music ...

('Mr. Jetsam') *

Charles Millward Charles Millward (1830–1892) was an English musician, composer, actor, journal proprietor and monumental mason. Biography Charles Millward was a prolific composer of pantomimes and comic opera. He collaborated with W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) ...

* Arthur Moreland *

Benno Moiseiwitsch Benno Moiseiwitsch CBE (22 February 18909 April 1963) was a Russian-born British pianist. Biography Moiseiwitsch was born to Jewish parents in Odessa, Russian Empire (today part of Ukraine), and began his studies at age seven with Dmitry Klimo ...

Earl Mountbatten Earl Mountbatten of Burma is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 28 October 1947 for Rear Admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Viscount Mountbatten of Burma. The letters patent creating the title specified the following r ...

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* Prof. R. G. W. Norrish *

Norman O'Neill Norman Houston O'Neill (14 March 1875 – 3 March 1934) was an English composer and conductor of Irish background who specialised largely in works for the theatre. Life O'Neill was born at 16 Young Street in Kensington, London, the youngest son ...

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Bertram Prance Bertram Stanley Prance (5 December 1889 – 9 August 1958) was a British artist, poster artist and illustrator who worked as a cartoonist for ''Punch'' magazine among others. Early life Prance was born in Bideford in Devon in 1889, one of f ...

* John Proctor * Dr. Magnus Pyke *

Sergei Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

* Arnold Ridley *

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Carl Rosa Carl August Nicholas Rosa (22 March 184230 April 1889) was a German-born musical impresario best remembered for founding an English opera company known as the Carl Rosa Opera Company. He started his company in 1869 together with his wife, Euphro ...

*L. Arthur Rose * Dante Rossetti *

Rafael Sabatini Rafael Sabatini (29 April 1875 – 13 February 1950) was an Italian-born British writer of romance and adventure novels. He is best known for his worldwide bestsellers: ''The Sea Hawk'' (1915), ''Scaramouche'' (1921), ''Captain Blood'' (a.k.a ...

* George Augustus Sala *

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Charles Santley Sir Charles Santley (28 February 1834 – 22 September 1922) was an English opera and oratorio singer with a ''bravura''From the Italian verb ''bravare'', to show off. A florid, ostentatious style or a passage of music requiring technical skill ...

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* Captain Scott *

Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...

E. H. Shepard Ernest Howard Shepard OBE MC (10 December 1879 – 24 March 1976) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is known especially for illustrations of the anthropomorphic animal and soft toy characters in ''The Wind in the Willows'' and ''W ...

W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...

George Loraine Stampa George Loraine Stampa (29 November 1875 – 26 May 1951), also known as G. L. Stampa, was a British artist.Obituary in ''The Times'', ''Mr. G.L. Stampa'', 28 May 1951, p. 6Obituary in ''The Guardian, MR GEORGE L. STAMPA'', London, Monday, May 28 ...

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

Charles John Tibbits Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

*Sir

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* Peter Underwood * Stanley Unwin *Sir

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* Edgar Wallace *

Artemus Ward Charles Farrar Browne (April 26, 1834 – March 6, 1867) was an American humor writer, better known under his ''pen name, nom de plume'', Artemus Ward, which as a character, an illiterate rube with "Yankee common sense", Browne also played in pub ...

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James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

* Henry Williamson *

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*Sir P. G. Wodehouse * Wee Georgie Wood (music hall comedian) *

Henry Wood (conductor) Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...

Lewis Pinhorn Wood Lewis Pinhorn Wood (1848–1918) was a British landscapist and watercolourist, best known for his rural scenes of Sussex and Surrey. In the tradition of the Victorian era, his work depicted idyllic scenes of rural life across the home countie ...

(artist) * John Worsley * Sir Charles Wyndham * Oswald Yorke actor

The Savage Club Masonic Lodge

On 11 February 1882, the Prince of Wales (later

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

), attended a dinner in his honour at the Savage Club, before becoming a member. The Prince suggested a Masonic lodge, associated with the club, should be formed. The Savage Club Lodge, No. 2190 received its Warrant of Constitution on 18 December 1886, and was consecrated on 18 January 1887, with war correspondent Sir John Richard Sommers Vine as the first Master. The first treasurer was the actor Sir Henry Irving, followed by the actor

Edward O'Connor Terry Edward O'Connor Terry (10 March 1844 – 2 April 1912) was an English actor, who became one of the most influential actors and comedians of the Victorian era. Life and career Terry was born in London, allegedly the illegitimate son of Feargu ...

in 1888. This tendency towards the arts continued to be reflected in the Lodge's membership for many years. The club and lodge have never been formally connected except in name. Lodge membership is not restricted to Savage Club members; however, most who join still have a professional life in literature, art, drama, music, science or law.

Founders of the Savage Club Lodge

*Sir

Francis Wyatt Truscott Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott (24 November 1824 – 3 March 1895) was Lord Mayor of London in 1879–80, a member of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers, Worshipful Company of Stationers and the father of Sir George Wyatt Trusc ...

, PGW *John Maclean *Sir J. R. Somers Vine, PGD *Thomas Catling, PAGDC *Sir

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

*Archibald McNeill *W. E. Chapman, PAGDC *Raymond Tucker, PPGSB Berks. *Thomas Burnside *

Earl of Dunraven Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl (usually referred to as Earl of Dunraven) was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 5 February 1822 for Valentine Quin, 1st Viscount Mount-Earl. Quin had already been created a Baronet, of Adare ...

, PC KP *John Paige *Gustav von Franck

References

* Bradshaw, Percy V. (1958), ''Brother Savages and Guests'', W. H. Allen & Co.

External links

Official website of The Savage ClubOfficial website of The Savage Club LodgeArticle in the New York Times announcing the foundation of The Savage Club Lodge