The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive private social and athletic club located in the

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

area of

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 ...

, England. Founded in 1869, it has a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

-style clubhouse set in of grounds. It is a member of the Association of London Clubs.

History

Early history

The Gun Club was formed in 1860 at the Hornsey Wood Tavern, which stood in what today is

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...

Harringay Harringay (pronounced ) is a district of north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is centred on the section of Green Lanes running between the New River, where it crosses Green Lanes by Finsbury Park, and Duckett's ...

, London. The creation of the park in 1867 forced a relocation and Frank Heathcote received the permission of Richard Naylor to promote live pigeon shooting at his Hurlingham estate. His next step was the formation of the Hurlingham Club for this purpose and "as an agreeable country resort". The club leased the estate from Naylor in 1869 and in 1874 acquired the land outright for £27,500. The pigeon today forms part of the club's crest. Until 1905, clouds of pigeons were released in the summer from an enclosure near what is now a tennis pavilion. The

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

(later King

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 ...

), an early patron, was a keen shot and his presence ensured the club's status and notability from the beginning. The club's most recent patron was

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from El ...

Polo

In 1873, the club published the rules of

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

, which are still followed by most of the world to this day. Polo was first played at the club on 6 June 1874. On 18 July 1878, the club along with

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

became the first to play a sports match under

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

s. In 1886, the club hosted the first international polo match between England and the United States. The

matches for the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, United Kingdom, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were ori ...

were played at Hurlingham. Three teams entered: Hurlingham,

Roehampton Club The Roehampton Club is a private members’ sports club in Roehampton in southwest London, England. It is set in of parkland, close to Richmond Park. Originally established in 1901 as an officers’ polo club, the Roehampton Club has sporting and ...

, and a combined British and Irish team. Roehampton won. The Westchester Cup was played at the club in 1900, 1902, 1909, 1921 and 1936. Before the Second World War, Hurlingham was the headquarters of British polo. The governing body of British polo is called the

Hurlingham Polo Association The Hurlingham Polo Association (HPA) is the governing body for polo in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and many other countries. The Federation of International Polo produces the International Rules of Polo through a coop ...

. However polo is no longer staged at Hurlingham after the size of the club was significantly reduced after the war when the polo fields were compulsorily purchased by the

Metropolitan Borough of Fulham The Metropolitan Borough of Fulham was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London between 1900 and 1965, when it was merged with the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith to form the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was a riverside ...

to build council housing (the Sulivan Court estate). The

Guards Polo Club The Guards Polo Club is an English polo club in Windsor, Berkshire. It was most closely associated with the British Royal Family. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was President of the club from its formation on 25 January 1955 until his death i ...

Windsor Great Park Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park of , including a deer park, to the south of the town of Windsor on the border of Berkshire and Surrey in England. It is adjacent to the private Home Park, which is nearer the castle. The park was, for many ...

has succeeded to the status of the leading British polo club.

Golf

There is a nine-hole par 3 golf course that is open in winter months.

Croquet

Hurlingham has been at the centre of world

croquet Croquet ( or ; french: croquet) is a sport that involves hitting wooden or plastic balls with a mallet through hoops (often called "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Its international governing body is the Wor ...

for many years. The

Croquet Association The Croquet Association, which was formed as the United All England Croquet Association in 1897, is the national governing body for the sport of croquet in England. Until 1974 the association was responsible for croquet in the whole of the Unit ...

had its headquarters in the club from 1959 to 2002. Top-ranking international competitions are regularly held on the lawns, at one time the finest in the country, though the CA headquarters have since relocated to the Cheltenham Croquet Club.

Other sports and events

Other sports include lawn tennis, cricket,

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

skittles Skittles may refer to: * Skittles (confectionery), a brand of fruit-flavor chewy candy, distributed by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company *'' Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical'' * Skittles (sport), the game from which bowling originated * Skittles (ch ...

, squash and swimming (with both indoor and outdoor pools) as well as fitness facilities and a gymnasium. Games such as bridge, backgammon and chess are popular indoor pursuits. The club has also hosted the Grand Prix Ball and the

Concours d'Elegance ''Concours d'Elegance'' ( French: ''concours d'élégance'') is a term of French origin that means a "competition of elegance" and refers to an event where prestigious vehicles are displayed and judged. It dates back to 17th-century France, whe ...

Membership

Members must be proposed and seconded by two current full members of the club. Since 2018, the waitlist for becoming a member has been closed, but children and spouses of current members are given preference when vacancies do arise. The club currently has around 13,000 members – of whom around 6,000 have full voting rights.

Notable members

Lord Fowler, Lord Temple-Morris,

Adam Raphael Adam Eliot Geoffrey Raphael (born 22 April 1938) is an English journalist and author. In the British Press Awards of 1973, he was named Journalist of the Year for his work on labour conditions in South Africa, and he has also been a presenter of ...

, novelist and peer

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...

, the actor

Trevor Eve Trevor John Eve (born 1 July 1951) is an English film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series ''Shoestring'' and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC televi ...

and his wife

Sharon Maughan Sharon Patricia Maughan (born 22 June 1950) is a British actress. Early life Sharon Mughan grew up in Kirkby, Lancashire, with her four siblings. She later changed her surname to "Maughan". Career Upon graduating from RADA, Maughan gained ...

are all members of the Hurlingham Club. Past members include

Walter Buckmaster Walter Selby Buckmaster (16 October 1872 – 30 October 1942) was a British polo player in the 1900 Summer Olympics and in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Biography He was born on 16 October 1872 in Wimbledon, Surrey, the son of Thomas Walter ...

, the ''

Carry On Carry On may refer to: * ''Carry On'' (franchise), a British comedy media franchise *Carry-on luggage or hand luggage, luggage that is carried into the passenger compartment * ''Carry On'' (film), a 1927 British silent film * ''Carry On'' (novel), ...

'' actress

Liz Fraser Elizabeth Joan Winch (14 August 1930 – 6 September 2018), known professionally as Liz Fraser, was a British film actress, best known for being cast in provocative comedy roles. Early life Fraser was born in Southwark, London. Her year of bi ...

and Air Vice-Marshal Sir William Cushion. In 2011,

Charles Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron Brocket Charles Ronald George Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron Brocket (born 12 February 1952), also known as Charlie Brocket, is a peer, business owner and television presenter from the United Kingdom. He was jailed for insurance fraud in 1996. Biography Brocket ...

was refused membership owing to his stint in prison.

Gallery

File:Hurlingham_Club,_September_2016_03.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 103.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 110.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 108.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 129.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 131.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 21.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 32.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 33.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 45.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 67.jpg File:Hurlingham Club, September 2016 78.jpg

Bibliography

* ''The Hurlingham Club, 1869–1953'', by Henry Taprell Dorling (1953) * ''Pigeons, Polo, and Other Pastimes: A History of the Hurlingham Club'', by Nigel Miskin (2000)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurlingham Club, The 1869 establishments in England History of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Venues of the 1908 Summer Olympics Gentlemen's clubs in London Fulham Olympic polo venues Polo clubs in the United Kingdom Sport in Hammersmith and Fulham Sports clubs established in 1869 Tennis venues in London