Former_London_home_of_the_Earls_of_Coventry_-_geograph

The St James's Club was a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

gentlemen's club which operated between 1857 and 1978. It was founded by two leading diplomats and its members continued to be largely diplomats and authors. It was first established in Charles Street and moved to 106

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Cour ...

by 1868. In the final quarter of the twentieth century many gentlemen’s clubs of London suffered from declining membership, and in 1978 the St James's Club merged with

Brooks's Club Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

and vacated its premises.

Foundation

The club was founded in 1857 by the Liberal

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a ...

the second Earl Granville and by the Marchese d'Azeglio, Minister of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

, after a dispute at the

Travellers' Club The Travellers Club is a private gentlemen's club situated at 106 Pall Mall in London, United Kingdom. It is the oldest of the surviving Pall Mall clubs and one of the most exclusive, having been established in 1819. It was described as "th ...

. Most members of the diplomatic corps resigned from the Travellers' and joined the new club. The club's members continued to be largely diplomats and authors, and it became the home of the Dilettanti Society. The name ''St James’s Club'' had previously been used by William Crockford as the official name of his gambling ‘hell’ in 1823 when he acquired the lease to 50 St James's Street. In the next two years he also acquired the leases to nos. 51-53, and when he pulled these down he transferred the Club to 106 Pall Mall. When the pioneer of photography William Fox Talbot (1800–1877) was elected in 1825 to the St James's Club it was already using the 106 Pall Mall premises, where it remained until late 1826. At about the time part of the Guards Club premises at 49 St James's Street collapsed on 9 November 1826 as a result of the rebuilding of Crockford's Club next door, Crockford evidently moved the Club out of 106 Pall Mall, as the Guards Club was able to move into it within a few weeks, and it remained there until it returned to 49 St James's Street in November 1827. (The Traveller's Club only moved from 49 Pall Mall into 106 after the old building had been pulled down in 1829 and its new premises, designed by Charles Barry, had been completed by July 1832.) Crockford's palatial premises for his St James's Club, taking up the entire site of 50-53 St James's Street, was opened in mid November 1827 and closed on 1 January 1846. According to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' article ''Club'', in 1902, the club was the smallest London gentlemen's club in terms of numbers -

Premises

The St James's Club was first established in Charles Street, just off the south corner of

Berkeley Square Berkeley Square is a garden square in the West End of London. It is one of the best known of the many squares in London, located in Mayfair in the City of Westminster. It was laid out in the mid 18th century by the architect William Ke ...

, London. By 1868, it had moved into its clubhouse at 106

which had previously been Coventry House,Walford, Edward
Mansions in Piccadilly
in ''Old and New London: Volume 4'' (1878), pp. 273–90 (accessed 10 January 2008) the London residence of the

Earls of Coventry Earl of Coventry is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation for the Villiers family was created in 1623 and took its name from the city of Coventry. It became extinct in 1687. A decade later, the second ...

since it had been bought by

George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry George William Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry (26 April 1722 – 3 September 1809), styled Viscount Deerhurst from 1744 to 1751, was a British peer and Tory politician. Early life Coventry was the second but eldest surviving son of William Co ...

from Sir Hugh Hunlocke in 1764, for 10,000 guineas. Coventry House had been built in 1761 on the site of an old

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

called 'The Greyhound Inn'. The five-bay structure is

neo-Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

in style, with alternating

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

s on the grand floor windows, over a rusticated ground floor. The

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

on the side façade lights a handsome staircase. There are ceilings by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

in rooms on the ''

piano nobile The ''piano nobile'' ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the ho ...

''. Thomas Cundy the Elder effected some remodelling, probably in 1810-11. According to Charles Dickens, Jr., writing in 1879: During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, the club was briefly the home of

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., an ...

, the creator of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...

. The club was described by Charles Graves, writing of London clubs in ''Leather Armchairs'' (1963), as "the only one in London, or possibly anywhere else in the world, which has a separate room – and a large one at that – devoted solely to backgammon".Graves, Charles, ''Leather Armchairs: The Chivas Regal Book of London Clubs'' (London, Cassell & Co. Ltd, 1963, with foreword by P. G. Wodehouse) The club was also well known as a London venue for chess matches.

End of the club

In the decades after the Second World War, the popularity of gentlemen's clubs of London gradually fell into decline. Facing financial problems, the club merged with

in 1978 and vacated its premises. The grand former club house at 106 Piccadilly later became the headquarters of The International House network of language schools, founded by John Haycraft. Since October 2007, it has been the London campus of

Limkokwing University of Creative Technology Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (also called Limkokwing and LUCT) is a private university that has a presence across Africa, Europe, and Asia. With its main campus in Malaysia, the university has over 30,000 students from more than ...

, a private intercontinental university based in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. From September 2017, it will be home to Eaton Square Upper School. The St James's Club and Hotel, opened in 2008 in Park Place, has been marketed to evoke the historic club. A St James's Club in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

has no connection.

Notable members

Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville, (11 May 181531 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secreta ...

(1815–1891), Liberal

Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler
at whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk (accessed 10 January 2008) *Vittorio Emanuelle Taparelli, Marchese d'Azeglio (1816–1890), Minister of

Sir Osbert Sitwell, 5th Baronet Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and li ...

(1892–1969), author *

Sir Sacheverell Sitwell, 6th Baronet Sir Sacheverell Reresby Sitwell, 6th Baronet, (; 15 November 1897 – 1 October 1988) was an English writer, best known as an art critic, music critic (his books on Mozart, Liszt, and Domenico Scarlatti are still consulted), and writer on a ...

(1897–1988), author and brother of Sir Osbert * Oliver St John Gogarty (1878–1957), Anglo-Irish author *

Sir Harry Verney, 4th Baronet Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Harry Calvert Williams Verney, 4th Baronet, DSO (7 June 1881 – 23 December 1974), was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician. Political career Verney stood as Liberal candidate for Basingstoke (UK Parliament c ...

MP (1881–1974), politician * Victor Hay, 21st Earl of Erroll (1870–1928), diplomat * Sir Murdoch Macdonald (1866–1957), politician and engineer * Alfred Clayton Cole (1854–1920) Governor of the Bank of England * Arthur Rowley, 8th Baron Langford (1870–1953), diplomat * Major Cav. Lawrence Edward Lotito (1921–2004), business owner, meteorologist *

Anatole de Grunwald Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald (25 December 1910 – 13 January 1967) was a Russian British film producer and screenwriter. Biography De Grunwald was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the son of a diplomat (Constantin de Grunwald) in the s ...

(1910–1967), film producer * Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill (1898–1956), cousin of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

(1903–1966), author * Sir Osbert Lancaster, cartoonist, stage designer and author"With an Eye to the Future" (Lancaster's memoirs) *

Harold Soref Harold Benjamin Soref (18 December 1916—14 March 1993) was a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom for Ormskirk, Lancashire, first elected at the 1970 general election. He subsequently lost the seat to Labour in ...

, politician and businessman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James's Club 1857 establishments in England 1978 disestablishments in England Gentlemen's clubs in London Defunct clubs and societies of the United Kingdom Defunct organisations based in London

Foundation

Premises

End of the club

Notable members

See also

References