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 Wandswor ...

area of

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 ...

, England. Founded in 1869, it has a Georgian-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 ...

in Harringay, 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 rule ...

(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 Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second chil ...

), 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 E ...

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 ha ...

, 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 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 o ...

were played at Hurlingham. Three teams entered: Hurlingham, Roehampton Club, 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 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, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was President of the club from its formation on 25 January 1955 unti ...

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 ma ...

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 for many years. The Croquet Association 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-gr ...

, skittles, 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, novelist and peer Jeffrey Archer, the actor Trevor Eve and his wife Sharon Maughan are all members of the Hurlingham Club. Past members include Walter Buckmaster, the '' Carry On'' actress Liz Fraser and Air Vice-Marshal Sir William Cushion. In 2011, Charles Nall-Cain, 3rd Baron 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