Watier's Club was a
gentlemen's Club established in 1807 and disbanded in 1819. It was located at 81 Piccadilly on the corner of Bolton Street in west
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 ...
.
Prior to its occupation as a gaming hall and restaurant, it was a private residence, and the headquarters of a small singing club. 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 ...
suggested the creation of a club using his new chef, Jean-Baptiste Watier, whom the club was named after. Amongst the members in the early days were Henry Mildmay,
Baron Alvanley
Baron Alvanley, of Alvanley in the County Palatine of Chester, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 22 May 1801 for Sir Richard Arden, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas and former Master of the Rolls.Edmund Lod ...
,
Beau Brummell and Henry Pierrepont.
It was at the behest of the Prince Regent, (later King
George IV
George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...
), that Brummell was named the club's president. As one biographer put it,
The game "Macao", referenced above, was a precursor of the French card game,
baccarat
Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...
.
Parlett, David
David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association.
His published works include many po ...
Related face-count games
at David Parlett Gourmet Games. Retrieved 24 January 2016. The club carried the affectionate nickname, "The Dandies Club," which was bestowed by Lord Byron who remarked, "I like the dandies, they were always very civil to me."
The club had a short life, eventually closing in 1819. It had become the haven for 'blackguards' and fortunes were being lost to a 'common bank' that had been set up by a group of members and guaranteed ruin for others.
References
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{{Coord, 51, 30, 23.52, N, 0, 8, 36.52, W, scale:1563_region:GB, display=title
Regency London
Gentlemen's clubs in London