The Albemarle Club was a

private members' club Private members' clubs are organisations which provide social and other facilities to members who typically pay a membership fee for access and use. Most are owned and controlled by their members even to this day. Some were originally gentlemen ...

at 13

Albemarle Street Albemarle Street is a street in Mayfair in central London, off Piccadilly. It has historic associations with George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, Lord Byron, whose publisher John Murray (publishing house), John Murray was based here, and Oscar ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, founded in 1874 and open to both men and women. It closed in 1941.

History

The club opened on 29 May 1874 with the aim to be available to both men and women. It formed under a committee formed of both sexes, under the presidency of James Stansfeld, Member of Parliament for Halifax. It had initially set the limit for members at 600, with some 350 elected two weeks prior to opening. The club came in for criticism because of its progressive view of women's rights, but also saw supporters join its ranks such as Edward Cortenay MP. However, it was not immediately popular and by January 1879, it had to raise the subscription fees in order to make up the shortfall due to the lack of numbers. A year later, it was said to have suffered from more withdrawals than new admissions and this was blamed on the poor quality of the food being served there. However, by the end of the decade, memberships had reached 600 and the club was considering moving to larger premises. Somdomite

On 28 February 1895, the club became notorious for being the location of the incident that began the first trial of

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, who was a member of the Albemarle. The

Marquess of Queensberry Marquess of Queensberry is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title has been held since its creation in 1682 by a member of the Douglas family. The Marquesses also held the title of Duke of Queensberry from 1684 to 1810, when it was i ...

burst into the club, demanding to see Wilde. His entry was blocked by the porter, so instead Queensberry left a calling card with the note "For Oscar Wilde, posing ". This resulted in Wilde's failed

libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

action ( ''Wilde v. Queensberry'') and subsequent criminal prosecution ( ''Regina v. Wilde''). At the turn of the 20th century, the club remained successful with vacancies only usually arising through the deaths of current members. Because of the club's prominent place in the proceedings, and its being named at the trial, it fell into disrepute. Seeking to distance itself, it moved into Ely House at 37 Dover Street in 1909. The site underwent a refit in 1910 to make the premises better suited to the club; it had previously been used as a residence for the

Bishop of Ely The Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire (with the exception of the Soke of Peterborough), together with ...

. The club closed in 1941.

References

{{coord , 51, 30, 32.8, N, 0, 8, 30.9, W, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Buildings and structures in Mayfair 1874 establishments in England History of the City of Westminster Defunct clubs and societies of the United Kingdom

History

See also

References