The Guards Club, established in 1810, was a London Gentlemen's club for officers of the

Guards Division The Guards Division is an administrative unit of the British Army responsible for the training and administration of the regiments of Foot Guards and the London Guards reserve battalion. The Guards Division is responsible for providing two b ...

, originally defined by the club as being the Coldstream Guards, Grenadier Guards or Scots Guards, traditionally the most socially elite section of the British Army. Officers of the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

and Irish Guards were not able to join until the second half of the 20th century. Its clubhouse at 70 Pall Mall was the first to be built on that street, which later became noted for its high concentration of clubs; earlier clubs had been focused on the adjoining

St James's Street St James's Street is the principal street in the district of St James's, central London. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall. The main gatehouse of the Palace is at the southern end of the road; in the 17th centur ...

.Cavalry and Guards Club: A Brief History of the Building and the Club
accessed 9 December 2021 Stephen Hoare states that: "Three Guards officers, Captain

Rees Howell Gronow Rees Howell Gronow (179422 November 1865), "Captain Gronow", was a Welsh Grenadier Guards officer, an unsuccessful parliamentarian, a dandy and a writer of celebrated reminiscences. Origins and education He was the eldest son of William Grono ...

, Jack Talbot and that well-known acrobatic dandy Colonel Dan MacKinnon established the Guards Club at the St James's Coffee-House at number 88 St James's Street opposite Lock's the hatter. The link between coffee-houses and the club formation remained as strong as it was a century earlier. The establishment provided exactly the kind of relaxing and informal atmosphere where officers home on leave or waiting to be posted could enjoy decent hospitality. In fact, not long afterwards St James's Coffee-House became the St James's Club in 1840. Meanwhile, the Guards Club acquired premises at 49 St. James's Street, opposite Whites, finally moving to a newly commissioned clubhouse at 70 Pall Mall in 1849".Hoare, Stephen (2019). ''Palaces of Power: The Birth and Evolution of London’s Clubland.'' History Press.
/ref> In 1975 it gave up its premises and merged with the

Cavalry Club The Cavalry Club was a London gentlemen's club, which was established in 1890. In 1975, it merged with the Guards' Club, and became the Cavalry and Guards Club, which still exists today. When the Cavalry Club first occupied the site, on Piccadi ...

in nearby

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 Court, ...

to form the present-day Cavalry and Guards Club.

References

See also