The University Women's Club, originally the University Club for Ladies, is a British private members club founded in 1886. As the popular

gentlemen's clubs A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally established by males from Britain's upper classes starting in the 17th century. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the ...

did not accept any women as members, its creation was intended to provide an equivalent club accessible to women. By its own definition, it is a club for "graduate and professional women of varied backgrounds and interests". Members include lawyers, scientists, writers and musicians, as well as businesswomen. The club house is located at 2 Audley Square, on

South Audley Street South Audley Street is a major shopping street in Mayfair, London.'South Audley Street: Introduction', in Survey of London: Volume 40, the Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 2 (The Buildings), ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1980), pp. 290–291. Bri ...

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, London.

History

The first meeting of the founders of the University Women's Club was held in 32 Portland Place at the home of Gertrude Jackson of

Girton College Girton College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college at Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college status by the univ ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

on Saturday, 5 May 1883. It was attended by approximately 60 ladies, predominantly from London and Cambridge, and the chair was taken by another Girtonian, Miss Louisa (later Dame Louisa) Lumsden. On 17 July 1886, the membership of the "Association", as it had been called, reached their target number of 200 and the "University Club for Ladies" was officially founded. The members set out to locate a suitable premises and, in January 1887, it opened its doors on the 2nd and 3rd floors at 31

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

. The primary requirements for admittance to the club were, initially, that applicants were graduates of any University or fully qualified medical practitioners. Considering that there were very few Universities that would admit women to degrees at this time, this was extended to include those with 1 year's residence at Oxford or Cambridge in the women's Halls or Colleges, a degree course at any University followed as far as the first examinations and, for students at the London School of Medicine for Women, a pass in the first professional examination of any Medical Corporation. This, unfortunately, left out the real pioneers who had led the charge to make higher education possible for women but very few of whom had any qualifications. The Club therefore extended an invitation to "ladies who had taken a prominent part in the education of women" to join as "special members", which meant that among the early members were the first principals of nearly all the women's Colleges of Oxford, Cambridge and London. A year later this allowance was amended to "ladies who have distinguished themselves in Art, Science, Literature or Philanthropy, or who have taken a prominent part in the promotion of education". In 1899, a new category of membership, "Associate members", was introduced to extend the requirements beyond strictly academic criteria, leading to the entrance of Henrietta Jex-Blake, niece of the medical pioneer Sophie Jex-Blake. These criteria were later defined as women who "although not academically qualified for election, are, in the opinion of the committee, of equivalent standing" and then further amended to women "whose qualifications are deemed to be of an appropriate nature". The club's first House Committee, composed of two honorary Officers (Secretary and Treasurer) and 12 members. Their names were: *Mrs Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson, M.D., London *Mrs Bryant, London *Miss J. E. Case, Girton *Mrs Dowson, London School of Medicine *Miss MacDonald, London School of Medicine *Mrs MacLehose, Newnham *Miss Armstead, Girton *Miss Benson, L.M.H. *Mrs Verrall, Newnham *Miss Welsh, Girton *Miss F. C. Cobbe,

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

*Mrs Nevile Lubbock, Girton *Hon Secretary: Miss G. E. M. Jackson, Girton – who continued to play a large role in the running of the club, both in a direct then more advisory capacity, until her death in September 1920. *Hon. Treasurer: Miss Winkworth, Newnham (Mrs Lamb) The Club remained in Bond Street for some years, but soon enough the rooms became too small to serve the purposes of the club, with Miss Jackson keen that the club also provide bedrooms for its members. Adding to this the plumbing problems of 32

the committee began its search for new accommodations, looking first at Princes Street before signing the lease for 47

Maddox Street Maddox Street is a street in the Mayfair area of London, extending from Regent Street to St George's, Hanover Square. History Maddox Street was completed in 1720. It was named after Sir Benjamin Maddox who owned the Millfield estate on which ...

(with its one bedroom) and moving into the new premises in February 1894. They remained in Maddox Street for only 5 years, after looking at property in Grosvenor Street and

Conduit Street Conduit Street is a street in Mayfair, London. It connects Bond Street to Regent Street. History The street was first developed in the early 18th century on the Conduit Mead Estate, which the Corporation of London had owned since the 15th centu ...

The Club then turned their eyes to George Street, Hanover Square. The club had two successive addresses in George Street, the first at Number 32 which was still too small for their needs and the desire for larger quarters pushed the move to Number 4 in 1904, which had the benefit of more bedrooms and even a Smoking Room, where they remained until 1921. By 1913, membership had grown to 797 members. The club now has almost 1,000 members. By 1919, the club had grown to the extent that larger premises were again considered. With "young persons of Newnham" looking for rooms to establish their own club and club membership having risen to 900, a meeting was called to discuss another move in the interests of the club, finally settling that when membership reached beyond 950 the matter be reviewed again. With the growth of the club to 945 members in 1920, new premises came under consideration. 5

Cavendish Square Cavendish Square is a public square, public garden square in Marylebone in the West End of London. It has a double-helix underground commercial car park. Its northern road forms ends of four streets: of Wigmore Street that runs to Portman Square ...

was seriously considered, but whilst members were being consulted the property was purchased for the Spanish Club. Premises in Lower Seymour Street and 13 Great Stanhope Street were also considered. Throughout 1920 a number of further properties were viewed, including some in

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to the BBC's headquarters Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Insti ...

Stratford Place Stratford Place is a small road in London, off Oxford Street, opposite Bond Street underground station. The road is a cul-de-sac. Stratford House Stratford House was built as the London town house of the Stratford family between 1770 and 177 ...

, Upper Berkeley Street,

Grosvenor Place Grosvenor Place is a street in Belgravia, London, running from Hyde Park Corner down the west side of Buckingham Palace gardens, and joining lower Grosvenor Place where there are some cafes and restaurants. It joins Grosvenor Gardens to the ...

and

Manchester Square Manchester Square is an 18th-century garden square in Marylebone, central London. Centred north of Oxford Street it measures internally north-to-south, and across. It is a small Georgian square, predominantly 1770s-designed. Construction ...

, until, finally, an Extraordinary General Meeting was called by the Committee on 21 April 1921 to approve the purchase of 2 Audley Square, inherited by Flora Russell in 1892 after the death of her father, then ratified in the names of B. A. Clough, H. F. Cohen and A. G. E. Carthew. It was also at this time that the name of the club was changed from the "University Club for Ladies", and so, with the move to Audley Square, the club also became the "University Women's Club".

2 Audley Square

The house was built by

Lord Arthur Russell Lord Arthur John Edward Russell (13 June 1825 – 4 April 1892) was a British Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician. Early life He was born in London on 13 June 1825. He was the second of three sons of Major-General Lord George William ...

in about 1880 to house his large family: the architect was T. H. Wyatt. The terrace and garden are now planted with green, white and violet plants, the colours associated with the

Suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

movement. A large

London plane The London plane, or sometimes hybrid plane, ''Platanus'' × ''hispanica'', is a tree in the genus ''Platanus''. It is often known by the Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Platanus'' × ''acerifolia'', a later name. It is a Hybrid (biology ...

tree stands in the middle of the garden, probably originally planted in the grounds of Chesterfield House. The property was purchased for £22,500, with a £15,000 mortgage to the Misses Russell. Within 2 months a Debenture issue had already raised £14,000 from the members and by 1924 the balance to the Misses Russell had been cleared, with the help of a loan of £10,00 from the Alliance Assurance Company. By 1932, the new mortgage had been paid off, and the club house was declared to be an unencumbered freehold, held in trust for the club, on behalf of the debenture holders.

The club today

Today, the University Women's Club is the only women's club in the UK to be wholly owned and managed by its members. Its event schedule includes many dinners and other social events. In March 2014,

Fiona Lazareff Fiona Scott Lazareff is an activist and has created various campaigns to support social justice and women's entrepreneurship in technology. Career Lazareff began her career working as an economist for Carr Sebag where she launched “Internatio ...

, a member of the committee, launched the annual Techpreneurs Awards on behalf of the club. The club has close ties with the

East India Club The East India Club is a gentlemen's club founded in 1849 and situated at 16, St James's Square in London. The full title of the club is East India, Devonshire Club, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools Club, Public Schools' Club due to mergers ...

, which occasionally co-organises functions for members of both clubs. Members pay an initial joining fee and an annual subscription. Fees vary according to location and demographics in order to attract a wide range of members. Referral also plays a part: the club's website states "All prospective members must be proposed and seconded by a member in good standing."

Notable members

* Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson * Gail Horton Calmerton * Caroline Playne * Lady Stanley of Alderley *

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir '' Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the Fir ...

* Madame Bodichon * Louisa Lumsden * Miss Dorothea Beale * Miss Emily Davies * Miss Francis Mary Buss * Henrietta Jex-Blake * Hazel Hunkins-Hallinan * Dame Bertha Phillpotts *

Blanche Athena Clough Blanche Athena Clough (1861–1960) was a British classicist and educational administrator who was the Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge (1920–1923). Biography Clough came up to Newnham College, Cambridge in 1884 to read Classics, some 1 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:University Women's Club 1883 establishments in England Buildings and structures in Mayfair Gentlemen's clubs in London Organizations established in 1883 Women in London Women's clubs Women's organisations based in England