Lansdowne Club

The Lansdowne Club is a private members' club in London, England occupying a large building, notable in its own right. It was established in 1935 and occupies most of 9 Fitzmaurice Place, a street connecting Berkeley Square to Curzon Street in Mayfair.

History

The club formed later than many London clubs, and it permitted women from its inception. It has always had a relatively young membership, with an active social scene. The building's main Adam and otherwise 1930s Art Deco interiors, with some authentic frontages, mean it has been Grade II* listed since its first assessment in 1970. This is the mid-category of listed building, a statutory scheme of protection which has a pyramidal hierarchy.

In 1930, Westminster City Council decided to improve access to Berkeley Square by creating an extra road into the square. This was accomplished by demolishing half of the main range of Lansdowne House, which stood since the 1760s. What remained was given a new frontage and a newly renovated interior, and became the Lansdowne Club. The 'First Drawing Room' was thus taken to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the 'Dining Room' exists in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

The venue was founded as a 'social, residential and athletic Club for members of social standing' and their families, and unlike many rivals, it had no vocational, artistic, or political 'theme'. Its facilities include a ballroom, a terrace, a fencing Salle and a basement gym with Art Deco swimming pool. Internally architecture is extremely unusual; some is modern for its type, being significantly Art Deco, as opposed to Georgian/Victorian/Edwardian styles. The Adam Room and other parts of the club on the ground floor are Georgian though.

The building underwent extensive renovation and further modernisation in 2000.^[1] Resident fencing coach, Prof. Wojciechowski, is official coach of the British Olympic squad.

Members past and present

• Richard Dimbleby^[2]
• Beryl Cook
• John Bly
• Luke Fildes (fencer)
• Ian Campbell-Gray
• Loyd Grossman
• James Mason
• Charles Arnold-Baker
• Terry Beddard
• Mary Glen-Haig
• Desmond Flower, 10th Viscount Ashbrook
• Archibald Craig
• Frederick Ramon de Bertodano y Wilson, 8th Marquis del Moral
• Bill Hoskyns
• Baroness Butler-Sloss
• Peter Alliss
• John Emrys Lloyd
• Nick Halsted
• Paul Smith (fashion designer)
• Bob Thian
• Ermine, Lady Elibank (née Aspinwall widow of Gideon Oliphant-Murray, 2nd Viscount Elibank)^[3]
• Elizabeth Blackadder
• Allan Jay^[4]
• Merlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley
• Joachim von Ribbentrop (before the outbreak of World War II)^[2]
• Tim Richardson (writer)
• Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and Grace Kelly were honorary members, whose son Albert II, Prince of Monaco took fencing lessons there ^[2]

Chairmen

• 1935–40 Dr. F. Howard Humphies
• 1940–54 Sir Frederick Arnold-Baker
• 1954–57 Clarence Napier Bruce, 3rd Baron Aberdare
• 1957 (interim) Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare
• 1957–63 P.D. Krolik esq
• 1963–67 Major J. Fletcher
• 1967–88 C.G. Findlay esq
• 1988–97 J.R.M. Keatley esq
• 1998–2006 J Moore
• 2006–10 D. Whitehouse esq
• 2010–14 C. Powell esq
• 2014–15 Dr D Prince
• 2015–18 D. Whitehouse esq
• 2018–19 J. North esq
• 2019–20 M. Dixon esq
• 2020– K. Hollender esq

Past fencing masters

Fencing was established as part of the Lansdowne Club in November 1935 by a group of fencers who moved there from the Royal Automobile Club^[2] and the Club boasts a historic salle d'armes that was featured in Darling (1965 film). Over the years the fencing masters have included:

• Monsieur Vollands
• Professor Foucheyrand with assistant coach Mr Richards
• Alfred Parkins
• John Parkins
• Jeremy Parkins
• Ziemowit Wojciechowski
• Steven Paul (fencer)
• Pierre Harper

See also

• List of London's gentlemen's clubs

Further reading

• Perry, Maria (2003). The House in Berkeley Square: A History of the Lansdowne Club. London: Lansdowne Club. ISBN 978-0954607500.
• Thévoz, Seth Alexander (2022). Behind Closed Doors: The Secret Life of London Private Members' Clubs. London: Robinson/Little, Brown. ISBN 978-1-47214-646-5.

References

External links

• Media related to Lansdowne Club at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

51°30′30″N 0°08′42″W / 51.5083°N 0.1451°W / 51.5083; -0.1451