place

Public Schools Club

1920 establishments in EnglandGentlemen's clubs in London
100 Piccadilly, London
100 Piccadilly, London

The Public Schools Club is a former London gentlemen's club. The Public Schools Club was founded in October 1863 at 17 St James's Place, London. As outlined in the British journal The Athenaeum, from its foundation, the club restricted its membership to former pupils of Charterhouse School, Eton College, Harrow School, Rugby School, Shrewsbury School, Oundle School, Westminster School and Winchester College.By 1885, a "Public Schools Club" was advertising for "suitable premises" in London in which to re-establish their establishment.The club was re-founded in 1909, based at number 13 Albemarle Street which until very recently had been the home of the Albemarle Club. The Public Schools Club disbanded during World War I as a result of the heavy casualties sustained among its membership.By 1910, the alpine sports club which had been founded c.1905 as the Winter Sports Club by Sir Henry Lunn was incorporated as the Public Schools Alpine Sports Club and under the control of “Alpine Sports, Ltd.”. In 1910, the club advertised that it "devoted its attention to Norway as a field for winter sports". Many British gentlemen's sports clubs such as the Yorkshire Ramblers' Club were interested in the activities of Sir Henry Lunn and his son Sir Arnold Lunn.After the war the club was re-founded in 1920 in Curzon Street, Mayfair. A 1937 road-widening scheme (linked to the 1935 road alterations which necessitated demolishing half of Lansdowne House and creating the Lansdowne Club) forced the club out of its premises, and it moved to 100 Piccadilly, where it remained for the rest of its existence. Suffering from dwindling membership, the club closed in 1972, merging with the East India Club, and moving to the East India's premises in St James's Square. However, the merger has proved to be something of a takeover, as the East India naturally had no remaining members from the long-defunct East India Company, and the Public Schools Club has imported a steady stream of members. Indeed, the East India currently claims some 40% of its members come under the 'J7' rule imported from the Public Schools Club, whereby students leaving their public school at 18 pay a £360 (as of 2014) fee in exchange for membership until the age of 25.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Public Schools Club (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Public Schools Club
Piccadilly, City of Westminster Mayfair

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 51.505558333333 ° E -0.14556388888889 °
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Address

Piccadilly 100
W1J 7NG City of Westminster, Mayfair
England, United Kingdom
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100 Piccadilly, London
100 Piccadilly, London
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Badminton Club
Badminton Club

The Badminton Club is a former London gentlemen's club. According to the 8th Duke of Beaufort in his book Driving (1889), the club was founded in 1875 at 100 Piccadilly by a sporting doctor called Hurman. According to the Duke, “this was a thorough coaching establishment, having all the year round a coach, a brake, a team or two... capital stabling and coach-houses, as well as chambers and bedrooms kept for the use of members”.The club was named after Badminton House, the country seat of the Dukes of Beaufort. The 10th Duke was Master of the Horse (1936–1978) to three British monarchs, King Edward VIII, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth II. Since 1949, Badminton House has hosted the prestigious annual Badminton Horse Trials, a three-day competition event. In 1883, the club also acquired the adjacent premises at 98 and 99 Piccadilly and a new clubhouse was built on the site, designed by the architect Robert William Edis. The principal internal feature was the “Flower Court”, approached through the narrow entrance from Piccadilly. The club flourished so long as the horse remained supreme in London but, by the late 1930s, driving was only the pastime of a few. The club had lost its raison d’etre and decided to disband in 1938. At about that time the Public Schools Club was on the lookout for larger premises and they took over the clubhouse immediately. The clubhouse was finally closed in 1972, when the Public Schools Club merged with the East India Club in St James's Square, and was demolished a few years later. The last surviving parts of the clubhouse are the war memorial plaques for members of the Public Schools Club from World War I and World War II and the Badminton Club’s plaque for World War I, which are still preserved at the East India Club.