The New Melville Bridge Club is a

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions ...

club situated a little outside the centre of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. It was established in 1936 as the Melville Bridge Club and changed its name when it moved to its present premises in 2013. With about 300 members, it is one of the two largest bridge clubs in Edinburgh (the other being the Carlton Bridge Club), and is one of the largest in Scotland. The club has members ranging in ability from beginner to grand master. It is home to a significant number of Scotland's current and past internationalists. In the first World Mindsport Games in 2008 in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

all bar one of the open team and the majority of the ladies team came from the club. The club hosts pairs and teams duplicate events and also

rubber bridge Rubber bridge is a form of contract bridge played by two competing pairs using a particular method of scoring. A rubber is completed when one pair becomes first to win two ''games'', each ''game'' presenting a score of 100 or more contract points; ...

. The club is also extensively used for matches and events organised by the Eastern District of the Scottish Bridge Union - the governing body for the game in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Various national events are also staged in the club. Visitors are welcome to play at the club and details are on the web site. The club first rented property at 44 Melville Street in the Edinburgh New Town, one of the grander streets in Edinburgh named after

Viscount Melville Viscount Melville, of Melville in the County of Edinburgh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Origins The title was created on 24 December 1802 for the notable lawyer and politician Henry Dundas. He was created Baron Dunira, ...

. In 1950 the club moved to a four storey Victorian Town House at 9 Grosvenor Crescent. 9 Grosvenor Crescent was built in 1868 firstly as a private house later becoming a

maternity home A maternity home, or maternity housing program, is a form of supportive housing provided to pregnant women. Maternity housing programs support a woman in need of a stable home environment to reach her goals in a variety of areas including educatio ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and then part of the Edinburgh College of Domestic Science. During the excavations for the new building some Bronze Age swords were found some of which are now part of the collection in the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened in ...

. In the summer of 2013, the club again moved premises to its current location at 1 Pinkhill in

Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

. At the same time, the club attained the status of a

charitable organization A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ...

and began trading under the name New Melville Bridge Club Ltd. A bridge club of the same name exists in the

City of Melville The City of Melville is a local government area in the southern suburbs of the Western Australian capital city of Perth, east of the port city of Fremantle and about south of Perth's central business district. The City covers an area of ...

in Australia.

References

External links

Homepage of the New Melville Bridge Club
1936 establishments in Scotland Contract bridge clubs Sports organizations established in 1936 Contract bridge in the United Kingdom Sports clubs and teams in Edinburgh {{contract-bridge-stub