The Oriental Club in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

is an exclusive Private Members’ Club established in 1824 Charles Graves describes it as fine in quality as

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is the oldest gentleman's club in London. It moved to its current premises on St James's Street in 1778. Status White's is the oldes ...

but with the space of infinitely larger clubs. It is located in

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 1776 ...

, near

Oxford Street Oxford Street is a major road in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, running from Tottenham Court Road to Marble Arch via Oxford Circus. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, with around half a million daily visitors, and ...

and

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 ...

Foundation

''The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany'' reported in its April 1824, issue:The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany for April 1824, p. 473
online at books.google.com (accessed 28 January 2008) The founders included the Duke of Wellington and General Sir John Malcolm,_A Quiet Oasis in the Centre of London
– main page of the Oriental Club's official web site (accessed 27 January 2008) and in 1824 all the

Presidencies and Provinces of British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

were still controlled by the

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

History and membership

The early years of the club, from 1824 to 1858, are detailed in a book by Stephen Wheeler published in 1925, which contains a paragraph on each member of the club of that period.Wheeler, Stephen (ed.), ''Annals of the Oriental Club, 1824–1858'' (London, The Arden Press, 1925, xvi + 201pp) James Grant said of the club in ''The Great Metropolis'' (1837):Grant, James, ''The Great Metropolis'' (1837), pp. 136–137, online a
The Great Metropolis By James Grant
at books.google.com (accessed 28 January 2008) The old Smoking Room is adorned with an elaborate ram's head snuff box complete with snuff rake and spoons, though most members have forgotten its original function. On 29 July 1844, two heroes of the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession di ...

, Sir William Nott and Sir Robert Sale, were elected as members of the club by the Committee as an "extraordinary tribute of respect and anticipating the unanimous sentiment of the Club".Forrest, ''op. cit.'' p. 66 On 12 January 1846, a special meeting at the club in Hanover Square presided over by

George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, (25 August 1784 – 1 January 1849) was an English Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served as Governor-General of India between 1836 and 1842 ...

, a former

Governor-General of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

, paid a public tribute to the dying

Charles Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe, (30 January 1785 – 5 September 1846), known as Sir Charles Metcalfe, Bt between 1822 and 1845, was a British colonial administrator. He held appointments including acting Governor-General o ...

, which Sir James Weir Hogg described as "a wreath upon his bier".Metcalfe, Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, ''The Life and Correspondence of Charles, Lord Metcalfe'' (1858) pp 429–431 With the formation of the East India Club in 1849, the link with the Honourable East India Company began to decline. In 1850, Peter Cunningham wrote in his ''Hand-Book of London'': In 1861, the club's ''Chef de cuisine'', Richard Terry, published his book ''Indian Cookery'', stating that his recipes were "gathered, not only from my own knowledge of cookery, but from Native Cooks". Charles Dickens Jr. reported in ''Dickens's Dictionary of London'' (1879): Charles Dickens Jr., ''Dickens's Dictionary of London'' (1879) quoted a
Victorian London – Directories – ''Dickens's Dictionary of London'', by Charles Dickens Jr., 1879 – "Oriental Club"
(accessed 27 January 2008) Dickens appears to have been quoting the club's own ''Rules and Regulations''; that phrase appears there in 1889, when the total number of members was limited to eight hundred. When

Lytton Strachey Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of '' Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...

joined the club in 1922, at the age of forty-two, he wrote to

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer, considered one of the most important modernist 20th-century authors and a pioneer in the use of stream of consciousness as a narrative device. Woolf was born ...

Stephen Wheeler's 1925 book ''Annals of the Oriental Club, 1824–1858'' also contains a list of the members of the club in the year 1924, with their years of election and their places of residence. In 1927, R. A. Rye wrote of the club's library – "The library of the Oriental Club ... contains about 4,700 volumes, mostly on oriental subjects", while in 1928 Louis Napoleon Parker mentioned in his autobiography "... the bald and venerable heads of the members of the Oriental Club, perpetually reading ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

''. In 1934, the novelist Alec Waugh wrote of Another writer recalling the club in the 1970s says:

Club houses

In its monthly issue for June 1824, '' The Asiatic Journal'' reported that "The Oriental Club expect to open their house, No. 16, Lower Grosvenor Street, early in June. The Members, in the mean time, are requested to send their names to the Secretary as above, and to pay their admission fee and first year's subscription to the bankers, Messrs Martin, Call and Co., Bond Street."''The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies'' dated June 1824, p. 682, online a
The Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British India and Its Dependencies
(accessed 28 January 2008) The club's first purpose-built club house, in Hanover Square, was constructed in 1827–1828 and designed by

Philip Wyatt Philip William Wyatt (5 March 1785 – 1835) was an English architect and member of the Wyatt family. He was the youngest son of the architect James Wyatt and his wife Rachel (Lunn) Wyatt, and a nephew of Samuel Wyatt, cousin to Sir Jeffry Wyatvil ...

and his brother

Benjamin Dean Wyatt Benjamin Dean Wyatt (1775–1852) was an English architect, part of the Wyatt family. Early life He was the son and pupil of the architect James Wyatt, and the brother of Matthew Cotes Wyatt. Before setting up as an architect in 1809, he joine ...

. The construction of additions to the Clubhouse that were designed by

Decimus Burton Decimus Burton (30 September 1800 – 14 December 1881) was one of the foremost English architects and landscapers of the 19th century. He was the foremost Victorian architect in the Roman revival, Greek revival, Georgian neoclassical and R ...

, in 1853, was superintended, when eventually commenced, in 1871, by his nephew

Henry Marley Burton Captain Henry Marley Burton (1821–1880) was a British architect. Family He was the eldest illegitimate son of the gunpowder manufacturer William Ford Burton (1784 – 1856) and the grandson of the pre-eminent London property developer James B ...

Edward Walford Edward Walford (1823–1897) was a British magazine editor and a compiler of educational, biographical, genealogical and touristic works, perhaps best known for his 6 Volumes of ''Old and New London'' (the first two of which were written by Walt ...

, in his ''Old and New London'' (Volume 4, 1878) wrote of this building The club remained in Hanover Square until 1961. The club house there was in use for the last time on 30 November 1961.Forrest, Denys Mostyn, ''The Oriental: Life Story of a West End Club'' (London, Batsford, 1968, 240 pp) Early in 1962, the club moved into its present club house, Stratford House in

, just off

, London W1C, having bought the property for conversion in 1960.About and History
at Oriental Club web site (accessed 28 January 2008) The central range of Stratford House was designed by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his ...

and was built between 1770 and 1776 for

Edward Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough Edward Augustus Stratford, 2nd Earl of Aldborough, FRS (1736 – 2 January 1801) of Belan house, styled The Honourable from 1763 to 1777 and Viscount Amiens in the latter year, was an Irish peer, Whig politician, and member of the Noble House ...

, who paid £4,000 for the site. It had previously been the location of the

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

Banqueting House In English architecture, mainly from the Tudor period onwards, a banqueting house is a separate pavilion-like building reached through the gardens from the main residence, whose use is purely for entertaining, especially eating. Or it may be b ...

, built in 1565. The house remained in the Stratford family until 1832.Stratford, Gerald H. ''The Stratfords'', (Chapter 13, Belan, Aldborough, and Stratford House) online a
Chapter 13, Belan, Aldborough, and Stratford House
(accessed 27 January 2008) It belonged briefly to Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich, a son of

Tsar Nicholas I of Russia , house = Romanov-Holstein-Gottorp , father = Paul I of Russia , mother = Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg) , birth_date = , birth_place = Gatchina Palace, Gatchina, Russian Empire , death_date = ...

.AN OASIS IN LONDON'S WEST END
at asia-major.com (accessed 27 January 2008) The house was little altered until 1894, when its then owner, Murray Guthrie, added a second storey to the east and west wings and a colonnade in front. In 1903, a new owner, the Liberal politician Sir Edward Colebrook, later Lord Colebrooke, reconstructed the Library to an Adam design. In 1908, Lord Derby bought a lease and began more alterations, removing the colonnade and adding a third storey to both wings. He took out the original bifurcated staircase (replacing it with a less elegant single one), demolished the stables and built a Banqueting Hall with a grand ballroom above. In 1960, the Club began to convert its new property. The ballroom was turned into two floors of new bedrooms, further lifts were added, and the banqueting hall was divided into a dining room and other rooms. The club now has a main drawing room, as well as others, a members' bar, a library and an ante-room, a billiards room, an internet suite and business room, and two (non)smoking rooms, as well as a dining room and 32 bedrooms. Stratford House is a Grade I

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...

. The flag flying above the club house bears an

Indian elephant The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of four extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild pop ...

, which is the badge of the club.

Art collection

The club possesses a fine collection of paintings, including many early portraits of Britons in India such as

Warren Hastings Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first Governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first Governor-General ...

. The Bar is overlooked by a painting of

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He i ...

, the Tiger of

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude o ...

(1750–1799). There are portraits of the club's principal founders, the first Duke of Wellington (by H. W. Pickersgill) and Sir John Malcolm (by

Samuel Lane Samuel Lane (1780–1859) was an English portrait-painter. Life The son of Samuel and Elizabeth Lane, he was born at King's Lynn on 26 July 1780. After a childhood accident he became deaf and partially dumb. He studied under Joseph Farington ...

). Other portraits include

Lord Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

(1738–1805), also by Samuel Lane, Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy, 1st Baronet (1783–1859), by

John Smart John Smart (1 May 1741 – 1 May 1811), was an English painter of portrait miniatures. He was a contemporary of Richard Cosway, George Engleheart, William Wood and Richard Crosse. Biography Smart was born in Norfolk, but not much is known o ...

, Clive of India (1725–1774) by

Nathaniel Dance-Holland Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, 1st Baronet (8 May 1735 – 15 October 1811) was an English portrait painter and later a politician. Early life The third son of architect George Dance the Elder, Dance (he added the 'Holland' suffix later in li ...

, Major-General Stringer Lawrence by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Major General Sir Thomas Munro, 1st Baronet (1761–1827), by

Ramsay Richard Reinagle Ramsay Richard Reinagle (19 March 1775 – 17 November 1862) was an English portrait, landscape, and animal painter, and son of Philip Reinagle. Biography Ramsay Richard Reinagle was a pupil of his father Philip Reinagle, whose style he foll ...

, Edward Stratford, second

Earl of Aldborough Earl of Aldborough, of the Palatinate of Upper Ormond, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the Stratford family. It was created on 9 February 1777, along with the courtesy title of Viscount Amiens, for John Stratford, 1st Viscount Ald ...

(died 1801) by Mather Brown, Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt (c. 1769–1849) and General Sir William Nott, both by

Thomas Brigstocke Thomas Brigstocke (1809 – 11 March 1881) was a Welsh portrait painter. He studied art in London, and then spent eight years in Italy before returning to England. In the 1840s he visited Egypt, where he painted portraits of Mohammed Ali Pasha and ...

Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, (14 January 18453 June 1927), was a British statesman who served successively as Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War and Secretary of State f ...

(1845–1927) by Sydney P. Kenrick after

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

, Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Strachey (1817–1908) by Lowes Dickinson (the bequest of his widow, Jane Maria Strachey),

by F. R. Say, Thomas Snodgrass by an unknown artist, and a bust of the first Lord Lake.

President of the Club

*1824–1852:

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

(Honorary President) After Wellington's death in 1852, no further Presidents were appointed.

Chairmen of the Committee

*1837: Sir Pulteney Malcolm GCB RN (brother of the founder, Sir John Malcolm) *1843: Major-General Sir J. L. Lushington *1918: C. A. MacDonald *1932–1933: Sir Reginald MantForrest, ''op. cit.'', p. 150 *1951: Sir Charles Innes (Governor of

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, 1927–1932) *1954 and 1958–1962: Sir Arthur Bruce

Founding Committee

The first club Committee of 1824 included: *

Lord William Bentinck Lieutenant General Lord William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck (14 September 177417 June 1839), known as Lord William Bentinck, was a British soldier and statesman who served as the Governor of Fort William (Bengal) from 1828 to 1834 and the First G ...

GCB (1774–1839) * Charles Williams-Wynn MP (1775–1850) * General Sir Alured Clarke GCB (1744–1832) * General Sir George Nugent, Bt GCB (1757–1849) * Vice-Admiral Sir Richard King, Bt (1774–1834) * Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm KCB (1768–1838) * Major General Sir John Malcolm GCB KLS (1769–1833) * Sir George Staunton, Bt. MP (1781–1859) *

Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet (1774–1849) was a Scottish politician, of Newe and Edinglassie, Aberdeenshire. Forbes was the son of the Rev. George Forbes of Lochell. He was a descendant of Alexander Forbes of Kinaldie and Pitsligo, and was ...

MP *Lt General Sir Thomas Hislop Bart GCB *Lt General Sir Miles Nightingall, KCB *Major General Sir Patrick Rose *Sir Robert Farquhar, Bt. *Sir Christopher Cole KCB MP *Major General

Malcolm Grant Sir Malcolm John Grant, , (born 29 November 1947) is a barrister, academic lawyer, and former law professor. Born and educated in New Zealand, he was the ninth President and Provost of University College London – the head as well as principa ...

*Major General Haldane, CB *Rear Admiral Lamber *Major General Rumley *Colonel Baron

Tuyll Tuyll is the name of a noble Dutch family, with familial and historical links to England, whose full name is Van Tuyll van Serooskerken. Several knights, members of various courts, literary figures, generals, ambassadors, statesmen and explorers ...

*Colonel Alston *Colonel Baillie MP *Alexander Boswell, Esq.

Notable members

William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford General William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, 1st Marquis of Campo Maior, (; 2 October 1768 – 8 January 1854) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and politician. A general in the British Army and a Marshal in the Portuguese Army, he fought ...

(1768–1854)Forrest, ''op. cit.'' p. 30 * Sir Hudson Lowe

GCMG The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(1769–1844) * Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet (1770–1832) * Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779–1859),

Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...

and author * Sir William Nott (1782–1845), distinguished soldier of the

, by special election * Sir Robert Sale (1782–1845), another hero of the First Anglo-Afghan War, by special election *

(1784–1849),

1835–1842 * Pownoll Pellew, 2nd Viscount Exmouth (1786–1833) *

George FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster George Augustus Frederick FitzClarence, 1st Earl of Munster (29 January 179420 March 1842), was an English peer and soldier. Biography The eldest illegitimate son of William IV of the United Kingdom and his long-time mistress Dorothea Jord ...

(1794–1842), son of King William IV * Alfred Burton (1802 - 1877). Mayor of Hastings, and son of the pre-eminent property developer

James Burton James Edward Burton (born August 21, 1939, in Dubberly, Louisiana) is an American guitarist. A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2001 (his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards), Burton has also been recognized ...

. Alfred Burton was a long-standing member of the club, to which he donated numerous books and pictures, and to which his brother

and nephew

made architectural additions * Mansur Ali Khan,

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...

(1830–1884) * The 1st Earl of Inchcape (1852–1932) * Sir Archibald Birkmyre, 1st Baronet (1875–1935) * Sir Narayana Raghavan Pillai of Elenkath, KCIE, CBE, ICS Former Governor of the Bank of India & Secretary of State; grandson of Dewan Nanoo Pillai of Elenkath * Sir John Jardine Paterson (1920–2000), Calcutta businessman *

Austen Kark Austen Steven Kark CBE (20 October 1926 – 10 May 2002) was a managing director of the BBC World Service. He was one of three former holders of that post, along with Gerard Mansell and John Tusa, to oppose the plans of John Birt to merge the ser ...

(1926–2002), managing director of the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...

* The Earl of Cromer (born 1946) of the Barings banking family *The 8th Earl of Wilton of the Grosvenor family (See

Duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

) *The 3rd Lord Wrenbury *The 3rd Lord Shepherd * The Earl of Derby (born 1962) * The 4th Earl of Inchcape (born 1943) * Simon Mackay, Baron Tanlaw (born 1934) *Keichi Hayashi, Representative of the Emperor of Japan *Ravi Kumar, Pillai of Kandamath. Indian aristocrat *Maharaja Jai Singh *Sir

David Tang Sir David Wing-cheung Tang, (; 2 August 1954 – 29 August 2017), was a Hong Kong businessman, philanthropist and socialite. He was best known for founding the Shanghai Tang fashion chain in 1994, which he sold in 1998 to Richemont. Early l ...

, KBE, Hong Kong and London businessman *William Charles Langdon Brown, CBE, banker and former Member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council *

Sir Mark Tully Sir William Mark Tully, KBE (born 24 October 1935) is the former Bureau Chief of BBC, New Delhi, a position he held for 20 years. He worked with the BBC for a total of 30 years before resigning in July 1994. The recipient of several awards, Tu ...

(born 1936) former Chief of Bureau, BBC, New Delhi *

Sir George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Bea ...

(born 1926), producer of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

Christopher Beazley Christopher Beazley (born 5 September 1952) is a British politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1984 to 1994 and again from 1999 to 2009. He was member of the Conservative Party until 2019, when he joined the ...

MEP (born 1952) *

Alan Duncan Sir Alan James Carter Duncan (born 31 March 1957) is a British former Conservative Party politician who served as Minister of State for International Development from 2010 to 2014 and as Minister of State for Europe and the Americas from 20 ...

MP * David Davies MP * Richard Harrington MP * James Innes (born 1975), British author *

Swapan Dasgupta Swapan Dasgupta (born 3 October 1955) is an Indian journalist and politician. He is influential within the Indian right wing, writing columns for leading English dailies espousing Hindu nationalism. He is a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha. I ...

Indian MP and journalist

Members in fiction

*Early in

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel ''Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

's novel ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'' (1848), Thackeray says of Joseph Sedley that "...he dined at fashionable taverns (for the Oriental Club was not as yet invented)." By the time of Sedley's return from India in 1827, "His very first point, of course, was to become a member of the Oriental Club, where he spent his mornings in the company of his brother Indians, where he dined, or whence he brought home men to dine." *In Thackeray's '' The Newcomes'' (1855), Colonel Thomas Newcome and Binnie are members of the Oriental Club. Writing of Thackeray, Francis Evans Baily says "...the Anglo-Indian types in his novels, including Colonel Newcome, were drawn from members of the Oriental Club in Hanover Square".Baily, Francis Evans, ''Six Great Victorian Novelists'' (London, Macdonald, 1947), p. 15

Bibliography

*Baillie, Alexander F., ''The Oriental Club and Hanover Square'' (London, Longman, Green, 1901, 290 pp, illustrated) *Wheeler, Stephen (ed.), ''Annals of the Oriental Club, 1824–1858'' (London, The Arden Press, 1925, xvi + 201 pp) *Forrest, Denys Mostyn, ''The Oriental: Life Story of a West End Club'' (London, Batsford, 1968, 240 pp) *Riches, Hugh ''A History of the Oriental Club ''(London, Oriental Club, 1998) *

References

External links

The Oriental Club
– official web site
The Association of London Clubs
– official web site
Listed Buildings in Stratford Place, Westminster
– at westminster.gov.uk (official web site of the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a city and borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central Greater London, including most of the West En ...

) {{Coord, 51.5154, -0.1494, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Gentlemen's clubs in London Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade I listed clubhouses 1824 establishments in England Military gentlemen's clubs