The Bath Club was a

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

-themed

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

gentlemen's club 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 ...

in the 20th century. It was established in 1894 at 34

Dover Street Dover Street is a street in Mayfair, London. The street is notable for its Georgian architecture as well as the location of historic London clubs and hotels, which have been frequented by world leaders and historic figures in the arts. It al ...

. Its

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

was a noted feature, and it is thought that the swimming pool of the fictional Drones Club (also on Dover Street) was based on this. It is also where

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. ...

and

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

learned to swim. It was one of the few gentleman's clubs that admitted women. Sir Henry "Chips" Channon was a member.

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

stayed here when he visited London.

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegraphy, wireless tel ...

stayed here as well when he visited London. On the evening of March 17, 1899 the Bath Club was the venue of a popular exhibition of

historical fencing Historical European martial arts (HEMA) are martial arts of European origin, particularly using arts formerly practised, but having since died out or evolved into very different forms. While there is limited surviving documentation of the mar ...

styles by Captain Alfred Hutton and of Japanese

jujutsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

Edward William Barton-Wright Edward William Barton-Wright Civil engineering, CE, FRSA, MJS (member of the The Japan Society of the UK, Japan Society) (8 November 186013 September 1951) was an English entrepreneur specialising in both self defence training and physical ther ...

, thus becoming one of the first places where

Asian martial arts There are many distinct styles and schools of martial arts. Sometimes, schools or styles are introduced by individual teachers or masters, or as a brand name by a specific gym. Martial arts can be grouped by type or focus, or alternatively by re ...

had been exhibited in the Western world. In 1924 a sporting member of the club, Gerald Robarts, travelled to the United States and unexpectedly won the American Squash Racquets Singles Championship.Frank Grant Menke, ''The Encyclopedia of Sports'' (1963), p. 839 The club building was hit by bombs during

the Blitz The Blitz (English: "flash") was a Nazi Germany, German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, for eight months, from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, during the Second World War. Towards the end of the Battle of Britain in 1940, a co ...

in 1941, and the club never wholly recovered. After the bombing, it was housed by the struggling

Conservative Club The Conservative Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1840. In 1950 it merged with the Bath Club, and was disbanded in 1981. From 1845 until 1959, the club occupied a building at 74 St James's Street where ...

at 74

St James's Street St James's Street is the principal street in the district of St James's, central London. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall. The main gatehouse of the Palace is at the southern end of the road; in the 17th centu ...

, which eventually agreed to a full merger in 1950 under the name of the Bath Club, retaining the Conservative Club's St James's Street club house until 1959. It subsequently moved to 43 Brook Street, and it finally closed in 1981. The Bath Club was a very elegant club just down the street from Claridge's. Unusually for London clubs It had a ladies' section with an elegant drawing room for afternoon tea. At the ground floor level there was a large dining room with paintings very like Canaletto's on the walls. Upstairs there was a lounge area with backgammon and card tables and separately a bar. Off the lounge area was a full sized snooker table. A consortium of members acquired control of the club and then proceeded to sell the lease. The other members could do nothing to stop it. The club was closed in 1981 with members being offered the opportunity to join either the Naval and Military Club or the Carlton Club. The club was famous for its annual mixed backgammon Tournaments the last of which was held in May 1980. The club also had its own squash courts, unusual for a central London location and the Bath Club Cup was an annual fixture for London squash players. The Flyfishers Club shared part of the Bath Club premises during the last few years of the club's life

Notes

{{coords, 51.50881, -0.14273, display=title Gentlemen's clubs in London 1894 establishments in England

See also

Notes