The Club of Nobody's Friends is a private

dining club A dining club (UK) or eating club (US) is a Social club, social group, usually requiring membership (which may, or may not be available only to certain people), which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have g ...

with origins in the

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

tradition of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. It is one of the oldest of the

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 ...

dining clubs and frequently meets in

Lambeth Palace Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is situated in north Lambeth, London, on the south bank of the River Thames, south-east of the Palace of Westminster, which houses Parliament of the United King ...

. Its motto is ''Pro Ecclesia et Rege''.

History

The club, often referred to simply as Nobody's Friends or Nobody's, was founded in honour of William Stevens and first met on 21 June 1800 at the

Crown and Anchor Tavern The Crown and Anchor, also written Crown & Anchor and earlier known as The Crown, was a public house in Arundel Street, off The Strand in London, England, famous for meetings of political (particularly the early 19th-century Radicals) and var ...

in the

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

. Its inaugural dinner consisted of thirteen men who would later form the movement known as the

Hackney Phalanx Hackney Phalanx was a group of high-church Tory defenders of Anglican orthodoxy prominent for around 25 years from . They consisted of both clergy and laymen, and filled many of the higher posts of the Church of England of the time. The Phalanx, a ...

. In the late 1880s Nobody’s occasionally met at the

Freemasons' Tavern The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61–65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London, West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 ...

, which served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the eighteenth century until it was demolished to make way for the

Connaught Hotel The Connaught is a five-star luxury hotel located on the corner of Carlos Place and Mount Street in Mayfair, London.Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince, ''London 2010'', Frommer's, New York City: John Wiley & Sons, 2011, p. 14/ref> The hotel is owne ...

in 1909. Stevens was a wealthy

hosier Hosiery, (, ) also referred to as legwear, describes garments worn directly on the feet and legs. The term originated as the collective term for products of which a maker or seller is termed a hosier; and those products are also known generically ...

who became a writer and philanthropist, leading figure in the High Church movement, and Treasurer of

Queen Anne's Bounty Queen Anne's Bounty was a scheme established in 1704 to augment the incomes of the poorer clergy of the Church of England and by extension the organisation ("The Governors of the Bounty of Queen Anne for the Augmentation of the Maintenance of the ...

. He wrote theological pamphlets under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of ''Nobody'' which gave the club its curious name. The club grew to consist of 50 members, half clergymen and half laymen, and met three times a year. Between 1800 and 1900 membership included three archbishops, forty-nine bishops, twenty Cathedral deans, many peers and baronets, and members of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. It also included privy councillors, judges, and fellows of both the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

and the Society of Antiquaries. A Nobody's menu from 1891 shows a club dinner at the Hotel Metropole, London consisting of ten or more courses, standard at that time in formal

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

dining. It may be assumed that presentation of the courses was in the

service à la russe (; , ) is a style of serving food in which dishes are brought to the table sequentially and served separately to each guest. ''Service à la russe'' was developed in France in the 19th century by adapting traditional Russian table service to ex ...

tradition.

Recent times

It is recorded that in 1962 a former

bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

Launcelot Fleming William Launcelot Scott Fleming (7 August 1906 – 30 July 1990) was a Scottish Church of England, Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Portsmouth (Anglican), Bishop of Portsmouth and later the Bishop of Norwich. He was also noted as a geol ...

, left Nobody's the "worse for wear" and was later found by friends singing "I’m a space Bishop" whilst wearing a motorbike helmet he had acquired on the journey home. The story may be apocryphal, but it is said that he met his future wife among the friends who discovered him in this state. Writing in his diaries '' The Old Boys' Network'', John Rae the celebrated headmaster of

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

said of a 1984 dinner: It is believed that women have since been admitted as members, but this is not known for definite. In 2005, Conservative peer Lord Brooke speaking in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

on the death of Lord Belstead said In 2014, the retired

bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of D ...

, Rt Revd

John Bickersteth John Monier Bickersteth (6 September 1921 – 29 January 2018) was an English Anglican clergyman who served as the Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1975 to 1986, and Clerk of the Closet from 1979 to 1989. Bickersteth descended from a clerical fam ...

, when asked how he had become a bishop described how after being 'spotted' at Nobody's, "You used to have lunch at the

Athenaeum Athenaeum may refer to: Books and periodicals * ''Athenaeum'' (German magazine), a journal of German Romanticism, established 1798 * ''Athenaeum'' (British magazine), a weekly London literary magazine 1828–1921 * ''The Athenaeum'' (Acadia U ...

." Though he recalled that in his case, the luncheon leading to episcopal elevation took place at

The Commonwealth Club The Commonwealth Club, is a private gentlemen's club in Richmond, Virginia, USA. Its present clubhouse was completed in 1891. The defining structure of the Commonwealth Club Historic District, it is located at 401 West Franklin Street. The Comm ...

. The current President of Nobody's is believed to be Sir Philip Mawer, former Secretary General of the Church of England's Synod and current chair of

Allchurches Trust Benefact Trust (previously the Allchurches Trust) is a large national charity in the United Kingdom, established in 1972. It is headquartered in Gloucester. It is an independent registered charity. Its objects are to "make a positive difference ...

. He was President in 2015. It is not known whether he has been replaced.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA)

In 2018 the club was subject of a question in the

IICSA The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary ...

hearing into abuse in the Church of England.

Lord Lloyd Anthony John Leslie Lloyd, Baron Lloyd of Berwick, (9 May 1929 – 8 December 2024) was a British judge and a member of the House of Lords. Early life and education Lloyd was born on 9 May 1929, the son of Edward John Boydell Lloyd and Lesli ...

had sent
letter
of influence in the Peter Ball case to Archbishop Carey prefaced with the phrase "May I presume on a brief acquaintanceship at dinners of Nobody's Friends?" When asked about the club in his evidence to the Inquiry, Lord Lloyd described Nobody's Friends as "simply a club, half consisting of the clergy, members of the clergy, and half consisting of members of the laity, which dine together probably twice a year, very often in Lambeth Palace." The IICSA counsel pointed out that the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

'' had once described it as "centred on a strong core of bishops, ex-Tory ministers and former military top brass, a highly secretive, all-male group representing Britain's most entrenched professions and institutions." Lord Lloyd replied, "That's a typical ''Daily Mail'' description of something they don't particularly like, but I can assure you that Nobody's Friends is a perfectly ordinary dining club..." The same article that IICSA drew upon in the hearing indicated that Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

had been keen to join the club in 2003. Stephen Parsons commented in an influentia
blog
following the IICSA hearing, that the forum Nobody’s Friends provided for influence in the Peter Ball case suggested a “toxic masculinity” in the Church of England. He went on to say:

Bibliography

*
Biographical List of the Members of "The Club of Nobody's Friends" since Its Foundation 21 June 1800 to 30 September 1885
' (London: Privately Printed, 1885). *
The Club of "Nobody's Friends," Since Its Foundation on 21 June 1800 to 29 April 1902
' Volume II. (London: Printed for Private Circulation, 1902) *

Geoffrey Rowell Douglas Geoffrey Rowell (; 13 February 1943 – 11 June 2017) was an Anglican bishop and historian. He served as Bishop of Basingstoke and then as the third Bishop in Europe until his retirement on 8 November 2013. Following his retirement he m ...

, ''The Club of 'Nobody's Friends' 1800-2000: A Memoir on Its Two-hundredth Anniversary'' (Edinburgh: Pentland Press, 2000)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Eating Without Jesus
Dining clubs Religious organizations established in 1800 Anglo-Catholicism Clubs and societies in England Organizations established in 1800 Tractarians Church of England societies and organisations