The Lansdowne Club is a private members' club in

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occupying a large building, notable in its own right. It was established in 1935 and occupies most of 9 Fitzmaurice Place, a street connecting Berkeley Square to Curzon Street in Mayfair.

History

The club formed later than many London clubs, and it permitted women from its inception. It has always had a relatively young membership, with an active social scene. The building's main

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

and otherwise 1930s

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

interiors, with some authentic frontages, mean it has been Grade II* listed since its first assessment in 1970. This is the mid-category of

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

, a statutory scheme of protection which has a pyramidal hierarchy. In 1930,

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decided to improve access to Berkeley Square by creating an extra road into the square. This was accomplished by demolishing half of the main range of Lansdowne House, which stood since the 1760s. What remained was given a new frontage and a newly renovated interior, and became the Lansdowne Club. The 'First Drawing Room' was thus taken to the

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, and the 'Dining Room' exists in the

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. The venue was founded as a 'social, residential and athletic Club for members of social standing' and their families, and unlike many rivals, it had no vocational, artistic, or political 'theme'. Its facilities include a ballroom, a terrace, a fencing Salle and a basement gym with Art Deco swimming pool. Internally, the architecture is extremely unusual; some was modern for its type, being significantly Art Deco, as opposed to Georgian/ Victorian/ Edwardian styles. The Adam Room and other parts of the club on the ground floor are Georgian, though. The building underwent extensive renovation and further modernisation in 2000. Resident fencing coach, Wojciechowski, is official coach of the British Olympic squad.

Members past and present

* Richard Dimbleby''The House in Berkeley Square: A History of the Lansdowne Club''; Perry, Maria; (2003) Lansdowne Club, London * Beryl Cook * John Bly * Luke Fildes (fencer) * Ian Campbell-Gray * Loyd Grossman * James Mason * Charles Arnold-Baker * Terry Beddard * Mary Glen-Haig * Desmond Flower, 10th Viscount Ashbrook * Archibald Craig * Frederick Ramon de Bertodano y Wilson, 8th Marquis del Moral * Bill Hoskyns * Baroness Butler-Sloss *

Peter Alliss Peter Alliss (28 February 1931 – 5 December 2020) was an English professional golfer, television presenter, commentator, author and golf course designer. Following the death of Henry Longhurst in 1978, he was regarded by many as the "Voice o ...

* John Emrys Lloyd * Tony Calvert, Founder Terrence Higgins Trust * Nick Halsted * Catherine Herridge * Paul Smith (fashion designer) *Bob Thian * Ermine, Lady Elibank (née Aspinwall widow of Gideon Oliphant-Murray, 2nd Viscount Elibank) * Elizabeth Blackadder * Allan Jay * Merlin Hanbury-Tracy, 7th Baron Sudeley * Joachim von Ribbentrop (before the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) * Tim Richardson (writer) * Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and Grace Kelly were honorary members, whose son Albert II, Prince of Monaco took fencing lessons there ''The House in Berkeley Square: A History of the Lansdowne Club''; Perry, Maria; (2003) Lansdowne Club, London

Chairmen

*1935–40 Dr. F. Howard Humphies *1940–54 Sir Frederick Arnold-Baker *1954–57 Clarence Napier Bruce, 3rd Baron Aberdare *1957 (interim) Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare *1957–63 P.D. Krolik esq *1963–67 Major J. Fletcher *1967–88 C.G. Findlay esq *1988–97 J.R.M. Keatley esq *1998–2006 J Moore *2006–10 D. Whitehouse esq *2010–14 C. Powell esq *2014–15 Dr D Prince *2015–18 D. Whitehouse esq *2018–19 J. North esq *2019–20 M. Dixon esq *2020– K. Hollender esq

Past fencing masters

Fencing was established as part of the Lansdowne Club in November 1935 by a group of fencers who moved there from the Royal Automobile Club''The House in Berkeley Square: A History of the Lansdowne Club''; Perry, Maria; (2003) Lansdowne Club, London and the Club boasts a historic salle d'armes that was featured in Darling (1965 film). Over the years the fencing masters have included: *Monsieur Vollands *Professor Foucheyrand with assistant coach Mr Richards *Alfred Parkins *John Parkins *Jeremy Parkins * Ziemowit Wojciechowski * Steven Paul (fencer) * Pierre Harper

References

External links

* * {{Gentlemen's clubs in London 1935 establishments in England Art Deco architecture in London Gentlemen's clubs in London Grade II* listed buildings in the City of Westminster Grade II* listed houses Mayfair