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 ...
card-playing game club and the recognised early authority on the games of
whist
Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play.
History
In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ru ...
and
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
. It is reputedly the oldest card club in the world. It was founded in October 1814 as the Stratford Club, 1,
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 177 ...
.
Following the bankruptcy of its bank, Marsh, Sibbald, and Co., in October 1824, the club had to change its partnership and was renamed the Portland Club in January 1825. Two newspapers reported the event: ''The Star'' of 5 November 1824 advertised: “In consequence of the failure of the Berners-street Banking-house, which possessed its funds, the Stratford Club, in Oxford-street, is about to be dissolved.” And, on 7 January 1825, ''The Morning Herald'' wrote: “It is the rump of the Old Stratford Club, we now hear, which assumes the imposing title of the Portland; and not, as we had been led to suppose, an entirely new Society.”
The Portland Club remained in its Stratford Place/Oxford Street premises until 1890. It then moved to 9,
St James's Square
St James's Square is the only square in the St James's district of the City of Westminster and is a garden square. It has predominantly Georgian architecture, Georgian and Neo-Georgian architecture. For its first two hundred or so years it was ...
, in a house that the club had bought there. However, in 1943 the
Royal Institute of International Affairs
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Roya ...
bought the house from the Portland Club, which moved to Charles Street, an address which it left in 1969 for 42, Half Moon Street.''The London Encyclopaedia'', 1983. From 1999 to 2014, the Portland Club was housed in the Savile Club, 69 Brook Street, then moved to its present premises.
The Club now meets in the
Army and Navy Club
The Army and Navy Club, commonly known as The Rag, is a private members' club in London that was founded in 1837 for officers of the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines.List of London's gentlemen's clubs