The Savile Club is a traditional

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 ...

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 ...

that was founded in 1868. Located in fashionable and historically significant

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

, its membership, past and present, includes many prominent names.

Changing premises

Initially calling itself the New Club, it grew rapidly, outgrowing its first-floor rooms overlooking

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

at 9 Spring Gardens and moving to the second floor. It then moved to 15 Savile Row in 1871, where it changed its name to the Savile Club, before lack of space forced the club to move again in 1882, this time to 107

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

, a bow-windowed building owned by

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, 1st Earl of Midlothian (7 May 1847 – 21 May 1929) was a British Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from March 1894 to June 1895. Between the death of h ...

. With its views over

Green Park The Green Park, one of the Royal Parks of London, is in the City of Westminster, Central London. Green Park is to the north of the gardens and semi-circular forecourt of Buckingham Palace, across Constitution Hill road. The park is in the m ...

, it was described by the members as the "ideal clubhouse". However, after 50 years' residence, demolition of the building next door to create the Park Lane Hotel caused the old clubhouse such structural problems that, in 1927, the club moved to its present home at 69 Brook Street in

, a house built with leases granted by the Duke of Westminster in the mid-1720s. In 1850, Edward Digby, 2nd Earl Digby commissioned Thomas Cundy II to add the Doric porch to No 69, satisfying a Victorian desire for greater privacy as well as warmth. This had previously been occupied by the Dowager Duchess of Cleveland from 1866 to 1883 and was later the former home of "Loulou" Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

cabinet minister, and his wife Mary Ethel Harcourt, Viscountess Harcourt. The building, a combination of 69 and 71 Brook Street, owes its extravagant Dix-huitième interior to Walter Hayes Burns, the father of Lady Harcourt and the brother-in-law of financier

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

, who commissioned William Bouwens van der Boijen of Paris to adapt it for his wife Mary Lyman Morgan to entertain in a suitable style at home. It thus includes an elegant hall, a grand staircase and a lavish Louis XV-style ballroom. Following the marriage of her youngest daughter in 1926, Lady Harcourt decided to dispose of the lease of Brook Street, which she did 12 months later to the Savile Club.

Savilians

Savile Club members are known as Savilians and the Club's motto of ''Sodalitas Convivium'' implies convivial companionship. The traditional mainstays of the Savile are food and drink, good conversation, playing bridge and poker, and Savile

Snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...

. This is a 19th-century version of the game, whose rules were first written down in the mid-20th century by Stephen Potter. It is a form of volunteer snooker, with some unusual features (the brown ball is spotted behind baulk on the opposite equivalent of the black spot, and counts eight; yellow and green are not used, "push shots" are allowed, fouling a ball with one's tie has no penalty, and sinking two reds at once means a score of two, for example). The dining room includes two long club tables, derived from the Club's original

table d'hôte In restaurant terminology, a ''table d'hôte'' (; ) menu is a menu where multi-Course (meal), course meals with only a few choices are charged at a fixed total price. Such a menu may be called ''prix fixe'' ( ; "fixed price"). The terms set meal ...

(a contrast to the contemporary habit of other clubs, where members tended to eat à la carte at small separate tables). In the Victorian period, the Savile was known for its freedom of conversation and conviviality.

Evolution

Some traditions have been lost: regular cigar club dinners went with the

smoking ban Smoking bans, or smoke-free laws, are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, that prohibit tobacco smoking in certain spaces. The spaces most commonly affected by smoking bans are indoor employ ...

, but have since been revived ''in memoriam'' on the terrace (weather permitting); "the

penny A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...

game" (a form of

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which players try to roll their ball (called a bowl) closest to a smaller ball (known as a "jack" or sometimes a "kitty"). The bowls are shaped (biased), so that they follow a curve ...

, using coins rolled down grooves in the banisters of the grand curving staircase), disappeared with

decimalisation Decimalisation or decimalization (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the conversion of a system of currency or of weights and measures to units related by Power of 10, powers of 10. Most countries have ...

; Friday-night candlelit dinners in the Ballroom for wives and girlfriends disappeared with changes in fashions and attitudes. The musical tradition continues, with informal lunchtime and evening concerts, jazz evenings, sponsorship of music students and an annual St Cecilia's Day concert, where Club members perform. A strong science connection has been revived with regular "Science at the Savile" talks. Other traditions have evolved: the preferred dress is still jacket and tie, but the code has been relaxed slightly to allow for the less formal attire worn in offices today;

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

s are generally banned but can be used in the Club's old telephone area.Garrett Anderson. ''Hang Your Halo in the Hall: the Savile Club from 1868'' (1993)

Prominent members

Acting and the theatre * Michael Croft, OBE *

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat ( ; 18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. Making his breakthrough film role in Alexander Korda's ''The Private Life of Henry VIII'' (1933), today he is best remembered for his roles in ''The Count of Monte C ...

* Valentine Dyall * Jimmy Edwards, DFC * Edward Fox, OBE * Kenneth Haigh *

Sir Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

* Braham Murray, OBE * Simon Oates * Sir Ralph Richardson * Bill Simpson * Simon Ward Art, illustration and cartoons * Michael Ayrton * Sir Max Beerbohm * Vaughan Grylls * George Percy Jacomb-Hood, MVO * Sir David Low * John Merton * Major Sir William Orpen, KBE, RA, RHA * John Reinhard Weguelin, RWS, ROI * Victor Weisz ("Vicky") Broadcasting and journalism * Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein of Leigh * Colin Brazier * Sir Clement Freud *

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

* Val Gielgud * Gilbert Harding * Patrick Kidd * Quentin Letts * Tony Miles * Michael Molloy * Roy Plomley, OBE * Robert Robinson * Petroc Trelawny * Sir Huw Wheldon, OBE, MC Films * Sir Michael Balcon * Sir Charlie Chaplin, KBE (temp. Hon. Member in 1956) * Joseph McGrath * Gareth Neame, OBE, DL * Ronald Neame, CBE, BSC *

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company Powell and Pressburger, The Archers, they together wrote, produced ...

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...

History and the military * Freddie Spencer Chapman, DSO, ED * Erasmus Darwin IV *

Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson

* M. R. D. Foot, CBE, TD * Peter Hennessy, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield, FBA * Colonel T. E. Lawrence, CB, DSO (temp. Hon. Member in Dec 1918) * Major General Sir William Macpherson, KCMG, CB * Frederick Courteney Selous, DSO * Admiral George Pirie Thomson * Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, FBA Mathematics and computing * William Clifford, FRS * Karl Pearson, FRS * John Venn, FRS Medicine * Sir Frederick Grant Banting, KBE, MC, FRS (Hon. Member in 1932) * Arthur Bell, paediatrician (Club Chairman) * Sir Bryan Donkin * George Fayad * Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins, OM, PRS * Charles Rycroft Music * William Alwyn, CBE * Julian Anderson * Richard Arnell * Sir Malcolm Arnold, CBE * Martin James Bartlett * Arthur Benjamin * Sir Arthur Bliss * Sir Adrian Boult, CH * Francis Chagrin * Sir Edward Elgar, 1st Baronet, OM, GCVO * Henry Balfour Gardiner * Ron Goodwin * Gavin Henderson, CBE *

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in film scoring. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely regarde ...

* Herbert Howells, CH, CBE * Norman Kay * Robin Legge * Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, Kt * William Lloyd Webber * Muir Mathieson, OBE * Sir Hubert Parry, 1st Baronet * André Previn, KBE *

Roger Quilter Roger Cuthbert Quilter (1 November 1877 – 21 September 1953) was a British composer, known particularly for his art songs. His songs, which number over a hundred, often set music to text by William Shakespeare and are a mainstay of the English ...

* John Scott * Sir Charles Villiers Stanford * Virgil Thomson * Sir William Walton, OM Politics and political theory * Leo Abse * Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour, KG, OM, PC, FRS, FBA, DL * Sir Alan Barlow, GCB, FSA * Humphry Berkeley * James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce, OM, GCVO, PC, FRS, FBA * Bernard Coleridge, 2nd Baron Coleridge * Sir Bernard Crick * H. A. L. Fisher, OM, PC, FRS, FBA * Sir Charles Dilke, 2nd Baronet, PC * William Edward Forster, PC, FRS * Arnold Goodman, Baron Goodman, CH * George Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen, PC, DL, FBA * Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 3rd Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, DSO, PC * Sir William Harcourt, KC * David Hardman * Jerry Hayes *

Bryan Magee Bryan Edgar Magee (; 12 April 1930 – 26 July 2019) was a British philosopher, broadcaster, politician and author, best known for bringing philosophy to a popular audience. Early life Born of working-class parents in Hoxton, London, in 1930, ...

* Frederic Maugham, 1st Viscount Maugham，PC * Charles McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway, PC, QC, JP * John Morley, 1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, OM, PC, FRS, FBA * Walter Morrison * Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh, GCB, PC, FRS * David Young, Baron Young of Graffham, CH, PC, DL Science * Francis William Aston, FRS * Sir James Chadwick, CH, FRS * John Douglas Cockroft, OM, KCB, CBE, FRS * Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, OM, PRS * Edward Williams Morley * Walter Hermann Nernst, FRS (club resident in 1912) * Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, FRS * John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM, PC, PRS Writing *

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (10 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist. He is best known for his debut novel ''Watership Down'' which achieved international acclaim. His other works included ''Maia'', '' Shardik'' and '' The Plague Do ...

* Sir J. M. Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM * Algernon Blackwood, CBE * Sir Malcolm Bradbury, CBE * Charles Hallam Elton Brookfield * John le Carré (David Cornwell) * Erskine Childers, DSC * Count Michael de la Bédoyère * Maurice Druon * James Fisher * Sir William Golding, CBE * Winston Graham, OBE * Patrick Hamilton * Thomas Hardy, OM * Sir H. Rider Haggard, KBE * Sir A. P. Herbert, CH * E. W. Hornung * Henry James, OM * M. R. James, OM, FBA *

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

* Eric Linklater, CBE * Sir Compton Mackenzie, OBE *

A. A. Milne Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-th ...

* Frank Muir, CBE * Stephen Potter * J. B. Priestley, OM * John Pudney * Anthony Sampson * Sir Stephen Spender, CBE * C. P. Snow, Baron Snow, Kt, CBE *

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

* James SullyJames Sully, "My Life and Friends. A Psychologist's Memories" (E. P. Dutton & Company, New York, University of California, 1918), Other occupations * Colonel Eustace Balfour (architecture) * John Browne, Baron Browne of Madingley, FRS (industry) * Stanley Kalms, Baron Kalms of Edgware (industry) * Sir Sidney Colvin (museums) *

Mandell Creighton Mandell Creighton (; 5 July 1843 – 14 January 1901) was a British historian, Anglican priest and bishop. The son of a successful carpenter in north-west England, Creighton studied at the University of Oxford, focusing his scholarship on ...

(CoE bishop) * C. B. Fry (sports) *

Henry Sidgwick Henry Sidgwick (; 31 May 1838 – 28 August 1900) was an English Utilitarianism, utilitarian philosopher and economist and is best known in philosophy for his utilitarian treatise ''The Methods of Ethics''. His work in economics has also had a ...

(philosopher and economist) Fictitious members of the Savile Club include Bill Haydon, the aristocratic

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

and British intelligence agent at the heart of John le Carré's novel '' Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy'', and William French, wine merchant and Master of Wine (failed), in Alexander McCall Smith’s '' The Dog Who Came in from the Cold.''

References

Bibliography

*Garrett Anderson, ''"Hang Your Halo in the Hall!": The Savile Club from 1868'' (The Savile Club, 1993) * Anon, ''The Savile Club 1868–1958'' (privately printed for members of the Club, c. 1958) *Anon, ''The Savile Club 1868–1923'' (privately printed for the committee of the Club, 1923) *Clive Aslet, ''Seduced by the dix-huitième: 69-71, Brook Street, Mayfair W1, the Home of the Savile Club'' (Country Life, 2014) *Jeremy Barlow. Notes to ''Composers at the Savile Club'', SOMM CD 0601 (2019) * Morton Cohen. ''Rudyard Kipling to Rider Haggard: The Record of a Friendship'' (1965) * *Robin McDouall, ''Clubland Cooking'' (Phaidon Press, 1974) *Amy Milne-Smith, ''London Clubland: A Cultural History of Gender and Class in Late-Victorian Britain (''London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011). . *Matthew Parris, ''Great Parliamentary Scandals'' (Robson Books, 1995) * *

External links

* {{Coord, 51.5124, -0.1491, type:landmark_region:GB-WSM, display=title Gentlemen's clubs in London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster 1868 establishments in the United Kingdom