The Turf Club is a

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 ...

, established in 1861 as the Arlington Club. It has been located at 5,

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces, the Western and Eastern terraces, of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of ...

since 1965.

History

The Turf Club was founded in 1861 as the Arlington Club, with premises in Bennett Street, Piccadilly.Nevill, op. cit., p. 218 It was while there that a committee of the Arlington, consisting of George Bentinck, Sir Rainald Knightley, Charles C. Greville, H. B. Mayne, John Bushe, G. Payne, and Colonel Pipon, under the chairmanship of John Clay MP, drew up the laws 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 ...

, officially sanctioned by the Portland Club in 1864. Members had originally wished to call themselves simply The Club until it was discovered that they had been beaten to it: a hundred years or so earlier the name had been claimed by

Dr Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary criticism, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicograp ...

and

Sir Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

for their renowned dining society. The Turf Club moved in 1875 to the corner of

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 ...

and Clarges Street. The new building at 85 Piccadilly, designed by John Norton, remained the clubhouse for ninety years until the Club decided to sell the extremely valuable freehold.Lejeune, op. cit., p. 273 In 1965, the Turf Club moved to its current home at 5

, SW1Y 5AQ, overlooking the Mall.

itself was designed and built by John Nash, the successful Regency architect, between 1827 and 1833. The freehold of Number 5 belongs to the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

and the lease was held by the

Earls of Caledon Earl of Caledon, of Caledon, County Tyrone, Caledon in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon, James Alexander, 1st Viscount Caledon. He was a merchant who had ...

from 1830 until 1929, and its residents included

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...

;

John Hay John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a Secretary to the President of the United States, private secretary for Abraha ...

, the U.S. Ambassador; Emerald, Lady Cunard (mother of

Nancy Cunard Nancy Clara Cunard (10 March 1896 – 17 March 1965) was a British writer, heiress and political activist. She was born into the British upper class, and devoted much of her life to fighting racism and fascism. She became a muse to some of the ...

); and

Harry Gordon Selfridge Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. (11 January 1858 – 8 May 1947) was an American retail magnate who founded the London-based department store Selfridges. The early years of his leadership led to his becoming one of the most respected and wealthy re ...

, founder of

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upmarket department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908. The historic Daniel Burnham-designed Self ...

Notable members

The following is a list of notable present Turf Club members with year of birth in brackets. * Adrian Ward-Jackson, CBE (1950) * Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, 3rd Baron Hesketh, KBE, PC (1950) * John Livingstone-Learmonth (1950) * Anthony Fane, 16th Earl of Westmorland (1951) *Hon. Peregrine Moncreiffe of that Ilk (1951) *

James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough Charles James Spencer-Churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough (born 24 November 1955), styled Earl of Sunderland until March 1972 and Marquess of Blandford until October 2014, and often known as Jamie Blandford or Jamie Marlborough, is a British p ...

(1955) *Lt. Gen. Sir

Barney White-Spunner Lieutenant General Sir Barnabas William Benjamin White-Spunner (born 1957) is a retired British Army officer, who was subsequently executive chairman of the Countryside Alliance until 2016. He is an author, a director of Burstock Ltd. and was ...

, CBE (1957) *

Michael Bowes-Lyon, 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Michael Fergus Bowes-Lyon, 18th and 5th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, (7 June 1957 – 27 February 2016), styled Lord Glamis between 1972 and 1987, also known as Mikey Strathmore, was a British Conservative politician, Scots Guards officer a ...

(1957) *Alastair Morrison, 3rd Baron Margadale (1958) * Christopher Taylour, 7th Marquess of Headfort (1959) * David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland (1959) *Hon.

Rupert Soames Rupert Christopher Soames OBE (born 18 May 1959) is a British businessman. He is chair of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), and was the chief executive of Serco from 2014 to 2023. He is a grandson of Winston Churchill, a nephew of on ...

, OBE (1959) * Patrick Meade, 8th Earl of Clanwilliam (1960) *

Charles Hay, 16th Earl of Kinnoull Charles William Harley Hay, 16th Earl of Kinnoull (born 20 December 1962), styled Viscount Dupplin until 2013, is a Scottish hereditary peer and Crossbench member of the House of Lords, who serves as Convenor of the Crossbench Peers. Biograp ...

(1962) * Maurice Roche, 6th Baron Fermoy (1967) * George Bingham, 8th Earl of Lucan (1967) * Harry Lawson, 7th Baron Burnham (1968) * Clifton Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley (1968) * Andrew Balding (1972) * Frederick Hervey, 8th Marquess of Bristol (1979) * Sir Michael Palin

References

; Sources consulted * * * * ''Debrett's People of Today'', 2011 ; Endnotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Turf Club (Gentlemen'S Club) Gentlemen's clubs in London 1861 establishments in England Grade I listed buildings in the City of Westminster

History

Notable members

See also

References