These included obtaining a premises to meet in , providing technical information for all members , organising tours and competitions , and essential tuition in driving ‘ to members and servants of members ’. The annual subscription fee was set at two guineas , and the initial membership of 50 included 23 titled women , showing that contemporary motoring was very much a hobby for the moneyed elite .
“ These fair motorists soon found the necessity for forming a club , which is now a flourishing institution daily increasing in numbers .”
The first members ’ meeting was held in the LAC ’ s temporary premises in a drawing room at the Hans Crescent Hotel in Knightsbridge , London . In addition to access to a lecture room , arrangements were made for members to leave their cars at the nearby Harrods Garage at a rate of 10 shillings a week . The Autocar magazine reported that : ‘ Ladies have long felt that they could not leave such as fascinating pastime as automobilism to be enjoyed by the sterner sex alone . Many ladies who own cars now drive them with grace and skill , and these fair motorists soon found the necessity for forming a club , which is now a flourishing institution daily increasing in numbers ’.
As the Club became more established , and the membership grew , they moved to new premises within Claridge ’ s Hotel in Mayfair in April 1904 . This gave them their own separate entrance , two sitting rooms , a committee room , two bedrooms for the use of members … and free garaging . In May 1904 , the Duchess of Sutherland accepted the invitation to become the President of the Club .
The first outdoor Club event was held on 15 June 1904 in London . Some 56 vehicles assembled at the Athenaeum Club in Mayfair and progressed along Pall Mall to Hyde Park , finishing for tea at the Ranelagh Club in Barn Elms , a polo club in Barnes , south-west London . So striking was the spectacle of so many women driving en masse in both petrol and electric cars ( as well as one steam wagon ) that the King and Queen watched them go past from a window in Buckingham Palace . Press coverage of the event tended to focus on the femininity of the participants rather than their driving prowess :
‘ No unsightly goggles nor hideous masks marred the beauty of London ’ s fairest daughters : bright dresses and pretty hats were the order of the day ’, said The Autocar . The Car magazine , meanwhile , featured the unique event prominently on its front cover .
The Ladies ’ Automobile Club soon established a pattern of member events after this ground-breaking inaugural run . Members with country estates hosted Club runs for which they would lay on tea , music , and tours of the grounds . An example is an October 1904 run to Mrs Wilson Noble ’ s house at Tangley Park in Guildford . The hostess had , it was reported , a ‘ special
Motoring gymkhana , held at the Ranelagh Club .
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