LONDON CLUBS
CHARACTER BUILDINGS
Tim Newark takes us on a tour of his favourite clubs a short stagger from Savile Row
The pleasures of a London Club can be simple, sinking into an antique leather chair, sipping a glass of port, and raising an eyebrow at guests who have failed the dress code. At its best, it can be all the fun of a glorious house party with familiar faces and the run of an elegant building you could never afford to live in. For a moment, it is your splendid home in Mayfair or St James – and it impresses the socks off any foreign guests you entertain there.
As a historian, I have a particular passion for London’ s venerable clubs. Each one has a distinctive character framed by its past members, expressed in formidable portraits and extraordinary memorabilia. Incidentally, Traditional Clubs is the correct term for these private members’ establishments, not Gentlemen’ s Clubs, as that now refers to something completely different which involves lap dancing and stuffing money into garter belts( I believe).
I was commissioned to write the official history of the Naval & Military Club, known affectionately as the In & Out, and spent many happy hours exploring its archives and reading antique correspondence. One longrunning spat involved a lieutenant of the 9th Lancers who had been caught smoking in the club’ s reading room. He explained he was not puffing his cigar but merely holding it as he was passing from one room to another. The contretemps R
40 SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE