East India Club
The East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club , usually referred to as the East India Club for short , is one of the most prestigious English gentlemen's clubs . The club was founded in 1849 in the clubhouse on St. James's Square , London . Membership is limited to men only. Women may come to the club as guests of members, but they cannot become members themselves. The majority of the members come from the British " Public Schools " (ie exclusive private schools that are represented in the "Headmaster's Conference"). Applicants must be proposed by one member and approved by another member before the application goes to the club committee for decision.
The club was founded in the 19th century as a club for former members and officers of the East India Company . The clubhouse contains a restaurant , bar , several lounges , conference rooms, a gym and 67 bedrooms for members. Until the move to Dublin, the International Rugby Board met in one of these conference rooms. In the meantime, the club has merged with a number of other clubs, giving it its current name. Since the end of the East India Company, a major influence has come from the public schools and the members who came from there. The club also has mutual agreements with more than 100 private clubs worldwide that allow members to use them as guests.
The news of the victory in the Battle of Waterloo was presented to the then Prince Regent George IV and announced to the people from the balcony of what is now the Waterloo Room. The building also served as the residence of the Queen of England during the Pains and Penalties process in 1820 .
Notable members
A small selection of past and current members:
- Prince Arthur, 1st Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
- General Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks
- Godfrey Bloom , MEP
- David Campbell Bannerman , MEP
- Lord Randolph Henry Spencer-Churchill
- Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire
- Joseph Chamberlain
- Austen Chamberlain
- Sebastian Coe, Baron Coe
- Geoffrey Dear, Baron Dear
- Sir Henry Bartle Edward Frere, 1st Baronet
- Friedrich VIII of Schleswig-Holstein
- Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge
- Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava
- Bret Harte
- George Holding
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
- Grand Admiral Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma
- Field Marshal Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala
- Whitelaw Reid
- Field Marshal Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
- Arthur Russell, 2nd Baron Ampthill
- Duleep Singh, Maharajah of the Sikh Empire
- John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
Web links
- Official Homepage (English)