The Clifton Club | |
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General information | |
Address | 22 The Mall, Clifton, Bristol BS8 4DS, United Kingdom |
Town or city | London |
Country | England |
Coordinates | 51°27′19″N2°37′15″W / 51.4552°N 2.6208°W |
Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | The Clifton Club |
Designated | 08 January 1959 |
Reference no. | 1292433 |
Website | |
thecliftonclub |
The Clifton Club is a traditional private members club in Bristol, England, founded in 1818 as a meeting place for the gentlemen of the prosperous port of Bristol.
The club was founded in Clifton, an affluent suburb of Bristol, in 1818 by a host of local gentlemen. It is therefore one of the earliest remaining such clubs in the country: only Brooks's, White's, Boodle's, the Royal Thames Yacht Club, Marylebone Cricket Club, and the Liverpool Athenaeum are older. In a curious coincidence, the meeting held to discuss the club's founding was held in what was then the Clifton Hotel – which subsequently became the club's current home. The club originally had premises in Birdcage Walk. After several years the club's use had dwindled and the decision was taken to disband. In 1850 several of the members of the original club resurrected the club at new premises.[ citation needed ]
Records of the Clifton Club are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. 35716) (online catalogue).
The Clifton Club has for over 190 years been one of the most socially exclusive organisations in Bristol. Membership must be gained on the invitation and recommendation of at least two members of good standing who have each known the candidate for at least three years. Historically the club's membership has included the heads of major Bristol business, local landed gentry, and the higher echelons of the professions. The club has a long and well documented link with the Society of Merchant Venturers; to this day many members of the society are also members of the Clifton Club. [1] Other Bristol institutions whose memberships overlap with that of the club include the Bristol Savages and the Antient Society of St Stephen's Ringers.[ citation needed ]
The club has reciprocal arrangements with a number of clubs around the world of a similarly exclusive nature including the Travellers Club and the Lansdowne Club in London, The Liverpool Athenaeum, The Royal Scots Club in Edinburgh, Western Club in Glasgow, Phyllis Court in Henley-on-Thames, the Royal Automobile Club of Australia, Union Club of British Columbia and The Ontario Club in Canada, The Cape Town Club and Durban Club in South Africa, The Capital Club in Cairo, the University Club of San Francisco, and The Cornell Club in New York. [2]
For the first 188 years of its existence membership of the club was restricted to men only. In 2006 the members, in a move which caused a degree of controversy amongst the membership, voted to allow women to become full members of the club.[ citation needed ]
The Clifton Club's premises stand at 22, The Mall, Clifton, Bristol. Originally built in 1806-9 as the Clifton Assembly Rooms and Hotel, [3] [4] the club purchased the building in the mid-nineteenth century. It was designed by Francis Greenway, later held in Newgate prison on charges of forgery and transported to Australia where he became famous as the father of Australian architecture, [5] and is the only remaining building of his design in the United Kingdom. It is a Grade II* listed building. [6]
The building has an imposing three-storey stone facade, and offers members very luxurious facilities including a salon/drawing room which also contains the main bar, dining room, committee room, bridge room, and snooker room. The club also owns much of the property surrounding the club. In common with other members' clubs the purpose of the Clifton Club is to provide its members with luxurious and exclusive facilities in which they may meet one another, eat, drink, play games such as bridge, chess, backgammon and snooker, and generally use the place as a 'home away from home'.[ citation needed ]
The University of the West of England is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of higher education in the South West of England.
Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and team sports. Clifton Down is the part of the Downs south of Stoke Road.
The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol.
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The Caledonian Club is a prestigious Scottish-focused London members' club located at 9 Halkin Street SW1, near Belgrave Square in Belgravia, London, SW1.
Manor Hall is a student hall of residence at the University of Bristol. Situated in the Georgian/Victorian suburb of Clifton, Bristol, it provides self-catering accommodation for around 340 residents, both in the main hall itself and also in a number of nearby surrounding annexes. The majority of residents are first year undergraduate students, but a number of 'returners' choose to stay on to contribute to the hall's life and community in subsequent years of study.
Clifton Observatory is a former mill, now used as an observatory, located on Clifton Down, close to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, England.
The Gresham Club was founded in 1843 and dissolved in 1991. It was named after Thomas Gresham. The Gresham Club's last site was located on Abchurch Lane off King William Street before it was sold to the London Capital Club, which in turn ceased operation in 2018. Following the closure of the London Capital Club, a number of the members relaunched The Gresham Club in 2018 and recreated the raison d'être of its original predecessor.
Merchants' Academy is an independent academy in Withywood, Bristol, England. The school is funded by Bristol City Council and sponsored by the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol.
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The Athenaeum is a private members club in Liverpool, England. The club was founded to ensure the up-to-date provision of newspapers and pamphlets, and to create a library for the use of the merchants and professional men in the city. The original building was demolished, and replaced by a new building nearby, in 1924. The members of the club are known as Proprietors, because they subscribe to a share, and they include both men and women. The building contains a large library, and it is also used by the Proprietors for social functions. It can be hired for use by outside individuals and organisations.
The Public Schools Club is a former London gentlemen's club.
Sir James Napier Tidmarsh was the Lord Lieutenant of Bristol from 1996 until 2007.
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The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Bristol, England.