The National Club was founded on October 19, 1855 by 81 members among which were members of the old Peruvian aristocracy as well as prominent foreign merchants. Its first president was Gaspar de la Puente and its first members included among others
José Antonio Barrenechea,
José Antonio de Lavalle, Ignacio de Osma,
Manuel Pardo y Lavalle,
José de la Riva-Agüero and José Antonio García y García. The club was established based on the
English gentlemen's clubs that were founded during the 18th century in
London, mainly in the
St James's neighborhood known as
Clubland, and grew in popularity throughout
Europe during the 19th century. These social centers were frequented by its first president Gaspar de la Puente and contributed to create a reputation to the National Club as the "Old men's Club". Its first institutional premises were located in some apartments on the upper floors of the
Hotel del Universo on the corner of the
Portal de San Agustín with Lártiga St., whose owner was the French citizen Estanislao Courtheoux. This hotel was located in the so-called
Plazuela del Teatro (named after the
Segura Theatre next to it) and was a few blocks from the Palace of Government. In 1859, the club was relocated to one of its members' houses in the Valladolid street and then was moved to the ancestral home of the Counts of Fuente González and Villar de Fuentes (known today as Casa Barbieri) where it occupied the apartments of the upper floor. Then, in 1869, the club was moved to its fourth location at the corner of the
Portal de Botoneros and Mercaderes St. in the
Plaza Mayor, where the would later be located. In this place, the members of the club were eyewitnesses of the
Gutiérrez brothers' attempted coup d'état in 1872 and after the events of the
War of the Pacific and the
Chilean occupation of Lima. Later, between 1891 and 1895, the club occupied the upper floors of the so-called
Casa O'Higgins which was once the house of
Bernardo O'Higgins and was owned by
De la Riva-Agüero family at the time. The club briefly hosted the members of the
Club de la Unión in this location, after the troops of General
Andrés Avelino Cáceres assaulted and looted the headquarters of that institution during the events of the Peruvian
civil war of 1894-1895. In 1895, the club was located in a small palace on Núñez street, owned by Mr. Ernesto Puccio, located within the
Cercado de Lima. The move to this location meant a period of consolidation for the club, which materialized in the use of a complete lot for the first time. Finally, in 1929, it was established in its permanent location in front of the
Plaza San Martín, on the foundations of a house that belonged to Guillermo Talleri and that had formerly belonged to the Silva Santisteban family. In 1881, considering the economic crisis created by the War with Chile, the president of the young Club de la Unión General César Canevaro proposed the fusion of both clubs under the presidency of the National Club. The plan which effectively had united the two main Peruvian clubs was voted and then rejected by the National Club members. Distinguished characters from Peruvian republican life have belonged to the National Club, including seventeen
presidents of the Republic (including José Pardo and Augusto B. Leguía who served as vicepresidents) and notable figures who took part in the historic events of
May 2, 1866, in the
naval campaign of 1879, in the trenches of
San Juan and
Miraflores, and in the
battle of Huamachuco. Likewise, the club was the main meeting place for the
twenty-four friends, an oligarchy group belonging to the
Civilista Party that led the country during a historical period known as the
Aristocratic Republic. ==Clubhouse==