Gentlemen's club

, 69 Brook Street, London The original clubs were established in the West End of London. The area of St James's is still sometimes called "clubland". Clubs took over some parts of the role occupied by coffee houses in 18th-century London. The first clubs, such as White's, Brooks's, and Boodle's, were aristocratic, and provided an environment for gambling, which was illegal outside members-only establishments. The 19th century brought an explosion in the popularity of clubs, particularly around the 1880s. At the height of their influence in the late 19th century, London had over 400 such establishments. Club Life in London, an 1866 book, begins: "The Club in the general acceptation of the term, may be regarded as one of the earliest offshoots of man's habitual gregariousness and social inclination." An increasing number of clubs were influenced by their members' interests in politics, literature, sport, art, cars, travel, particular countries, or some other pursuit. In other cases, the connection between the members was membership in the same branch of the armed forces, or the same school or university. Thus the growth of clubs gives some indication of what was considered a respectable part of the "Establishment" at the time. By the late 19th century, any man with a credible claim to the status of "gentleman" was eventually able to find a club willing to admit him, unless his character was objectionable in some way or he was "unclubbable" (a word first used by F. Burney). This newly expanded category of English society came to include professionals who had to earn their income, such as doctors and lawyers. Most gentlemen belonged to only one club, which closely corresponded with the trade or social/political views he identified with, but a few people belonged to several. Members of the aristocracy and politicians were likely to have several clubs. The record number of memberships is believed to have been held by Lord Mountbatten, who had nineteen in the 1960s. , Public entertainments, such as musical performances and the like, were not a feature of this sort of club. The clubs were, in effect, "second homes" Many men spent much of their lives at their club, and it was common for young, newly graduated men who had moved to London for the first time to live at their club for two or three years before they could afford to rent a house or flat. Gentleman's clubs were private places that were designed to allow men to relax and create friendships with other men. In the 19th and 20th centuries clubs were regarded as a central part of elite men's lives. They provided everything a regular home would have: spaces such as dining halls, a library, entertainment and game rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms and washrooms, and a study. Clubs had separate entrances for tradesmen and servants, which were usually located on the side of the building that was not easily seen by the public eye. Many clubs had waiting lists, some as long as sixteen years. There is no standard definition for what is considered a gentlemen's club. Each club differed slightly from others. In the 19th century the family was considered one of the most important aspects of a man's life. A man's home was his property and should have been a place to satisfy most of his needs. However, it was not always a place that provided privacy and comfort: perhaps because the homes of elite families often entertained guests for dinners, formal teas, entertainment, and parties. Their lives were on display, and often their lives would be reported in local papers. A gentleman's club offered an escape from this family world. Another explanation would be that men were brought up in all-male environments in places like schools and sports pastimes, and they became uncomfortable when they had to share their lives with women in a family environment. in 1932 Until the 1950s, clubs were also heavily regulated in the rooms open to non-members. Most clubs contained just one room where members could dine and entertain non-members; it was often assumed that one's entire social circle should be within the same club. Harold Macmillan was said to have taken "refuge in West End clubs ...: Pratt's, Athenaeum, Buck's, Guards, the Beefsteak, the Turf, [and] the Carlton". Domesticity Although gentlemen's clubs were originally geared towards a male audience, domestic life played a key role in their establishment and continuity. Defying classic gender norms, the club could be represented as "homosocial domesticity". Similar to male coffeehouses of the Ottoman Empire, the clubs were a home away from home. They were alternative, competing spaces in the sense that it had some similarities with the traditional home. One of the key attractions of these clubs was their private, often exclusive, nature. They were getaways from the tight, restrictive role expected from the stoic gentleman. As in their homes, men could act and behave in ways not usually acceptable in public society. For men who lived their lives at the club, the home, if any, lost its status as their base. Members would use its address for official documentation, mailing, and appointments. Meals, formal or informal, were provided and tastes could be catered for by the club staff. Spaces within the club were designated for these various functions, and the guest flow could be more easily controlled than at the home. Members' social status was marked by the prestige of the club, but within it, the lines were blurred. Prominent guests could be invited to dinner or to lounge at the club over the house. Staff would monitor these guests and their arrival for the members and, as employees of the members, could personally tailor the experience. Thus, by holding important events at the club, only the wealth and importance of the club and its amenities was displayed instead of their possibly inferior possessions or homes. In English clubs, this domesticity was particularly emphasised. These clubs, primarily in London, were usually very "quiet" and their members were well-behaved: again pointing to the calm familiarity of the household. In addition, club staff were tasked with keeping the club a private space and attempted to control the spread of information from the outside. Whether from "the streets, the courts, Parliament, or the Stock Exchange," the chaotic nature of work life was put on hold. Young bachelors and other members were in many ways shielded from the true problems of society. Induction into a club required member approval and payment. Despite the opportunity for mobility within the club, patriarchal authority reigned, with power and status concentrated in the ranking members. The result was internal stability. The historian Robert Morris proposed that clubs were "part of the power nexus of capitalism, and essential to the continuity of elite dominance of society." Women Several private members' clubs for women were established in the late 19th century; among them the Alexandra Club, the self-consciously progressive Pioneer Club, the Ladies' Institute, and the Ladies' Athenaeum. They proved quite popular at the time, but only one London-based club, The University Women's Club, has survived as a single-sex establishment. Traditionally barred from full membership in existing clubs of similar interest, and somewhat mobilised by the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the United States; by the 21st century, numerous private women's clubs had formed in support of previously male-dominated pursuits, including professional affiliations and business networking. In 2023 The Daily Telegraph reported that an "[A]bsolutely chilling" discordance around admitting women to men-only clubs persisted in the UK, as the SFGate also reports in the US. ==Modern clubs==