White's Club

White's Club, No. 37–38 St. James's Street, 1756 to present.

White's, a celebrated Club-house, Nos. 37 and 38, St. James's Street, originally White's Chocolate-house ...

[The proprietor of the house, Mr.] Arthur died in June 1761, and was succeeded by Robert Mackreth, who married Mary Arthur, the only child of the former proprietor.

When Bob Mackreth served Arthur's crew,
"Rumbold," he cried, "come black my shoe!"
    And Rumbold answer'd, "Yea, Bob!"
But now returned from India's land,
He scorns t'obey the proud command,
And boldly answers, "Na-bob."

Sir E. Brydges's Autobiography, vol. i. p. 194 (Lord Camden?). For variations in the Epigram, see Walpole to Mason, November 1, 1780.

Mackreth retired in 1763 with an unenviable fame,¹ transferring the property to his kinsman the Cherubim.

That puts me in mind to inform your Grace of a great event, which is that Bob retires from business at Lady Day, and the Cherubim is to keep the house.—Rigby to the Duke of Bedford.

April 5, 1763.—Sir—Having quitted business entirely and let my house to the Cherubim, who is my near relation, I humbly beg leave, after returning you my most grateful thanks for all favours, to recommend him to your patronage, not doubting by the long experience I have had of his fidelity but that he will strenuously endeavour to oblige.—Robert Mackreth to George Selwyn.

The property passed, in 1784, to John Martindale, who was bankrupt in 1797; and in 1812 to Mr. Ragget. From him it descended to his son. The Club was removed to the present house in 1755. The front alterations were made in 1850, and the four bas-reliefs of the seasons, from the designs of Mr. George Scharf, were added. The freehold of White's Club-house was sold at the auction mart, March 7, 1871, for £46,000, to H.W. Eaton, Esq., M.P.

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May 20, 1758.—To prevent those invidious conjectures which disappointed candidates are apt to make concerning the respective votes of their Electors, or to render at least such surmises more difficult and doubtful, it is ordered that Every Member present at the time of Balloting shall put in his Ball, and such person or persons who refuse to comply with it shall pay the supper reckoning of that night.

February 11, 1762.—It was this night ordered that the Quinze players shall pay for their own cards.

February 15, 1769.—It was this night agreed by a majority of nineteen balls, that Every Member of this Club who is in the Billiard Room at the time Supper is declared upon table shall pay his reckoning if he does not Sup at the Young Club.²

In 1775 the Club was restricted to 151 members, and the annual subscription raised to 10 guineas. In 1780 it was ordered that a dinner should be ready every day at five o'clock during the sitting of Parliament, at a reckoning of twelve shillings per head. In 1781 the Club was enlarged to 300 members, and in 1797, when it was enlarged to 400, the following rules were added to the book:—

No person to be balloted for but between the hours of 11 and 12 at Night.

Dinner at Ten Shillings and Sixpence per head (Malt Liquor, Biscuits, oranges, apples, and olives included) to be on Table at Six o'Clock. The Bill to be brought at nine. The price and qualities of the Wines to be approved by the Manager.

That no Member of the Club shall hold a Faro Bank.

That the Dice used at Hazard shall be paid for by Boxes, that is, every Player who holds in three hands to pay a Guinea for Dice.

That no hot suppers be provided unless particularly ordered, and then be paid for at the rate of Eight Shillings per head. That in one of the rooms there be laid every night (from the Queen's to the King's Birthday) a Table with Cold Meat, Oysters, etc. Each person partaking thereof to pay four shillings—Malt Liquor only included.

That Every Member who plays at Chess, Draughts, or Backgammon do pay One Shilling Each time of playing by day-light and half a crown Each by Candle-light.

The distinction between the Young and the Old Clubs seems to have ceased about this time. In 1800 it was enlarged to 450 members, and in 1813 to 500 members. The present limitation is 750. Walpole, writing to Mason (June 18, 1751), describes "an extravagant dinner at White's," which is the talk of the town. The Club, on June 20, 1814, gave a ball at Burlington House to the Emperor of Russia, the King of Prussia, and the allied Sovereigns then in England, which cost £9849: 2: 6. Covers were laid for 2400 people. Three weeks after this (July 6, 1814) the Club gave a dinner to the Duke of Wellington, which cost £2480: 10: 9.

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March 3, 1763.—White's goes on as usual; play there is rather more moderate, ready money being established this winter at quinze. Lord Masham was fool enough to lose three thousand at hazard to Lord Bolingbroke the night before last: I guess that was not all ready money.—Rigby to Duke of Bedford.

March 2, 1818.—Let me here relate what I heard of one of the Clubs—White's the great Tory Club in St. James's. Somebody spoke of the lights kept burning there all night: "Yes," said a member, "they have not been out, I should think, since the reign of Charles the Second.—Rush, Residence at the Court of London.

With reference to the great spirit of gaming which prevailed at White's, the arms of the Club were designed by Horace Walpole, Dick Edgcumbe, George Selwyn, etc., at Strawberry Hill, in 1756.³ The blazon is vert (for a card table); three parolis proper on a chevron sable (for a hazard table); two rouleaus in saltier, between two dice proper, on a canton sable; a white ball (for election) argent. The supporters are an old and young knave of clubs; the crest, an arm out of an earl's coronet shaking a dice-box; and the motto, "Cogit Amor Nummi." Round the arms is a claret bottle ticket by way of order. Edgcumbe made "a very pretty painting" of these arms, which they entitled "The Old and Young Club at Arthurs." At the Strawberry Hill sale it was bought by the Club for twenty-two shillings.

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¹ See two leading cases in Equity, Fox v. Mackreth; and Mackreth v. Symmons, I W. and Tudor, 92 and 235.

² See on the subject of the "Old Club," Walpole to Mann, February 2, 1752. It appears that the two clubs were kept quite distinct, although they seem to have been held in the same house. Probably, as the old club was very select and small in its numbers, the young club was considered as an adjunct from which it could be replenished as members died or resigned.

³ Walpole to Montagu, April 20, 1756.

1755

White's Club [White's Chocolate House] remained at Nos. 68–69 St. James's Street until 1755, when Robert Arthur removed to Nos. 37–38 on the other side of the street, and White's Chocolate House can be considered to have ended its existence after some 62–63 years. In addition to the various works already mentioned, Wheatley gives a well documented account of White's Club. See Arthur's. No. 54.

White's Club,

37–38 St James's Street, SW1. The oldest and grandest of the St James's gentlemen's clubs. Its list of members over two and a half centuries is replete with the names of the richest and most distinguished members of society. George IV, William IV and Edward VII were all members. Of the 32 administrations from the time of Sir Robert Walpole to that of Peel every prime minister was a member. Admirals Anson and Rodney were members; so were Clive and Wellington, Fox, Horace Walpole, George Selwyn, Lord Chesterfield, Edward Gibbon, Beau Brummell and the great recorders of their times Charles Greville and Captain Gronow.