Misplaced Pages

#288711

75-519: Although not the oldest private members club in the city, it is notable because it was formed at a time when the existing Bengal Club only admitted whites as members. Lord Minto , the Viceroy and Governor-General of India at the time, had wished to invite Sir Rajen Mookerjee to dine at the Bengal Club and, when the discriminatory policy was thus exposed, a decision was taken to form a club with

150-597: A "farewell dinner" by the club on 19 March 1919 attempted to hint that their departure was imminently expected. At the end of the First World War, the Canadian soldiers who had stayed there presented the club with a moose head as a gift of thanks, which was hung in the billiards room for many years. After the troops finally left in December 1919, the club was closed for a year for renovations (partly necessitated by

225-611: A "typical" party leader's election campaign based in London and focusing on the London-based media, Thorpe spent almost the entire election in his constituency, keeping in contact with the national press via a live closed-circuit television link-up to daily press conferences at the National Liberal Club. Thorpe later credited this system with giving him more time to think of answers to questions, and it helped to keep

300-432: A Chinese restaurant, a Tandoor Corner, and a Wine and Cigar Bar. The clubhouse also maintains a library for reading and pleasure. The club has a stunning collection of silver services including silverware that is only used on special events like the lunch session held for Prince Andrew, Duke of York and other special club occasions. Recently the club has taken green initiatives for the future such as solar power generation,

375-494: A Club in London. For, after all, what are the Clubs of London? I am afraid little else than temples of luxury and ease. This, however, is a club of a very different character", and envisioned the club as a popular institution for the mass electorate. However, another of the club's founders, G. W. E. Russell , noted "We certainly never foresaw the palatial pile of terra-cotta and glazed tiles which now bears that name. Our modest object

450-531: A Limited Liability Company, with the unusual stipulation that "No shareholder should have more than ten votes", so as to prevent a few wealthy men from dominating the club. However, this only raised £70,000 (equivalent to £9,216,667 in 2023), and so an additional £52,400 was raised for the construction of the clubhouse by the Liberal Central Association. The remaining £30,000 necessary was raised by mortgage debentures. The clubhouse

525-544: A Parlour and a Barber Shop. The main dining hall of the Club , that is called as the Coffee Room serves authentic continental dishes and genuine English dinner. The hall is nicely lit with antique and vintage chandeliers and maintains its traditional and cultural values. The clubhouse runs a bakery that is exclusive to its members and offers wonderful selection of savory pastries, croissants, cookies and bread. The club also has

600-534: A compost plant to turn waste into manure, rainwater harvesting and also sewage treatment to reduce its carbon footprint and for efficient waste management. The century old club house is maintaining a gigantic heritage building since the British Raj, and large treasure of antiquities like about 100 paintings and prints, priceless porcelain Ming vases and garden stools that arrived at the club from Cooch Behar Palace and

675-455: A concerted Christmas bombing campaign) which blew open the front door and gashed the duty manager's arm, while on 10 January 1992 an IRA briefcase bomb exploded outside the club, shattering many of its windows. During the February 1974 general election campaign , Liberal Leader Jeremy Thorpe was defending a wafer-thin majority of 369 votes in his Devon constituency . Instead of fighting

750-400: A declaration of Liberal politics. This continues to this day, with Members signing a pledge that they will "not use the club or...membership thereof for political activities adverse to Liberalism", and not having full voting rights at Annual General Meetings, but otherwise enjoying the full benefits of club membership. On 11 May 1941 the club suffered a direct hit by a Luftwaffe bomb during

825-494: A distinct success when the Radical wing of the National Liberal Club (NLC) captured the club's organisation in the summer of 1897 and elected a new political committee with [Henry] Labouchere as the chairman and H. J. Reckitt as secretary. The Committee itself included Sir Robert Reid , [Philip] Stanhope , Herbert Samuel , Rufus Isaacs and W. F. Thompson, the editor of Reynold's News . The Committee wrote an open letter to

SECTION 10

#1732779705289

900-545: A hotel since 1971. This was not without some dissent among the membership, but the sale ensured that the club's financial future was secure, and the remaining part of the club still operating, mainly on the ground and first floors of the vast building, still remains one of the largest clubhouses in the world. Originally built for 6,000 members, the club still provides facilities for around 2,000. The club's calendar includes an Annual Whitebait Supper, where members depart by river from Embankment Pier , downstream to The Trafalgar,

975-538: A member of the National Liberal Club who did not intend to get into Parliament at some time, except those who, like our chairman Lord Carrington , are there already." On the club's launch, it represented all factions of liberalism from whiggery to radicalism , but within four years it was rocked by the Home Rule Crisis of 1886 , which saw the Liberal Unionists led by Joseph Chamberlain and

1050-530: A membership policy not dictated by race. The club had historically restricted membership to men. However, this was changed in 2007 and the club started admitting women members. The club also has reviewed its child policy and has started admitting children above the age of twelve years of age at all times since very recently. The historic club house can be accessed by its members. Facilities for members include Residential Rooms, Banquet & Conference, Tennis Court, Health Club, Billiard Room, Card Room, Swimming Pool,

1125-509: A thousand pounds a week. In 1976, Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe handed over the club to Canadian businessman George Marks, styling himself George de Chabris (and, more improbably, "His Serene Holiness the Prince de Chabris", which he claimed was "a Catholic title"), who, unknown to Thorpe, was a shrewd operator. "De Chabris" claimed to be a multi-millionaire willing to funnel money into the club (although both his wealth and his willingness to finance

1200-483: A two-year negotiation to sell off its second-floor and basement function rooms, and the 140 bedrooms from the third floor to the eighth floor (including two vast ballrooms and the Gladstone Library, which had contained 35,000 volumes before their sale in 1977, and was standing empty by the 1980s) to the adjoining Royal Horseguards Hotel , which is approached from a different entrance, and which has operated as

1275-534: Is a London private members' club , open to both men and women. It was established by William Ewart Gladstone in 1882 to provide club facilities for Liberal Party campaigners among the newly enlarged electorate following the Third Reform Act in 1884, and was envisioned as a more accessible version of a traditional London club. The club's Italianate building on the Embankment of the river Thames

1350-418: Is the second-largest club-house built in London. (It was the largest ever at the time, but was superseded by the later Royal Automobile Club building completed in 1911.) Designed by Alfred Waterhouse , it was completed in 1887. Its facilities include a dining room, a bar, function rooms, a billiards room, a smoking room , a library and an outdoor riverside terrace. It is located at Whitehall Place , close to

1425-493: The 2007 Liberal Democrats leadership election , frontrunner and eventual winner Nick Clegg launched his successful leadership bid from the club's David Lloyd George Room, praising "the elegance of the National Liberal Club". As party leader, Clegg has delivered further landmark addresses at the club, such as his "muscular liberalism" speech of 11 May 2011, marking one year of the Liberal Democrats in power as part of

1500-539: The Conservative-led coalition government . After the Liberal Democrats' mixed result in the 2017 general election, party leader Tim Farron used the club to give his first major speech, calling on Prime Minister Theresa May to resign after she had lost her majority. Designed by leading Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse using the Renaissance Revival architecture style, the clubhouse

1575-598: The Dardanelles Campaign , Churchill was soon unavailable for unveiling the portrait as he went into exile in the trenches. After his return, his strong support for the Lloyd George coalition meant that from 1916 he proved to be persona non-grata at the club, and this only increased after he left the Liberal Party in 1924. Thus from 1915 to 1940 (with only a brief display in 1923–4), the painting

SECTION 20

#1732779705289

1650-625: The Houses of Parliament , the Thames Embankment and Trafalgar Square . The genesis of the club lay with Welsh Liberal party activist (and later MP) Arthur John Williams , who proposed the creation of such a club at a Special General Meeting of the short-lived Century Club on 14 May 1882, so as to provide "a home for democracy, void of the class distinction associated with the Devonshire and Reform Clubs ". The first full meeting of

1725-564: The Marconi scandal of 1912, Winston Churchill used a speech to the club to mount an impassioned defence of embattled ministers David Lloyd George and Rufus Isaacs , asserting that there was "no stain of any kind" upon their characters. The club's cosmopolitan and internationalist make-up drew outside criticism as nationalist feelings rose in the First World War - the fervently anti-German and anti-semitic campaigner Arnold White wrote in his 1917 tract The Hidden Hand that: an official of

1800-774: The Marquess of Hartington (both of whom had been founder members of the NLC) secede from the party and eventually go into alliance with the Conservatives. Indeed, Chamberlain had been one of the NLC's most enthusiastic promoters upon its launch. At the 1884 ceremony of Gladstone's foundation-stone-laying for the club, Hartington had argued that the club would be the future home of Chamberlain's Radical Birmingham Caucus , and Chamberlain, standing next to him, pointedly refused to contradict him. Chamberlain himself resigned in 1886, shortly after

1875-575: The University of Bristol for £40,000. The pretext given was that the club could no longer afford to pay the Librarian's wages, and that it did not want to leave such valuable material unguarded. Ian Bradley described it as "a derisory sum" for the sale, particularly in light of the unique collection of accumulated candidates' manifestos from 19th-century general elections. Until its sale, it had been, as Peter Harris observed, "The most extensive of

1950-465: The "Liberal Party's 'local'" and a Liberal Party song "Down at the Old NLC" was written in response to this: Come, come, roll up your trouser leg Down at the old NLC. Come, come, stuff your coat on the peg, Down at the old NLC. There to get your apron on: Learn the secret organ song; Bend your thumb when you shake hands. Come, come, drinking till the dinner gong, Down at the old NLC. In

2025-400: The 'true' Liberal party, and viewing the other faction as 'traitors'. Michael Bentley has written of this period that "The Lloyd George Liberal Magazine , which appeared monthly between October 1920 and December 1923, spent much space attacking the National Liberal Club for its continued Asquithian partisanship – in particular for its refusal to hang portraits of Lloyd George and Churchill in

2100-537: The Blitz , which utterly destroyed the central staircase and caused considerable damage elsewhere. The £150,000 cost of reconstructing the staircase in 1950 (equivalent to £6,491,849 in 2023) placed a considerable strain on the club's finances, although generous support from the War Damage Commission helped to fund the new staircase. In the nine-year interim between the bomb blast and the rebuilding of

2175-590: The Burdwan Maharajas. The club reflects vignettes of social life of the European and Indian elite. Membership to the Calcutta Club remains a highly exclusive affair that allows only the elite section of the society, industrialists, the powerful bureaucrats or diplomats of India, eminent scientists, scholars, artists or highly regarded practitioners in field of medicine. To gain a new membership of

2250-533: The Club libraries of London." The collection is still housed at Bristol today. However, the papers referring to the history of the club itself were returned to the NLC in the 1990s, as they had not been included in the sale, and had been sent to Bristol by accident. After the 1977 dismissal of de Chabris, a 1978 rescue package by Sir Lawrence Robson (a former Liberal Party President and parliamentary candidate, co-founder and partner of Robson Rhodes , and husband of Liberal peer Baroness Robson ) did much to stabilise

2325-674: The Greenwich tavern which Gladstone used to take his cabinet ministers to by boat; as well as the Political and Economic Circle, which was founded by Gladstone in the 1890s. On 17 July 2002, Jeremy Paxman conducted a well-publicised interview with Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy in the club's Smoking Room for an edition of Newsnight . The interview generated controversy over Paxman's querying Kennedy's alcohol intake, including his asking, "Does it trouble you that every single politician to whom we've spoken in preparing for this interview said

Calcutta Club - Misplaced Pages Continue

2400-562: The Home Rule split, Hartington and other prominent Liberal Unionists followed early in 1887, and when a further 130 Unionists simultaneously seceded from the club in 1889, the Scots Observer called it "one of the most important events that has recently occurred in home politics", due to its ramifications for the Liberal Party breaking in two. The club enjoyed a reputation for radicalism, and H. V. Emy records that Radicals secured

2475-518: The Liberal campaign both distinctive and modern. Further Liberal election campaigns of the 1970s and 1980s retained the idea of a daily press conference at the NLC, but with live participants rather than a TV link-up to the party leader. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, all London clubs were in serious decline, and the NLC was no exception. By the 1970s the club was in a serious state of disrepair, its membership dwindling, and its finances losing almost

2550-567: The Liberals) Thomas Gibson Bowles told the House of Commons "I am informed there is an establishment not far from the House frequented by Radical millionaires and released prisoners, the National Liberal Club, where an enormous quantity of whisky is consumed." Despite this remark, it seems that the club accounted for relatively little alcohol consumption by the standards of the day – Herbert Samuel commented in 1909 that

2625-527: The NLC have mirrored those of the Liberal Party – as the Liberals declined as a national force in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, so did the NLC. However, despite the Liberals' national decline, the NLC remained a focus for debate. In the early 1950s, it was a centre of anti-ID card sentiment, and Harry Willcock , a member who successfully campaigned for the abolition of ID cards, tore his up in front of

2700-438: The National Liberal Club at the beginning of the war publicly ex- pressed the opinion that Germans would always be welcome. The spiritual home of every pro-German crank in the country was the National Liberal Club — a temple of luxury and ease where every enemy of England enjoyed the rites of hospitality. Enver [Pasha] when he was "Bey", and all the cosmopolitans, all the friends of every country but their own, were made welcome at

2775-476: The National Liberal Club were increasingly reserved by 'Wee Frees' for 'Wee Frees.'" The reunion of the two branches of the Liberal Party in the run-up to the December 1923 general election meant that the neighbouring 1920 Club for Lloyd George supporters was disbanded, and "the portraits of Lloyd George and [fellow Lloyd George Liberal] Churchill , long consigned to the cellar, were recovered and reinstated in

2850-614: The National Liberal Club. From late 1916 to December 1919, the clubhouse was requisitioned by the British government for use as a billet for Canadian troops, the club relocating in the meantime to several rooms in the Westminster Palace Hotel - the venue of its original meetings in 1882–3. Many of the Canadian troops billeted in the clubhouse were offered heavily discounted temporary club membership during their stay, although it appears that some overstayed their welcome –

2925-686: The advent of the First World War , although its membership was largely based on Liberal activists in the country at large; it was built on such a large scale to provide London club facilities for Liberal activists from around the country, justifying its use of the description 'national'. On 22 March 1893, during the Second Reading of the Clubs Registration Bill, the Conservative MP (who was later to defect to

3000-470: The autumn of 1980, former Liberal Leader Jo Grimond delivered the inaugural ' Eighty Club ' lecture to the Association of Liberal Lawyers at the club, drawing press attention for his scathing criticism of those Liberals who believed that their future lay in some form of social democracy , or what he termed, "a better yesterday". In 1985, reminiscent of the earlier de Chabris deals, the club undertook

3075-655: The average annual consumption of alcoholic liquor per NLC member was 31s. 4d. per annum, which compared very favourably with equivalent Conservative clubs, including 33s. 5d. for the nearby Constitutional Club , 48s. for the City Carlton Club , and 77s. for the Junior Carlton Club . One possible explanation was the strength of the Temperance movement in the Liberal party at the time. On 3 December 1909, Liberal Chancellor David Lloyd George used

Calcutta Club - Misplaced Pages Continue

3150-463: The cash till of the day's takings as he went. He eventually agreed to pay back half of that sum in instalments. In his time at the club he also sold it a painting for £10,000, when it was valued at less than £1,000. One of his more controversial reforms was to sell the National Liberal Club's Gladstone Library (which contained the largest library of 17th- to 20th-century political material in the country, including 35,000 books and over 30,000 pamphlets) to

3225-537: The club and secure its future – to this day the club honours Sir Lawrence with a portrait in the Smoking Room, and one of its function rooms has been renamed the Lawrence Robson Room. As the Liberal Party's lease on its headquarters expired in 1977, the party organisation moved to the upper floors of the NLC, the negotiations being arranged by "de Chabris". The Liberals occupied a suite of rooms on

3300-535: The club as a publicity stunt in 1951. He subsequently died at a meeting of the Eighty Club during a debate on 12 December 1952, with his last word being "Freedom." It was at a debate at the club in 1971 that Yale professor James Tobin first publicly voiced his proposal for a Tobin tax on financial transactions. In addition to the Blitz bombing in 1941, the club also sustained an attack from an IRA bomb at 12 past midnight on 22 December 1973 (as part of

3375-437: The club first introduced non-political membership (now simply called Membership, in contrast to Political Membership). Michael Meadowcroft explains that this was done to provide, "membership for Liberals who, by reason of their employment, such as judges, military officers or senior civil servants, were not permitted to divulge their politics", and so who had been previously debarred by the club's insistence on all members signing

3450-669: The club in September 1909, denouncing it as "a hotbed of socialism." Several discussion groups met at the club, including the Rainbow Circle in the 1890s, an influential group of Liberal, Fabian and socialist thinkers who came to be identified with the Bloomsbury Group . It was also the site of much intrigue in the Liberal Party over the years, rivalling the Reform Club as a social centre for Liberals by

3525-469: The club is an annual food and entertainment event that has observed continuous participation by foreign Consulates-General. The Royal Thai Consulate-General in Kolkata started participating at the club's international evening since 2020. Earlier Consulate of Italy in Kolkata organised “The Italian cuisine in 7 points” to meet with the eminent of the city. Reciprocal clubs of the Calcutta Club include some of

3600-498: The club to express their anger at Lloyd George's failure to use his infamous " Lloyd George fund " to help the Liberals in the disastrous general election campaign one month earlier . After the 1929 general election , the first meeting of the newly expanded Parliamentary Liberal Party was held at the club, with all MPs except one (the independently minded Rhys Hopkin Morris ) re-electing Lloyd George as Liberal Party Leader. In 1932,

3675-459: The club to make a speech fiercely denouncing the House of Lords , in what was seen as a de facto launch of the "People's Budget" general election of January 1910 . On 21 November 1911, the club was one of a number of buildings to have their windows smashed in by the suffragette Women's Social and Political Union , in protest at the Liberal government's inaction over votes for women . During

3750-421: The club turned out to be untrue), and he spent nine months running the club, relaxing membership rules and bringing in more income, but also moving his family in rent-free, running several businesses from its premises, paying for a sports car and his children's private school fees from the club's accounts, and he eventually left in a hurry owing the club £60,000, (equivalent to £545,470 in 2023) even emptying out

3825-499: The club's lavatories. One day the hall porter apprehended Smith and asked him if he was actually a member of the club, to which Smith replied "Good God! You mean it's a club as well?". This story, and apocryphal variations thereof (usually substituting Smith with Churchill), are told of many different clubs. The original related to the NLC, at the half-way point between Parliament and Smith's chambers in Elm Court, Temple. The comment

SECTION 50

#1732779705289

3900-478: The club's time on Trafalgar Square, a parliamentary question was asked in the House of Commons about the White Ensign being raised on the club's flagpole as part of a prank. The club's foundation stone on the modern clubhouse was laid by Gladstone on 9 November 1884, when he declared "Speaking generally, I should say there could not be a less interesting occasion than the laying of the foundation-stone of

3975-472: The club) address the demonstration, and later in the day, witnessed the bloodshed which ensued. In its late-19th-century heyday, its membership was primarily political, but had a strong journalistic and even bohemian character. Members were known to finish an evening's dining by diving into the Thames. Of the club's political character, George Bernard Shaw remarked at a debate in the club, "I have never yet met

4050-860: The club, it can take from years up to a decade sometimes depending on whether the applicant has recommendations of family members associated with the club or has a prominent standing in the society through their work. The club gives honorary membership only in special cases, like Amartya Sen , an Indian economist and philosopher, was awarded an honorary membership of the club after winning Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences . Along with Victoria Memorial, Kolkata and Bengal Club , Calcutta Club has hosted Tata Steel Kolkata Literary Meet on several years. The Telegraph National Debate at Calcutta Club brings Indian thought leaders and intellectuals from different and diversified arenas of political beliefs, opinions, and affiliations every year to discuss about

4125-451: The constituencies, asking them for their opinions on policy, designating several areas where opinion would be welcome. By November, the replies indicated that the weight of opinion lay with the democratisation of Parliament, involving the abolition of the Lords' veto, reform of registration and electoral law, and devolution. Amongst "other prominent reforms" were included all the major issues of

4200-532: The current issues in India. In February 2023, The Indian Express Group organized a round table conference at the Calcutta Club to shape Kolkata’s journey in becoming a medical hub of the southeast Asia . Also in 2023, this was for the first time, ever since the club introduced its international evening in 1979, an Education Conclave was held with focus on education that is key in nation-building, in collaboration with Techno India Group . The International Evening of

4275-468: The damage done by the troops), and did not re-open until 19 December 1920. As H. H. Asquith was deposed as prime minister by David Lloyd George , he spent his last full evening as prime minister on 8 December 1916 reporting to a full meeting of the Liberal Party at the club. It provided an overwhelming vote of confidence in his leadership. During the Liberal Party's 1916–23 split, the Asquith wing of

4350-567: The day (except nationalisation). These were then drafted into a manifesto of Radical reform which was "greatly resented by the official organisation." 38,000 copies were circulated, and a meeting of the General Committee of the NLF at Derby agreed to make reform a priority, a decision endorsed by [H. H.] Asquith a few days later. This reputation for radicalism was underlined when former Liberal prime minister Lord Rosebery resigned from

4425-498: The main club rooms, or to accept nominations for membership from Coalition Liberals. The creation of a separate ' 1920 Club ' in neighbouring Whitehall Court was one reaction to this treatment." The Lloyd George and Churchill portraits were removed in 1921 and put into the club's cellar. At the time, the Asquithians were popularly known as "Wee Frees", and historian Cameron Hazlehurst wrote that, "the civilities of social life at

4500-438: The new club was held on 16 November 1882, at the (now-demolished) Westminster Palace Hotel on Victoria Street. The Century Club itself then merged into the NLC at the end of the year. In its early years, the club declared its objects to be: An initial circular for subscribers meant that by the end of 1882, 2,500 members from over 500 towns and districts had already signed up for the new club, and membership would reach 6,500 by

4575-717: The notable prestigious social clubs in the world such as National Liberal Club , London, Oxford and Cambridge Club of the UK, Royal Over-Seas League , London, and Raffles Town Club of Singapore. Bengal Club Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 209036869 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:41:45 GMT National Liberal Club The National Liberal Club ( NLC )

SECTION 60

#1732779705289

4650-479: The party was in the ascendant in the club, while Liberal prime minister David Lloyd George (who had been a regular by the Smoking Room in previous years, often found warming his bottom by the fireplace where his portrait now hangs) was personally shunned by many NLC members. This was a highly acrimonious time within the Liberal Party, with both the Asquithian and Lloyd Georgeite factions believing themselves to be

4725-462: The places of honour in the smoking room", although Churchill's defection back to the Conservatives within less than a year meant that his portrait was just as swiftly returned to the basement, and would not re-emerge for another 16 years. There is a well-known story told of the NLC, that the Conservative politician F. E. Smith would stop off there every day on his way to Parliament , to use

4800-469: The same thing – 'You're interviewing Charles Kennedy, I hope he's sober'?" It was the first time a major television interviewer had raised the topic with the Lib Dem leader, who resigned three and half years later after admitting that he suffered from alcoholism. In the 2006 Liberal Democrats leadership election , Chris Huhne launched his leadership campaign from the main staircase of the club, while in

4875-663: The second floor, and a series of offices converted from bedrooms on the upper floors. The party continued to operate from the NLC until 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form the Liberal Democrats , and moved to occupy the SDP's old headquarters in Cowley Street. During this time, party workers were known to avail themselves of the club downstairs, and the NLC bar became known as

4950-400: The staircase, members had to use the stairs of the club's turret tower, often taking highly circuitous routes around the vast clubhouse. One of the items damaged in the blast was the 1915 portrait of Winston Churchill (a member of the club), by Ernest Townsend . Ironically, after 25 years of being hidden from sight, it had only just been put on display the year before. Painted in the year of

5025-556: The tiled pillars found throughout the club. (It was this resilient structure which enabled the building to survive a direct hit in the Blitz.) Waterhouse's work extended to designing the club's furnishings, down to the Dining Room chairs. It was the first London building to incorporate a lift , and the first to be entirely lit throughout by electric lighting. To provide its electricity, the Whitehall Supply Co. Ltd.

5100-573: The time the clubhouse opened in 1887. An initial temporary clubhouse opened on Trafalgar Square in May 1883, on the corner of Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall . The club would be based here for the next four years. The opening of the first clubhouse was marked by an inaugural banquet for 1,900 people at the Royal Aquarium off Parliament Square , which Punch reported saw the consumption of 200 dozen bottles of Pommery champagne. During

5175-483: Was a jibe at the brown tiles in some of the NLC's late-Victorian architecture. During the hung parliament of 1923–24, it was at the club that Asquith – as Leader of the reunited Liberal Party – announced on 6 December 1923 that the Liberals would support Ramsay MacDonald in forming Britain's first ever Labour government . The club continued to be a venue for large-scale meetings of Liberals. On Armistice Day 1924, over one hundred defeated Liberal candidates met at

5250-448: Was constructed at a cost of some £165,950; a substantial sum in 1884 (equivalent to £21,850,083 in 2023). An earlier design by architect John Carr was rejected by members. The NLC was described by Munsey's Magazine in 1902 as possessing, "The most imposing clubhouse in the British metropolis", and at the time of its construction, it was the largest clubhouse ever built; only the subsequent Royal Automobile Club building from 1910

5325-719: Was held by the club in storage. When Churchill became prime minister in May 1940, the club rushed out the painting and put it on display in the main lobby (where it still hangs today). It was bombed after one year, suffering a diagonal gash down the middle. The painting was then painstakingly restored, and Churchill re-unveiled it himself on 22 July 1943, at a ceremony also attended by his wife (a lifelong Liberal), Liberal Leader Sir Archibald Sinclair (a friend and colleague of over 30 years, then serving in Churchill's cabinet), lifelong friend Lady Violet Bonham Carter , Club chairman Lord Meston and cartoonist David Low . The fortunes of

5400-414: Was incorporated in 1887, being based underneath the club's raised terrace. By the time the supply opened in 1888, it had been bought by the expanding Metropolitan Electricity Supply Co. NLC members were so enamoured with the modern wonder of electric lighting that the original chandeliers featured bare light bulbs, whose distinctive hue was much prized at the time. The club's wine cellar was converted from

5475-550: Was larger. The NLC's building once hosted its own branch of the Post Office, something which the Royal Automobile Club still does. Waterhouse's design blended French, Gothic and Italianate elements, with heavy use of Victorian Leeds Burmantofts Pottery tilework manufactured by Wilcox and Co. The clubhouse is built around load-bearing steelwork concealed throughout the structure, including steel columns inside

5550-485: Was still unfinished when it opened its doors in 1887, but it was opened early on 20 June to allow members to watch that year's Jubilee processions from the club terrace. It was when the club had only recently moved to its present address that " Bloody Sunday " ensued on its doorstep during the Trafalgar Square riot of 13 November 1887. NLC members flocked to the windows to watch George Bernard Shaw (a member of

5625-454: Was to provide a central meeting-place for Metropolitan and provincial Liberals, where all the comforts of life should be attainable at what are called 'popular prices'", but added "at the least, we meant our Club to be a place of "ease" to the Radical toiler. But Gladstone insisted that it was to be a workshop dedicated to strenuous labour." Funds for the clubhouse were raised by selling 40,000 shares of £5 each (equivalent to £658 in 2023), in

#288711