The Beefsteak Club is a very special club and a very special place, a club prized by its members, all of whom take pleasure in its tradition of lively and stimulating conversation around a common table that brings together distinguished people from all walks of life. This is as true today as it was when the Sublime Society of Beefsteaks came into existence in the early eighteenth century.

There is no agreement about how and why the Society of Beefsteaks came into being but there is no doubt that it was founded in 1735 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, by Richard Rich, the theatre’s manager. Along with Rich, the founder members were the English landscape painter, George Lambert, and William Hogarth. Later famous members included the actor David Garrick and John Wilkes, the political radical. Later still, and as the Society’s celebrity spread, its members came to include the Prince Regent (the future George IV) and his two brothers, the Duke of Clarence (William IV) and the Duke of Sussex. Perhaps not surprisingly, it was something of a raffish place, given to excess and ribald laughter, but these years left their mark on the subsequent history of the club.

Members had a rather ornate blue and buff uniform, the waistcoat bore brass buttons engraved with the words “Beef and Liberty”. Redolent of the British patriotism of the day, this remains the Club motto. From the outset, the Society of Beefsteaks was primarily a dining club. This too remains the case. One significant difference is the size of membership. Today’s club has around 500 members: the Society of Beefsteaks had only 24. However, the present club table seats only 24.

What followed was something of a chequered history, the club frequently moving premises in and around Covent Garden. However, as fashions changed, attendance at dinners declined, and eventually the Sublime Society of Beefsteaks closed in 1867.

Happily this was not to be the end of the story. In 1876 the club was reborn, largely thanks to the efforts of Archibald Stuart Wortley and his friend, the great Victorian actor manager, Sir Henry Irving. Rooms were found in King William Street. If membership was decidedly aristocratic, the likes of the Duke of Beaufort soon found themselves joined by eminent artists, actors, journalists, parliamentarians and the occasional general.  Securing membership was much prized and frequently met by rejection. When the lease to the property ran out, the club took the momentous decision to move to new premises on what was then Green Street, off Charing Cross Road, where it remains to this day. The architect Thomas Verity was instructed to replicate the design of the club room in King William Street. This he did, and it is this interior that still exists relatively unchanged.

If the club survived the First World War, it was not immune from its financial and human costs. Nonetheless, it continued to attract a remarkably varied and talented membership. Edward Elgar joined in 1923; Rudyard Kipling in 1924; and Harold Macmillan in 1926. The latter was to become a major figure in the club’s subsequent history.

Two important developments occurred during this decade. In 1921 the club resolved to open for luncheon and in 1927, in what proved to be a very smart financial move, the club bought the freehold to its property. 1930 saw another significant moment in the club’s history: the acceptance of membership by HRH the Prince of Wales. Upon his accession to the throne as Edward VIII, the king agreed to become royal patron of the club, a position he retained until his death in 1972. During the Second World War an air-raid shelter was constructed in the basement. The club remained open, if only for lunch.

With the end of hostilities, the Beefsteak Club once again bounced back, even in what were now decidedly shabby-looking club premises. The 1950s and 1960s in particular were years when cabinet ministers found themselves sitting next to actors such as Rex Harrison and John Gielgud and when the club found itself at the centre of the nation’s political life. Subsequent years brought an influx of many of the country’s brightest and most influential journalists. 1963 saw the introduction of one of the club’s more curious rules: namely, that it is the third member to arrive who is seated at the head of table. 1965 saw the appointment of a French chef by the name of Philippe La Camp. It is not known whether the quality of the food improved.

All of this took place against significant challenges to the club’s existence, challenges that called upon the ability and commitment of those who led and managed the club through these difficult years. But survive it did, despite dramatic social change, postwar financial rigours, the inflation of the 1970s, and frequent predictions that the days of the London club were over. Today the Beefsteak Club remains much as it has always been: a place where civilized and interesting people can converse with like-minded friends and acquaintances in a convivial environment. Long may it remain so.