Clubland - The Athenaeum
I’ve been talking a little wander around ‘Clubland’ - that little segment of London which was home to the clubs that dominated the social life of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
If you read Regency romances, or are interested in the politics of the time, you’ll have come across the clubs. They seem to have changed their colours a little over time - in the 1790s they were gambling dens as much as clubs, but by the time Darwin joined the Athenaeum they had become much more sedate.
This splendid building is the Athenaeum - founded in 1824. The club house is just a little later, dating from 1829, and I think it’s the most splendid building of its day in London. It was designed by Decimus Burton, a student of the great Regency architect John Nash. He was only 24 when he made the designs - Nash’s recommendation had got him the job - but it’s a work of stunning refinement and strong character.
The Elgin Marbles had been brought to London in 1801, and bought for the British Museum in 1816, and had had an immense impact on artists and architects. You can see how the frieze here, with its classical figures, copies the idea; if it looks a bit small and unimpressive, it’s because the top storey was added later. Originally, the balustrade above the frieze would have been the top of the building.
Above the porch - itself a fine piece of classical design with its twin Doric piers - is a gilded statue of Athena, goddess of wisdom. She is the patron of the club and that reflects the ideals of the foundation - the club was to admit “men of distinguished eminence in Science, Literature or the Arts” as well as the gentry and nobility who made up the membership of other clubs.
Athena was carved by Edward Hodges Bailey, who also made the sculptures for Marble Arch. In one way, he was a typical product of the Regency Enlightenment, having worked with the neo-classical sculptor John Flaxman. But he had started off, most probably, in his father’s workshop in Bristol - carving figure-heads for ships! I wonder if his Athena ever feels like setting off on her travels?
By the way, Athena’s no longer the only lady around - women have been eligible to join the Athenaeum since 2002. Nowadays, this is the club where you’ll find doctors, scientists, engineers, and academics - Charles Darwin and Michael Faraday would still, I think, be very much at home here.
Where: 107 Pall Mall
Photo credit: Matt Brown on flickr
