Cosmopolitan Club

The Cosmopolitan Club was open for its members on Wednesdays and Saturdays only, from 10pm till 2am between 1852-1902. In 1854 it moved location from 49 Bond Street to Berkeley square, which had previously been used as studios by artists George Frederick Watts and Henry Wyndham Philips. The eclectic members included literary figures such as Francis Turner Palgrave, playwright and editor of Punch, Tom Taylor and civil servants. On occasion, the rooms were used for exhibitions, displaying paintings that had been refused by the Royal Academy. Although it wasn't defined by a particular political affiliation, many of its members were liberal, with several serving in Gladstone's cabinet. Membership was limited to a total of 150 members but they were encouraged to bring along interesting guests, which added to the atmosphere of conviviality and conversation. Henry James described it as 'a talking club, extremely select' and in 1865, King Edward VII became a member.