A traditional gentlemen’s club was a private social club originally set up by and for British upper-class men in the 18th century.  These clubs were, in effect, “second homes” in the center of London where men could relax, mix with their friends, play parlor games, get a meal, and in some clubs stay overnight.  Expatriates, when staying in England, could use their clubs, such as the Oriental Club, as a base while conducting business. Many men spent much of their lives at their club, and it was common for young, newly graduated men who had moved to London for the first time to live at their club for two or three years before they could afford to rent a house or flat.

These Clubs allowed middle-class men with modest incomes to spend their time in grand surroundings.  A gentleman’s club typically contained a formal dining room, a bar, a library, a billiards room and one or more parlors for reading, gaming, or socializing.  Designed for communication, these clubs helped the sharing of information and the development of relationships between men.  The confidential information that might be shared at a Gentleman’s Club was often useful as a tool to climb the social ladder and establish oneself in the commercial world.

White’s, a club founded in 1693, is the oldest gentleman’s club in London and considered the most exclusive private club in the world. The club was originally established at 4 Chesterfield Street, off Curzon Street in Mayfair, in 1693 by an Italian immigrant named Francesco Bianco as a hot chocolate emporium under the name Mrs. White’s Chocolate House.  White’s quickly made the transition from teashop to exclusive club and in the early 18th century, it was notorious as a gambling house; those who frequented it were known as “the gamesters of White’s.” The club gained a reputation for both its exclusivity and the often-raffish behavior of its members.  Jonathan Swift referred to White’s as the “bane of half the English nobility.” In 1778 it moved to 37–38 St James’s Street. Since 1783 onward, it has been the unofficial headquarters of the Tory party.

Brooks’s and Boodle’s was established in 1762, by Messrs. Boothby and James.  Having been blackballed for membership at White’s, they set up their own club in William Almack’s Tavern. Two years later, a club, was founded by twenty-seven prominent Whig nobles including the Duke of Portland, the Duke of Roxburghe, Lord Crewe and Lord Strathmore. Many of the Club’s younger members, fashionable young men, known as Macaronis, would frequent the premises for the purposes of wining, dining, and gambling.  In March 1764, the club appears to have divided itself into two separate societies along political lines. One of the two successor societies moved back to Almack’s tavern, and converted it into a clubhouse; this club would go on to become Brooks’s. The other successor society remained at No. 50: this was the club that would become Boodle’s.

Gentlemen’s Clubs in the United States was established when, after the War of 1812, Englishmen came here to settle North America. These Gentlemen’s Clubs had to be renamed as in the United States today, the term “gentlemen’s club” commonly refers euphemistically to strip clubs.  As a result, traditional Gentlemen’s Clubs today are called “men’s clubs”, “city clubs”, or simply as “private social clubs.”  The oldest existing American clubs date to the 17th/18th centuries; the five oldest are the South River Club in Annapolis, Maryland (c.1690/1700), the Schuylkill Fishing Company in Andalusia, Pennsylvania (1732), the Old Colony Club in Plymouth, Massachusetts (1769), The Philadelphia Club in Philadelphia (1834), and the Union Club of the City of New York in New York City (1836).

 The Old South River Club is one of the oldest, continuously active “private clubs” in America. The club was created in 1690 when the first settlers, determined to civilize a rugged land and living miles apart, needed a place for sharing information and socializing.  About 20 such men used London’s social clubs as models when they started the South River Club, eventually known as the Ancient or Old South River Club.  The Club was founded to promote “fellowship and fulsome discussion” among the area’s English settlers. 

The Schuylkill Fishing Company of Pennsylvania, also known as the State in Schuylkill, is an angling club near Philadelphia and claims to be the oldest continuously operating social club in the English-speaking world.  The club began in 1732 by 27 Quakers who emigrated with William Penn to the newly founded colony of Pennsylvania.  In 1747, the members decided to build a clubhouse, dubbed The Castle, at the foot of the Schuylkill River falls near Fairmount, now part of Philadelphia. During the American Revolution, Samuel Morris, the club’s governor, was the captain of the First City Troop, which many other members joined. While Philadelphia was the young nation’s new capital, President George Washington, an honorary member, was a frequent visitor to the clubhouse and on July 21, 1825, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette visited the Castle and was elected a member.

The Schuylkill Fishing Company claims to have invented Fish House Punch, an alcoholic drink consisting primarily of rum. Traditionally, the Punch is made in a large bowl also used as a baptismal font for the members infant sons.  According to legend, on a visit to the Castle, George Washington drank so much of the potent Fish House Punch, he couldn’t bring himself to make an entry in his diary for three days.

The Philadelphia Club was founded in 1830 several gentlemen who were in the habit of meeting to play cards at Mrs. Rubicam’s Coffee House. In early in 1834 they removed to the old “Adelphi Building”, on the west side of Fifth Street, below Walnut (now No. 212 South Fifth Street).  At that time, they adopted the name of “The Adelphi Club”.  The Philadelphia Club has been a stronghold of the Philadelphia elite since its founding in 1834. The first Chairman of the club was George Cadwalader and the first president was Commodore James Biddle.

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