The New Club

The History of the Club

The New Club has been at the heart of Cheltenham society since it was founded in 1874 as a gentleman's club, modelled on the great London clubs, and intended like them from its inception to provide comfort, entertainment, a place to meet friends and an excellent cuisine for its members in an attractive environment in which they could relax and which was for many a home-from-home.

Edward Wilson (below), Scott's great friend, drank here before joining Scott on his expeditions including the last, fateful, Antarctic voyage; WG Grace relaxed at the New Club when he captained both Gloucestershire and England. The Club has changed with the times, welcoming women members and adapting to changing social norms, but its original aims of providing its members with comfort, entertainment, a place to meet friends and an excellent cuisine are unchanged.

And its front of house staff still wear the Club livery of navy jackets and red waistcoats.

How we started

In 1872 the Cheltenham Looker-On reported, "A New Club, it is said, is about to be formed in Cheltenham upon the principle of those so well 'authenticated' in the metropolis, but not of a political complexion". It added, "That it will interfere with the two already established is not at all improbable." This became true: so many members of the Imperial defected that it was obliged to close within a year, even offering the New Club the option of buying its furniture. The option was declined - everything was to be new. The Cheltenham & Gloucestershire only lasted a year or two longer.

Choosing the best location, Cheltenham's equivalent to London's Pall Mall, for the New Club's home was a priority. By the 1870s, the Promenade was the town's smartest street and the Queen's was the leading hotel. Imperial Gardens was still laid out as informal gardens owned by a nurseryman, Mr Hodges. His lease being up, the New Club committee was able to purchase the northwest corner freehold.

The plans for the New Club were certainly ambitious: an imposing forecourt and steps, and an even more impressive entrance hall. There would be all the usual facilities: lounge, dining room, library, billiard rooms, card rooms and committee rooms, and members would be attended, as in London, by liveried staff.

In 1978 the club moved to its current location, a lovely Regency building, just a stone's throw from the original site. But we have not forgotten our past: the original porter's chair, 'covered in American cloth', still stands in the hallway of the New Club today.

From the date when it displaced the two existing gentlemen's clubs, no other establishment has ever threatened the New Club's position as the pre-eminent social club for members in the town.