Founded in 1824, the Athenaeum Club was created unlike any other club in London. Rather than serving politicians, gamblers or aristocrats, it brought together the leading figures of Britain's scientific, literary and artistic life.
Over the last two centuries, its members have included Charles Darwin, Michael Faraday, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Sir Winston Churchill and more than fifty Nobel Prize winners. From Decimus Burton's magnificent Greek Revival clubhouse to its renowned library and remarkable collection of art, the Athenaeum remains one of the most intellectually distinguished institutions in Britain.
In this episode of Clubs of London, we explore the history of the club, its extraordinary architecture, the stories behind its famous members, and why it continues to occupy a unique place in London's clubland.
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Sources
The Athenaeum Club – Official History: https://theathenaeum.co.uk/the-club/our-history/
The Athenaeum Club – Our Rooms: https://theathenaeum.co.uk/the-club/our-rooms/
Anthony Lejeune, The Gentlemen's Clubs of London (St Martin's Press, 1979)
Michael Wheeler, The Athenaeum: More Than Just Another London Club (Third Millennium Publishing, 2000)
Anthony Trollope, An Autobiography (1883)
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (entries relating to John Wilson Croker, Michael Faraday, Sir Humphry Davy, Anthony Trollope and other notable members)
Decimus Burton Society – Decimus Burton and the Athenaeum Club
