Badge of the East India Club, London

The East India, Devonshire, Sports and Public Schools' Club, usually known as the East India Club, is a gentlemen's club founded in 1849 and situated at 16 St. James's Square in London. A gentlemen's club is a members-only private Club of a type originally set up by and for English Upper class men Year 1849 ( MDCCCXLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common St James Square is the only square in the exclusive St James's district of the City of Westminster. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Membership of the club is by selection and former pupils of British public schools are encouraged to become members. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located An independent school in the United Kingdom is a school relying upon private sources for all of its funding predominantly in the form of school fees

Founded in the middle of the 19th century, the club's original members were "the servants of the East India Company and Commissioned Officers of Her Majesty's Army and Navy", supplementing the older Oriental Club, whose numbers were limited. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or The Oriental Club in London is a traditional Gentlemen's club near Oxford Street, London W1, established in 1824.

The Club still provides meeting and social facilities for business and leisure, but it had already lost its military flavour within the first two decades of its foundation, with the East India Company having wound up entirely by 1874. Year 1874 ( MDCCCLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common

Since then, the club has amalgamated with the Sports Club (1938), the Public Schools Club (1972) and the Devonshire (1976), all of which ran into the twin problems of keeping up membership numbers and making both ends meet, especially with the escalating costs of maintenance for historic buildings. The Devonshire Club was established in 1874 at 50 St James's Street. With the disappearance of the East India Company, the public school influence has recently become an important one and although the club occupies the original building of the East India Club and maintains its fixtures and fittings, its composition today is primarily as a continuation of the old Public Schools Club.

Its facilities include two dining rooms, the 'American bar' which is available to gentlemen only on weekdays (but ladies can use it on weekends), the 'Ladies drawing room' which is open only to gentlemen accompanying ladies, a library, a gymnasium, snooker rooms and 67 bedrooms.

The East India Club is also a private venue and offers conference facilities. The club has a restaurant, smoking room for gentlemen only, drawing room for women visitors, and a library of antiquarian and contemporary books. Most public schools offer membership of the club under the "J7" scheme. Other people gain membership through being proposed and seconded by existing members. However, if an applicant does not know a member, this requirement is waived in favour of an interview with the membership committee.

See also

• List of London's gentlemen's clubs

References

External links

• Official website