Members' Area Login The Club Sports & Wellbeing Weddings Meetings & Functions Accommodation Become a Member Club Rules Meet Our Team Contact Us Our History 18th Century 1761 John Stuart, third Earl of Bute, buys the empty site in Berkeley Square and commissions Robert Adam to design a house there 1763 Lord Bute resigns as the King’s chief minister 1765 William, second Earl of Shelburne, buys the unfinished property from Lord Bute, agreeing to keep to Adam’s original designs 1766 Lord Shelburne becomes Secretary of State for the Southern Department, responsible for American affairs 1768 Lord Shelburne and his family move into the unfinished house. Lord Shelburne resigns as Secretary of State in October 1771 After the death of his first wife, Lord Shelburne goes to Italy and starts his collection of paintings and antique statues 1775 Outbreak of American War of Independence. Adam’s First Drawing Room completed 1782 Lord Shelburne negotiates peace treaty with America. Tradition holds that he drafted the treaty in what is now the Round Room Cocktail Bar of The Lansdowne Club. His friend Benjamin Franklin is the chief American signatory 1784 Lord Shelburne is created first Marquess of Lansdowne. The house becomes known as Lansdowne House 1788 George Dance the Younger is commissioned to redesign Adam’s library and other rooms 19th Century 1805 The second Marquess of Lansdowne inherits the title and sells the bulk of his father’s art collection 1809 The third Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds. He re-establishes the Lansdowne Art Collection 1816-19 Further alterations to Adam’s library carried out by Robert Smirke the younger 1830s -1850s Visitors to the house include Charles Dickens, Byron’s biographer Thomas Moore and Lord Macaulay 1834-52 After fire destroys both Houses of Parliament, the Lansdowne Dining Room is used for meetings of the Privy Council until the Palace of Westminster is built 1847-51 The third Marquess employs Matthew Arnold as his secretary 1863 The fourth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds 1866 The fifth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds 1870s A sculpture gallery in the Gothic style is designed by T.H. Wyatt 1888-94 The fifth Marquess holds office as Viceroy of India 20th Century 1902-4 As Foreign Secretary, the fifth Marquess negotiates the Anglo-Japanese Treaty and the Entente Cordiale 1914-18 Lansdowne House is used as a first aid station throughout the First World War 1921 The last grand family party at the house is held for the wedding of Lady Dorothy Cavendish to Harold Macmillan. The fifth Marquess rents the house to Gordon Selfridge, the American owner of Selfridge’s department store 1927 The sixth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds 1929 An exhibition of English decorative art is held at Lansdowne House. The sixth Marquess then sells the house to the American architect and property developer Benson Greenall. Greenall is refused permission to build a fifteen-storey hotel on the south side of Berkeley Square 1930 Greenall sells Lansdowne House to the Bruton Club 1931 Lansdowne House is radically restructured. Adam’s façade is cut back forty feet. The First Drawing Room and Great Eating Room are dismantled and shipped to America 1934 The Bruton Club sells the freehold to London Assurance 1935 Official opening of the renamed The Lansdowne Club on 1 May. Plans to extend Curzon Street are shelved. The cul-de-sac outside the Club is named Fitzmaurice Place 1939 Outbreak of the Second World War. The Club pool is closed for the duration 1943 Adam’s First Drawing Room is reassembled for permanent display at the Museum of Art in Philadelphia 1946 Swimming pool reopens on 12 February 1954 Adam’s Great Eating Room is reassembled as the Lansdowne Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum in New York 1964-5 Westminster Council builds the extension of Curzon Street, sweeping away The Lansdowne Club's steps' and adjusting the split levels 1972 The Club buys the freehold 1998 The Masterplan commences 21st Century 2001 Refurbishment of the Fencing Salle is completed 2012 The sports area refurbishment is completed with a new exercise studio and steam room 2015 The Club's Strategy is put into action to start the next chapter in the Club's history with a focus on Members, upgrading the Club and the Staff's development and training THE CLUB Membership If you are interested in becoming a Member, please click below BECOME A MEMBER MORE INFORMATION Club Rules Careers I want to book a... Reciprocal Network Charities Privacy Policy Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Policy Accessibility Cookie Policy CONTACTS & SOCIAL Call the Club +44 (0) 20 7629 7200 Email us at - secretary@lansdowneclub.com 9 Fitzmaurice Place, Mayfair, London W1J 5JD FOR MEMBERS Member login © Lansdowne Club 2021 | Designed and built by Crumpled Dog