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REFORM CLUB, on the south side of Pall Mall, between the Travellers' Club and the Canton Club, was founded by the Liberal members of the two Houses of Parliament, about the time the Reform Bill was canvassed and carried, 1830- 32. The Club consists of 1000 members, exclusive of members of either House of Parliament Entrance fee, 25 guineas; annual subscription for the first five years of election, 101. l0s., subsequently, 81. 8s. The house was built from the designs of Charles Barry, R. A. The exterior is greatly admired, though the windows, it is urged are too small. The interior, especially the large square hall covered with glass, occupying the centre of the building, is very imposing. The cooking establishment of the Club is under the superintendence of the celebrated M. Soyer, and in brilliancy of cuisine yields to none in Britain.
Peter Cunningham, Hand-Book of London, 1850
see also London at Dinner, 1858 - click here
The REFORM, - the great political Liberal Club, as
Brooks's is Whig, and White's Tory, - is situated in
Pall Mall, between the Travellers' Club and the Carlton;
a handsome palatial structure, of great size and elaborate
decoration, designed by Sir Charles Barry. The kitchen is
the finest in London, and was the scene for many years of
the late Alexis Soyer's artistic manipulations.
The club (1400 members, exclusive of Liberal M.P.'s
and peers) was established about 1830, during the Reform
Bill agitations, and is the fons et origo of metropolitan
Liberalism. Entrance fee, 26l. 5s.; annual subscription for
the first five years, 10l. 10s., afterwards, 8l. 8s.
Cruchley's London in 1865 : A Handbook for Strangers, 1865
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Reform Club,
Pall-mall.— Is instituted for the purpose of promoting the social intercourse
of the Reformers of the United Kingdom. Candidates must be Reformers and
socially eligible.
Entrance fee, £40; subscription, £10
10s.
Charles Dickens (Jr.), Dickens's Dictionary of London, 1879
George Birch, The Descriptive Album of London, c.1896
Victorian London - Publications - History - The Queen's London : a Pictorial and Descriptive Record of the Streets, Buildings, Parks and Scenery of the Great Metropolis, 1896 - The Reform Club : The Library
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THE REFORM CLUB: THE LIBRARY
The most influential of the Liberal clubs was founded by the Right Hon. Edward Ellice in 1836 and the splendid clubhouse in Pall Mall, south side, was opened five years later. Barry was the architect, his design being based on that of the Farnese Palace at Rome. The promoters of the Club intended that it should become famous, not only as a political centre, but also for its books, its comfort, and its cookery, and in all these directions their ambition has been amply realised. The Library occupies a handsome room that originally served as a drawing-room and the collection of books, particularly those dealing with political and parliamentary subjects, is wonderfully comprehensive About a thousand volumes are added every year; and the library committee includes many distinguished men.