The University Women’s Club has been part of London’s story for nearly 140 years. Here is how it began.
In 1883, Gertrude Jackson of Girton College, Cambridge, called a meeting of friends and colleagues to discuss the idea of forming a club for university women in London. By July 17th, 1886, over 200 women had expressed interest, and the University Club for Ladies, as it was then called, was officially formed. Shortly after, rooms in New Bond Street were secured, and the Club was formally declared open.
For the next thirty-five years, the Club was obliged to move several times as it gained more members and outgrew its premises. At Maddox Street, gentlemen guests were ‘rigorously excluded’ – not, it was quickly clarified, ‘through any hatred of the sex, but simply through want of space’.
At George Street, the Club was able to offer bedrooms to members for the first time, and a smoking room was provided. Much of the Committee’s time was spent on the selection of food and wine, and it seems the Club’s whisky was especially popular. It sold for threepence an inch, and one of the Secretary’s duties was to carefully mark out the bottles.
The Club finally found its permanent home in 1921, when the members purchased the freehold of 2 Audley Square from the Russell family for £22,500. This shift from rented accommodation to ownership of a prestigious property was a watershed for the Club, marking the increased status of women brought about by the Great War.
The handsome red-brick and sandstone house at 2 Audley Square was designed by T.H. Wyatt for Lord Arthur Russell, who, in 1876, remodelled much of the earlier Georgian house that had belonged to his mother. Many of the earlier Georgian features still remain in the interior. The house had already served as a gathering place for distinguished women before the Club took it over. Lord Arthur Russell’s wife was a prominent society hostess whose guests included explorer Gertrude Bell, Vera Brittain and Virginia Woolf.
According to a letter in The Spectator following Lady Arthur Russell’s death in 1910, the salon she kept at 2 Audley Square became…
“the focus for some of the best talk and pleasantest evenings that the London world had to offer”.
The University Women’s Club has continued that tradition of excellent conversation and camaraderie to this day.
One of the Club’s most attractive features throughout its history has been the diversity of its membership and the wide range of occupations it represents. Despite its name, the club has never imposed formal academic requirements. Today, its goal remains to provide a welcoming environment and some of the best conversation and company for graduate, professional and business women of all ages.
This year, we are marking 140 years since our founding with a special celebration on Friday 17 July 2026. Find out more about 140 years of the University Women’s Club.
If you would like to find out more discover Why Join the UWC or read about Becoming a Member.
The Club in the Press
For more than a century, the University Women’s Club has occupied a distinctive place in London’s social and cultural life. From its history as one of Britain’s pioneering women’s clubs to its life today in the heart of Mayfair, the Club continues to attract interest from writers exploring London, women’s history and the world of private members’ clubs.
A selection of recent perspectives:
Further reading