University Women's Club

The University Women's Club at 2 Audley Square

The University Women's Club, originally the University Club for Ladies, is a British private members club founded in 1883. As the popular gentlemen's clubs did not accept any women as members, its creation was intended to provide an equivalent club accessible to women. By its own definition, it is a club for "graduate and professional women of varied backgrounds and interests". Members include lawyers, scientists, writers and musicians, as well as businesswomen.

The club house is located at 2 Audley Square, on South Audley Street, Mayfair, London.

History[]

The University Club for Ladies was founded in 1883 by of Girton College, Cambridge. In January 1887, it opened its premises at 31 Bond Street. By 1894, the location was not large enough to serve the purposes of the growing club and it expanded by moving to new premises at Maddox Street. By 1904, the club had moved to 4 George Street, Hanover Square where a number of bedrooms were available and by 1913, membership had grown to 800 members. The club now has almost 1,000 members.^{[citation needed]}

After the Great War, the club was again looking for new premises and, after a lengthy search, the freehold of 2 Audley Square – the club's permanent home today – was purchased in 1921. At the same time, it adopted its current name, the University Women's Club.

The house was built by Lord Arthur Russell in about 1880 to house his large family: the architect was T. H. Wyatt.^[1]^[2] The terrace and garden are now planted with green, white and violet plants, the colours associated with the Suffragette movement. A large London plane tree stands in the middle of the garden, probably originally planted in the grounds of Chesterfield House.