The Caledonian Club
is a private members' club in central London,
for Scots in London and their guests. The club
was founded in 1891 as a proprietary club, based
in Chares II street, London SW1. It became a
members’ club in 1917 when the Marquis of
Tullibardine appealed to members to make it "the
representative national club and headquarters
for Scotsmen in London".
Membership requires at least one Scottish
grandparent, or to have served, in the opinion
of the committee of the club, “in an important
capacity in the public service of Scotland”.
Most members are Scots. The membership
comprises a wide cross-section of professions,
including lawyers, accountants, bankers and
stockbrokers but also professional sportsmen,
ambassadors and the armed services.
The club
was originally located at 33 St James' Square.
It moved to its present location at 9 Halkin
Street, London SW1, behind Hyde Park Corner, on
17 October 1946. The house at 9 Halkin Street
was built for Hugh Morrison, a politician first
returned to Parliament in 1918 and a wealthy
landowner. The clubhouse at Number 9 was the
last mansion house of its kind to be built in
London. In 2005-06, it was substantially
extended with a new wing providing much enlarged
facilities, including a new library, public
rooms and many new bedrooms. The new wing was
opened by Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, on 30 November 2006.
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