A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally set up by men from Britain's upper classes in the 18th and succeeding centuries.
Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the British Empire: in particular, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. There are also many clubs in major American cities, especially the older ones. A gentleman's club typically contains a formal dining room, a bar, a library, a billiard room, and one or more parlours for reading, gaming, or socializing. Many clubs also contain guest rooms and fitness amenities. Some are associated mainly with sports, and some regularly hold other events such as formal dinners.
History
The original clubs were established in the West End of London. Today, the area of St James's is still sometimes called "clubland". Clubs took over some parts of the role occupied by coffee houses in 18th-century London. The first clubs, such as White's, Brooks's, and Boodle's, were aristocratic in flavour, and provided an environment for gambling, which was illegal outside of members-only establishments.
The 19th century brought an explosion in the popularity of clubs, particularly around the 1880s. At the height of their influence in the late 19th century, London had over 400 such establishments.
Club Life in London, an 1866 book, begins: "The Club in the general acceptation of the term, may be regarded as one of the earliest offshoots of man's habitual gregariousness and social inclination."
An increasing number of clubs were influenced by their members' interests in politics, literature, sport, art, automobiles, travel, particular countries, or some other pursuit. In other cases, the connection between the members was membership in the same branch of the armed forces, or the same school or university. Thus the growth of clubs gives some indication of what was considered a respectable part of the "Establishment" at the time.
By the late 19th century, any man with a credible claim to the status of "gentleman" was eventually able to find a club willing to admit him, unless his character was objectionable in some way or he was "unclubbable" (a word first used by Samuel Johnson). This newly expanded category of English society came to include professionals who had to earn their income, such as doctors and lawyers.
Most gentlemen belonged to only one club, which closely corresponded with the trade or social/political identity he felt most defined him, but a few people belonged to several. Members of the aristocracy and politicians were likely to have several clubs. The record number of memberships is believed to have been held by Earl Mountbatten, who had nineteen in the 1960s.
Public entertainments, such as musical performances and the like, were not a feature of this sort of club. The clubs were, in effect, "second homes" in the centre of London where men could relax, mix with their friends, play parlour games, get a meal, and in some clubs stay overnight. Expatriates, when staying in England, could use their clubs, as with the East India Club or the Oriental Club, as a base. They allowed upper- and upper-middle-class men with modest incomes to spend their time in grand surroundings. The richer clubs were built by the same architects as the finest country houses of the time and had similar types of interiors. They were a convenient retreat for men who wished to get away from female relations, "in keeping with the separate spheres ideology according to which the man dealt with the public world, whereas women's domain was the home." Many men spent much of their lives at their club, and it was common for young, newly graduated men who had moved to London for the first time to live at their club for two or three years before they could afford to rent a house or flat.