This is a club, which means that the bar may be only open to members.
Widely considered to be the oldest and most exclusive of the London gentlemens' clubs. Its early evolution is obscure due to absence of records, but some sources date it back to 1693. The club was notorious in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries for its high-stakes gambling and general raffish behaviour, and has a famous historic betting book. The gaming house scene in Hogarth's Rake's Progress is supposedly based on White's.
The club has no female members but did have a famous female chef at the turn of the nineteenth century, Rosa Lewis the "Duchess of Duke Street". The only woman to have been welcomed into the Club was the late Queen Elizabeth, who visited twice.
King Charles had his stag night here before his first marriage and current membership includes numerous Earls, Baronets, Dukes, Viscounts etc.
The clubhouse is quite small compared with others in Clubland; its facilities include a billiards room and private dining room.
Historic Interest
Grade I listed, Historic England reference 1264877. In the postwar years the Minister of Labour Aneurin Bevan, strong Socialist and an ex-coal-miner, was being entertained at White's by Sir John Slessor, Air Chief Marshal. On leaving Bevan was kicked down the steps by The Honourable John Denzil Fox-Strangways, 42, a former Coldstream Guards officer who was highly annoyed by Bevan's visit. Fox-Strangways was required to resign his membership shortly after.
White's Club, London