London's high society at Almack's.

Almack's Assembly Rooms was one of the first clubs in London that welcomed both men and women. It was one of a limited number of upper class mixed-sex public social venues in the British capital in an era when the most important venues for the hectic social season were the grand houses of the aristocracy. Image File history File linksMetadata Almack's_Assembly_Rooms_inside. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Almack's_Assembly_Rooms_inside. ... The Assembly Rooms are a set of elegant rooms open to the public and located in the heart of the world heritage City of Bath at Bennett Street, Bath, BA1 2QH UK. History The Assembly Rooms formed the hub of fashionable Georgian society in the city. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Almack's opened in King Street, St. James, in London, on 20 February 1765. Established by William Macall who, to avoid the onus of a Scottish name, then considered foreign and uncouth, reversed the syllables. (His Almack's Coffee House, opened at the same time, was bought in 1774 to become the gentlemen's club, Brooks's.) St Jamess is an area of west central London, England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1765 (MDCCLXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The noted gentlemans Reform Club A Gentlemens club is a members club originally designed for male members of the English upper class. ... The interior of a gaming room at Brookss, 1808, print by Rowlandson and Pugin Brookss is a London gentlemens club, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. ...

From the first, Almack's Assembly Rooms were governed by a select committee of the most influential and exclusive ladies of the ton, known as the Lady Patronesses of Almacks. At different periods in the club's long history, there were six or seven of them. In 1814, they were:

Longitude and Latitude of St Petersburgh, a caricature of Countess Lieven and a shorter and broader dance partner by George Cruikshank.

• Anne Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry, better known as Viscountess of Castlereagh.
• Sarah Villiers, Countess of Jersey
• Lady Cowper (later married Lord Palmerston)
• Lady Sefton
• Mrs. Drummond Burrel (whose husband, a notable dandy, became Baron Gwydyr after 1816)
• Countess de Lieven (wife of the Russian ambassador)
• Princess Esterhazy (wife of the Austrian ambassador)

These "fair arbiters" created a temple of exclusivism for the balls held on Wednesday nights (the only activity of the club) by allowing only those of whom they approved to buy the non-transferrable annual vouchers, costing ten guineas (a guinea being a bit more than a pound sterling). Holding that voucher became the difference between society and Society. To not have it might mean simply that one had not applied. To lose one's voucher, though, meant that one had been tried and found wanting, a social disaster for those dedicated to their place in the ton. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1163x825, 349 KB) Longitude and Latitude of St Petersburgh, a caricature of Countess Lieven waltzing at Almacks by George Cruikshank, May 13th 1813. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1163x825, 349 KB) Longitude and Latitude of St Petersburgh, a caricature of Countess Lieven waltzing at Almacks by George Cruikshank, May 13th 1813. ... Portrait of George Cruikshank Wood engraving published in Harpers Weekly newspaper March 16, 1878 A Young George Cruikshank George Cruikshank (September 27, 1792—February 1, 1878) was an English caricaturist and book illustrator. ... Amelia Anne Hobart, daughter of Sir John Hobart, 2nd earl of Buckinghamshire, was the wife of Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, Georgian Statesman, best known by his courtesy title, Viscount Castlereagh. ... Sarah Sophia Villiers, Countess of Jersey (1786 – January 26, 1867), was an English noblewoman, the daughter of John Fane, 10th Earl of Westmorland and Sarah Anne Child. ... Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ... Sporty Parisian dandies of the 1830s: a girdle helped one achieve this silhouette. ... Baron Gwydyr, in the County of Carnarvon, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. ... Princess Dorothea Lieven (1785-1857) was a Russian noblewoman, the wife of the Russian ambassador to London from 1812-1834. ...

The Lady Patronesses met every Monday night during the London social season (approximately April to August) to decide who, if anyone, might need to be removed for recent déclassé behavior, and who they might wish to add to the august membership.

The building was unpretentious.

Money was never a key to being a member of Almack's. It existed to exclude the nouveau riche, the mushroom "cits" of England. Title was a recommendation, though breeding and behavior were more important. Yet a penniless Irish poet like Thomas Moore could be adjudged to have the right address, the right style, the right ton, to make him a valued member. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (820x377, 51 KB) Almacks Assembly Rooms in King Street, St. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (820x377, 51 KB) Almacks Assembly Rooms in King Street, St. ... For other persons named Thomas Moore, see Thomas Moore (disambiguation). ...

The club took pains not to resemble the expensive private balls by avoiding sumptuous repasts. Refreshments in the supper rooms, described by various authors who were never there as shriveled and stale, in fact consisted of thinly-sliced bread (which has to be a day old to be sliced that thin) with fresh butter, and dry cake (dry meaning unfrosted, without icing, not stale), probably what we know as pound cake. To avoid the drunkenness rampant in society, where many noblemen prided themselves on drinking four or five bottles of port a day, they served only tea and lemonade in the supper rooms.

People came to Almack's to see and be seen, to assert their claim to being of the highest social rank, and to network with others of the caste. Secondarily, for gentlemen seeking brides of suitable ton, it served as one of the marriage marts of Society. By 1790, being a debutante, one presented at court, carried very little weight, as the King's court was considered rather fusty. Instead, mothers sought éclat for a daughter newly presented to society by wangling vouchers at Almack's. A debutante (or deb) (from the French débutante, female beginner) is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal presentation known as her debut or coming out. Originally...

The First Quadrille at Almack's, which was probably danced in around 1813.

The original building was constructed in the Palladian style. The ballroom, in one Regency print, shows tall arch-topped windows with simple draperies, with panels between of delicate decoration in the style of Robert Adam. Image File history File links The_First_Quadrille_at_Almack's. ... Image File history File links The_First_Quadrille_at_Almack's. ... for the equestrian form of quadrille, see Quadrille (dressage) Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. ... Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 1728 - 3 March 1792) was a Scottish architect, interior designer and furniture designer, born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland. ...

Besides the dancing rooms and the supper rooms, Almack's also provided gaming rooms for those who preferred cards to dancing.

In 1871, the new owner of the Assembly Rooms renamed them in his own honour as Willis's Rooms.

A high-rise office building now bears a brass plaque commemorating the existence of Almack's on that spot.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Almack's

• Meg Cabot; Nicola and the Viscount; 2002; HarperCollins, NY
• Meg Cabot; Victoria and the Rogue; 2003; HarperCollins, NY
• [1]
• Christopher Hibbert; London, the Biography of a City; 1969; William Morrow, NY
• Stella Margetson; Regency London; 1971; Prawger Publishers, Inc. NY
• Ellen Moers; The Dandy: Brummell to Beerbohm; 1960; The Viking Press, Inc., NY (an excellent text on exclusivism and the ton)

Almack’s and its patronesses also appear frequently in the Regency romances of Georgette Heyer (e.g. Friday’s Child) Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Regency romances are a subgenre of romance novels set during the period of the English Regency or early 19th century. ... Georgette Heyer (pronounced hair) (16 August 1902 – 4 July 1974) was an English Historical romance and detective fiction novelist. ...