| Founded | 1842 |
|---|---|
| Home Page | www.thefarmersclub.com |
| Address | 3 Whitehall Court |
| Clubhouse occupied since | 1942 |
| Club established for | Farmers |
The Farmers Club is a London club which is based at 3 Whitehall Court.
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The club was founded in 1842 by the agricultural writer William Shaw, who invited the founder members from the newly-formed Royal Agricultural Society of England, and the Smithfield Club. Shaw's letter set out that the club would be "a gathering place for farmers which could also serve as a platform, from which would go out to England news of all that was good in farming, with reports of any discussions about those things that needed to be done."
The club's membership experienced periodic shifts with the changing prosperity of British farmers over the years - there were 700 members in 1876, 275 in 1892, but the club has grown in the 20th century, claiming 1,500 members in the 1920s, and just under 6,000 today.
The club frequently moved premises in its first 60 years. Its inaugural meeting on 9 December 1842 was held in a pub, the Hereford Arms, in King Street, Covent Garden. By April 1893 the club has secured rooms at the York Hotel in Bridge Street, Blackfriars. After several further moves, the club settled on some rooms at 2 Whitehall Court, which it occupied between 1904 and 1942. Whitehall Court is an apartment block built in 1883-87 by the architect firm Archer & Green, with finance from the disgraced MP Jabez Balfour, who used the building's construction to conceal his embezzlement of funds.
In 1942, it moved sideways in the same block of flats to its current premises, which were formed by merging together several apartments in 3 Whitehall Court. The rest of the block remains largely residential, and the club's former rooms now make up part of the Royal Horseguards Hotel, owned by Thistle Hotels.
As well as its London premises, the club has a permanent pavilion at the Royal Showground, National Agricultural Centre, in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, opened by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
The club, which is open to both sexes, has a flourishing under 30's section, whose current chairman is Patrick Durnford, and vice chairman is Rhydian Scurlock-Jones. The U30's section organise social and educational events at the Club as well as two farm walks a year.
As of 2009, the membership subscription costs between £220 and £310 per year, with a £68 rate for younger members. The entrance fee is an additional £240, but is waived for younger members [1]. Candidates for Membership have to be proposed and seconded, by an existing member, before they can be accepted into the club.