The Hurlingham Club is an exclusive sports club in Fulham in southwest London, England. The club, founded in 1869, is situated by the River Thames in Fulham, Southwest London, and has a Georgian clubhouse set in 42 acres (17 ha) of grounds. The Hurlingham provides social and sporting facilities for its members and their guests, including tennis, croquet, cricket, bowls, golf, squash and swimming (with both indoor and outdoor pools) as well as the fitness facilities provided in the fitness centre and gymnasium.
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In 1867 Frank Heathcote received the permission of Richard Naylor to promote pigeon shooting matches at his Hurlingham estate. His next step was the formation of the Hurlingham Club for this purpose and 'as an agreeable country resort'. The club leased the estate from Naylor in 1869 and in 1874 acquired the land outright. The pigeon today forms part of the club's crest. Until 1905 clouds of pigeons were released in the summer from an enclosure near what is now a tennis pavilion.
The Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), an early patron, was a keen shot and his presence ensured the club's status and notability from the beginning. The current patron is HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
The polo matches for the 1908 Summer Olympics were played at Hurlingham. Three teams entered: Hurlingham, Roehampton, and a combined British and Irish team. Roehampton won.[1]
Before the Second World War Hurlingham was the headquarters of British polo, and the governing body of British polo is called the Hurlingham Polo Association. However polo is no longer staged at Hurlingham after the size of the club was significantly reduced after the war when the polo fields were compulsorily purchased to build council housing (the Sullivan Estate).
The Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park has succeeded to the status of the leading British polo club.
Hurlingham has been at the centre of world croquet for many years. The Croquet Association had its headquarters in the club from 1959 to 2002 and top-ranking international competitions are regularly held on the lawns, at one time the finest in the country, though the CA headquarters have since relocated to the Cheltenham Croquet Club.
The Hurlingham Club has played host to may prestigious events over the years.
The Grand Prix Ball [2] Concours d'Elegance [3]
Members must be proposed and seconded by two current full members of the club. There is currently an 8 year long waiting list for membership, but children of current members are given preference when vacancies do arise. Because of this, some recent joining members have had to wait fifteen years, and the club advises new applicants that longer waits could be possible in future. The top 1,400 candidates on the waiting list are offered temporary off-peak membership. In 2008, some of those offered this level of membership had waited nine years.[4]
The club currently has more than 10,000 members.[5]
Lord Fowler, Lord Temple-Morris, Adam Raphael, the 'Carry On' actress Liz Fraser, novelist and peer Jeffrey Archer the actor Trevor Eve and his wife Sharon Maughan are all members of the Hurlingham Club.
Past members include Walter Buckmaster and Air Vice-Marshal Sir William Cushion.
Hurlingham Club members provides sporting activities including tennis, croquet, cricket, bowls, golf, squash and swimming (with both indoor and outdoor pools) as well as fitness facilities and a gymnasium. Regular social events; games such as bridge, backgammon and chess are popular indoor pursuits.
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