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.

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.)

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:
*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".

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 whom they might wish to add to the august membership.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.

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.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.

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

*Meg Cabot; "Nicola and the Viscount"; 2002; HarperCollins, NY
*Meg Cabot; "Victoria and the Rogue"; 2003; HarperCollins, NY
* [http://www.britainexpress.com/History/almacks.htm]
*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")