National Liberal Club

The National Liberal Club stands on Whitehall Place beside the Thames in the City of Westminster. Its Italianate building was designed by Alfred Waterhouse and finished in 1887. It is the second-largest club-house ever built in London. The club was founded in 1882 to give Liberal campaigners a democratic meeting place. Arthur John Williams proposed the idea at the Century Club in May 1882. By the end of that year 2,500 members from more than 500 towns had joined. The club moved into temporary rooms on Trafalgar Square in 1883. The club’s history is marked by political energy and colourful events. Gladstone laid the foundation stone in 1884, calling it a workshop for strenuous labour. In 1887 members watched the Jubilee processions from the riverside terrace before it was fully finished. On Bloody Sunday 1887 George Bernard Shaw spoke to the crowd outside while members watched from the windows. The club became known for radical debates and lively evenings. H. V. Emy records that Radicals took control in 1897 and produced a manifesto of reform circulated to 38,000 people. Inside the building visitors find a dining room, a bar, function rooms and a library. There is a billiards room, a smoking room and an outdoor terrace beside the river. The club houses Liberal International since 1947. Its walls have witnessed debates that shaped Liberal policy. The terrace still offers views of the Thames and the Houses of Parliament.