The Garrick Club has a membership that should embrace progress, but it’s men-only.
On a side street in Covent Garden stands an imposing palazzo-style building, strangely out of place amid the burger joints and neon marquees of London’s theatre district. It houses the Garrick Club, one of Britain’s oldest men’s clubs, and on any given weekday, a lunch table in its baronial dining room is one of the hottest tickets in town.
Now, the club’s 1,300 members are debating the future of the Garrick over lamb chops in the dining room, after-dinner drinks in the lounge under the main staircase and in a WhatsApp group, where they swap fretful messages about the latest developments. Some welcome the pressure to admit women as long overdue; others lament that doing so would forever change the character of the place.of London who is a long-time member.
The last time the members voted on the question, in 2015, a slender majority – 50.5 per cent – said they supported it. But the club’s bylaws require a two-thirds majority to change the policy on membership, and a new vote, if it were scheduled, would not be held until summer. A club official declined to comment on the matter.For all the misgivings that members have about not admitting women, some predict they would still fail to reach the two-thirds threshold.
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