New Club, Edinburgh

The New Club was founded on 1 February 1787, three weeks after the idea had been conceived at a Caledonian Hunt Ball held at the New Assembly Rooms in George Street.

The club was originally located in Bayle’s Tavern on Shakespeare Square, at the east end of Princes Street, which was demolished in the early 1800s.

After the death of Jean Bayle in 1802, some thought was given to taking over the tavern, but the purchase of a property in St Andrew Square was the preferred course of action.

Sir Robert Lorimer drew up a scheme to extend the Room by 9 feet (2.7 m), with new windows being inserted and the walls adorned by oak panelling with inset portraits.

The club negotiated a lease of the St Andrew’s Hotel as a temporary clubhouse whilst the Princes Street building was demolished and rebuilt.

The Princes Street façade, faced with plate glass and Rubislaw granite and with distinctive cantilevered sections, is described as "very carefully composed".