University Women's Club

The first meeting of the founders of the University Women's Club was held in 32 Portland Place at the home of Gertrude Jackson of Girton College, Cambridge on Saturday, 5 May 1883.

[2] On 17 July 1886, the membership of the "Association", as it had been called, reached their target number of 200 and the "University Club for Ladies" was officially founded.

The members set out to locate a suitable premises and, in January 1887, it opened its doors on the 2nd and 3rd floors at 31 Bond Street.

[3] The primary requirements for admittance to the club were, initially, that applicants were graduates of any University or fully qualified medical practitioners.

This, unfortunately, left out the real pioneers who had led the charge to make higher education possible for women but very few of whom had any qualifications.

[2] A year later this allowance was amended to "ladies who have distinguished themselves in Art, Science, Literature or Philanthropy, or who have taken a prominent part in the promotion of education".

A large London plane tree stands in the middle of the garden, probably originally planted in the grounds of Chesterfield House.

Within 2 months a Debenture issue had already raised £14,000 from the members and by 1924 the balance to the Misses Russell had been cleared, with the help of a loan of £10,00 from the Alliance Assurance Company.

[citation needed][7] In March 2014, Fiona Lazareff, a member of the committee, launched the annual Techpreneurs Awards on behalf of the club.