An Episcopalian vicar made me warm to the principle of women joining gentlemen’s clubs

In 1993, when I was living in Manhattan working for the New Yorker magazine, I was chosen as ‘distinguished visitor’ to be a temporary member of the Century Club: there were two of us in this category, me and the Tanzanian ambassador to the United Nations. The Century, in midtown Manhattan on West 43rd Street, is one of the grandest clubs in New York, most of which were opened in the 19th century in imitation of the gentlemen’s clubs of London. The Century was founded in 1846, only 15 years later than the Garrick Club, of which I have long been a member. It was originally planned as ‘an association of artists, writers, musicians and amateurs of the arts and letters devoted to companionship and conversation’. The Garrick had been intended for a similarly Bohemian crowd (especially actors), but in fact, being in England, included one duke, five marquesses, six earls and 12 barons among its early members. In recent times, however, both clubs have become very popular with lawyers and media people, who now almost seem to predominate.

The Garrick and the Century had also, in the Eighties, been targets of emotional public campaigns to get them to admit women members. Although riven by controversy on the issue, the Century eventually let women in, while the Garrick continued to stand firm against them. In 1992 a motion demanding female membership of the Garrick was roundly defeated by 363 votes to 94. The Century, however, had no choice but to succumb. It fell foul of a law prohibiting America’s private clubs from discriminating on the basis of sex, race or religion if they had more than 400 members and served meals on a regular basis. Only a couple of much smaller clubs in New York still exclude women.