New club, ancient rules

NUMBER 86 Princes Street is a very anonymous door in the heart of Edinburgh’s retail precinct. It is the entrance to the citadel of Edinburgh’s Establishment, the place where deals are done and the capital’s real movers and shakers congregate. But only if they are male, for the New Club still does not allow full membership to ladies.

Through that door lies one of Edinburgh’s best kept secrets - modern, comfortable club premises complete with dining rooms, bedrooms, library and the all-important card room. There is also a swimming pool and, above all, the most stunning view in Edinburgh, looking directly out over Edinburgh Castle.

The New Club dates from at least 1787 when records show it met in Bayle’s Tavern in Shakespeare Square at the east end of Princes Street. The club then acquired its own premises in St Andrew Square before moving to its present site in 1837.

The 19th-century premises was a grand palace which dominated that part of Princes Street. In a rare fit of modernism in the 1960s, the club had this magnificent building demolished and replaced by the present concrete eyesore - something that would never be possible now.

All that’s left of the old building is the beautiful Lorimer wooden panelling in the dining room, reserved for members and male guests during the week and "mixed" company at the weekend. The ladies are not missing much - the accompanying food is more school dinners than haute cuisine.

Joining the New Club involves an old fashioned risk - that of blackballing. Potential new members are sponsored by existing members in good standing, and their application goes on view. Members who wish to reject the candidate can signal a negative. If enough members veto your application, tough luck.

The New Club plays an integral role in Edinburgh’s commercial life, for businessmen come here to hold discrete business lunches or entertain visiting clients in sophisticated surroundings. And royalty - the Duke of Edinburgh attended a dinner at the club last month, during the Queen’s Jubilee visit to Scotland.

The membership roll is very private but occasionally names are mentioned. The former chief executive of the local Scottish Enterprise company, Des Bonnar, came under press criticism for having his membership fee paid by the taxpayer. Bonnar defended belonging to the club on the grounds it was a good place to do business on behalf of the city.

The New Club’s persistent refusal to admit women to full membership is one of the last manifestations of the old, smug, complacent Edinburgh before the recent boom. But in today’s Edinburgh not being able to have the chief executive of Lloyd’s-TSB or the Principal of Napier University as members marks the New Club dangerously anachronistic. Fortunately, there are alternatives. Further along Princes Street, in Rutland Square, you will find the Scottish Arts Club, which represents the more bohemian and relaxed side of Edinburgh life. Women members are even encouraged.