William Almack
Encyclopedia
William Almack was an English
valet
, merchant and tavern
owner, who became the founder of fashionable clubs and assembly-rooms. His Almack's Coffee House was bought in 1774 and became the gentlemen's club, Brooks's
.
. Before 1763 he opened a gaming-club in Pall Mall
, which was known as Almack's Club, and from that date till his death he was the leading caterer for the amusement of the fashionable world of London. Among the twenty-seven original members of Almack's Club were the Duke of Portland
and Charles James Fox
, and it was subsequently joined by Edward Gibbon
, William Pitt
, and very many noblemen. Brooks's
, one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, was founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. Its original premises in Pall Mall managed by the famous William Almack who also set up the iconic Almack's Assembly Rooms
in nearby Duke Street. The club is named after Almack's successor Brooks, who only survived its rebuilding by three years.
Almack's was noted for its high play, and Horace Walpole wrote of it in 1770: ‘The gaming of Almack's, which has taken the pas of White's, is worthy of the decline of our empire.’ The club passed subsequently into other hands, and still survives as ‘Brooks's
.’ In 1764 Almack erected, from the designs of Milne, out of the profits acquired in his previous speculations, the large assembly-rooms in King Street, St. James's, by which he is chiefly known. They were opened on 20 February 1765, before they were quite completed; and at Almack's inaugural reception, among the visitors, who were not very numerous, were the Duke of Cumberland and Horace Walpole. The weather was bitterly cold, and Horace Walpole writes that, to induce his patrons to attend on the opening day, ‘Almack advertised that the new assembly-room was built with hot bricks and boiling water.’ Gilly Williams, in a letter descriptive of the ceremony addressed to George Selwyn, says: ‘Almack's Scotch face in a bagwig waiting at supper would divert you, as would his lady in a sack, making tea and curtseying to the duchesses.’
The success of the new rooms was rapidly assured. Under the direction of the leaders of London society, weekly subscription-balls were held there for more than seventy-five years during twelve weeks of each London season. The distribution of tickets, which were sold at ten guineas each, was in the hands of a committee of lady-patronesses—‘a feminine oligarchy less in number but equal in power to the Venetian Council of Ten’. At the beginning of this century admission to Almack's was described as ‘the seventh heaven of the fashionable world,’ and its high reputation did not decline before 1840. Many other clubs—including the Dilettanti Society and a club of both sexes on the model of that of White's—met at Almack's rooms soon after they were opened.
Almack is said to have lived at Hounslow
in his later years, and to have amassed great wealth. He died on 3 January 1781. The assembly-rooms he bequeathed to a niece, the wife of a Mr. Willis, after whom the rooms are now called. He married Elizabeth, elder daughter of William Cullen, of Sanches, Lanarkshire, who was waiting-maid to the Duchess of Hamilton, and sister of Dr. Cullen, the celebrated physician; Almack had by her two children, William, a barrister, who died on 27 October 1806, and Elizabeth, who married David Pitcairn, F.R.S., F.S.A., and M.D., (1749–1809) physician extraordinary to the Prince of Wales
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
valet
Valet
Valet and varlet are terms for male servants who serve as personal attendants to their employer.- Word origins :In the Middle Ages, the valet de chambre to a ruler was a prestigious appointment for young men...
, merchant and tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
owner, who became the founder of fashionable clubs and assembly-rooms. His Almack's Coffee House was bought in 1774 and became the gentlemen's club, Brooks's
Brooks's
Brooks's is one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. From its inception, it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest social order....
.
Biography
According to one account he was descended from a Yorkshire family of Quakers; he came to London at an early age as the valet of the James Douglas-Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century Almack became proprietor of the Thatched House Tavern in St. James's StreetSt. James's Street
St James's Street is one of the principal streets in the central London district of St James's. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall...
. Before 1763 he opened a gaming-club in Pall Mall
Pall Mall, London
Pall Mall is a street in the City of Westminster, London, and parallel to The Mall, from St. James's Street across Waterloo Place to the Haymarket; while Pall Mall East continues into Trafalgar Square. The street is a major thoroughfare in the St James's area of London, and a section of the...
, which was known as Almack's Club, and from that date till his death he was the leading caterer for the amusement of the fashionable world of London. Among the twenty-seven original members of Almack's Club were the Duke of Portland
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland
William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland KG , styled Viscount Woodstock from 1709 to 1715 and Marquess of Titchfield from 1715 to 1726, was a British peer....
and Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
, and it was subsequently joined by Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon was an English historian and Member of Parliament...
, William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
, and very many noblemen. Brooks's
Brooks's
Brooks's is one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. From its inception, it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest social order....
, one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, was founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. Its original premises in Pall Mall managed by the famous William Almack who also set up the iconic Almack's Assembly Rooms
Almack's
Almack's Assembly Rooms was a social club in London from 1765 to 1871 and one of the first to admit both men and women. It was one of a limited number of upper class mixed-sex public social venues in the British capital in an era when the most important venues for the hectic social season were the...
in nearby Duke Street. The club is named after Almack's successor Brooks, who only survived its rebuilding by three years.
Almack's was noted for its high play, and Horace Walpole wrote of it in 1770: ‘The gaming of Almack's, which has taken the pas of White's, is worthy of the decline of our empire.’ The club passed subsequently into other hands, and still survives as ‘Brooks's
Brooks's
Brooks's is one of London's most exclusive gentlemen's clubs, founded in 1764 by 27 men, including four dukes. From its inception, it was the meeting place for Whigs of the highest social order....
.’ In 1764 Almack erected, from the designs of Milne, out of the profits acquired in his previous speculations, the large assembly-rooms in King Street, St. James's, by which he is chiefly known. They were opened on 20 February 1765, before they were quite completed; and at Almack's inaugural reception, among the visitors, who were not very numerous, were the Duke of Cumberland and Horace Walpole. The weather was bitterly cold, and Horace Walpole writes that, to induce his patrons to attend on the opening day, ‘Almack advertised that the new assembly-room was built with hot bricks and boiling water.’ Gilly Williams, in a letter descriptive of the ceremony addressed to George Selwyn, says: ‘Almack's Scotch face in a bagwig waiting at supper would divert you, as would his lady in a sack, making tea and curtseying to the duchesses.’
The success of the new rooms was rapidly assured. Under the direction of the leaders of London society, weekly subscription-balls were held there for more than seventy-five years during twelve weeks of each London season. The distribution of tickets, which were sold at ten guineas each, was in the hands of a committee of lady-patronesses—‘a feminine oligarchy less in number but equal in power to the Venetian Council of Ten’. At the beginning of this century admission to Almack's was described as ‘the seventh heaven of the fashionable world,’ and its high reputation did not decline before 1840. Many other clubs—including the Dilettanti Society and a club of both sexes on the model of that of White's—met at Almack's rooms soon after they were opened.
Almack is said to have lived at Hounslow
Hounslow
Hounslow is the principal town in the London Borough of Hounslow. It is a suburban development situated 10.6 miles west south-west of Charing Cross. It forms a post town in the TW postcode area.-Etymology:...
in his later years, and to have amassed great wealth. He died on 3 January 1781. The assembly-rooms he bequeathed to a niece, the wife of a Mr. Willis, after whom the rooms are now called. He married Elizabeth, elder daughter of William Cullen, of Sanches, Lanarkshire, who was waiting-maid to the Duchess of Hamilton, and sister of Dr. Cullen, the celebrated physician; Almack had by her two children, William, a barrister, who died on 27 October 1806, and Elizabeth, who married David Pitcairn, F.R.S., F.S.A., and M.D., (1749–1809) physician extraordinary to the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
.