Pitt Club
Encyclopedia
The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, is a club, only open to male students at the University of Cambridge
. In the past, most of its membership attended certain private schools, and whilst this is no longer a criterion for membership it is still largely true. Membership is for life and the annual subscription is £40, less than half the annual membership fee for The Cambridge Union.
It was founded in 1835 and named in honour of William Pitt the Younger
, who had been a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge
. The Club has premises at 7a Jesus Lane
, which was originally designed as Victorian
Roman Baths
in 1863 by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt
. The baths were an extremely short-lived venture, opening in late February 1863, and closing by December of that year. After the closure, a liquidation sale ensued, and the building was auctioned off, being bought by its own architect, Wyatt for £2,700. He rented out half of the building to the Pitt Club, and the other half to Orme's Billiards Rooms. Later, the club bought the entire building, and for much of the 20th century, the club occupied the whole of this prominent neo-classical building, but it went through mounting financial difficulties in the 1990s, and in October 1997, it sold a 25-year leasehold on the ground floor of its building to the Pizza Express
chain. Previous to this, in the early-mid 1980s, the ground floor had been used as a restaurant "Xanadu". Since then, the Club has occupied only the first floor of the building, with the entire ground floor now taken up by the restaurant, and between 1997 and 2006 the basement was a nightclub called Po Na Na. The nightclub abruptly closed in November 2006, but has reopened under the name of Hidden Rooms.
The Pitt Club's equivalent Oxford
club is the Gridiron Club
. Several other universities also have comparable establishments, including the Skull and Bones
at Yale
, the Pacifica House at Brown
and the Porcellian Club
at Harvard. The Pitt Club maintains reciprocal relations with the Oxford and Cambridge Club
and Oxford's Gridiron Club
.
In October 2011 the Pitt Club set up the Pitt Club Scholarship. Graduate students applying to read for an MPhil in Politics or International Relations will be eligible to apply for the scholarship which will provide up to £15 000 per annum to cover fees, maintenance, travel costs or other funding to help with research. The Pitt Club Scholarship is open to any student, regardless of nationality, age, gender or race.
The current president of the Pitt Club is the renowned History of Art Professor David Watkin
. The other trustees are Tim Steel, Jeremy Norman and Lord Edward Spencer Churchill.
Notable members and former members of the club include kings Edward VII
and George V
, HRH Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the economist John Maynard Keynes
, Cambridge spies
Guy Burgess
and Anthony Blunt
, and journalist Sir David Frost.
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. In the past, most of its membership attended certain private schools, and whilst this is no longer a criterion for membership it is still largely true. Membership is for life and the annual subscription is £40, less than half the annual membership fee for The Cambridge Union.
It was founded in 1835 and named in honour of William Pitt the Younger
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...
, who had been a student at Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college has over seven hundred students and fellows, and is the third oldest college of the university. Physically, it is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from almost every century since its...
. The Club has premises at 7a Jesus Lane
Jesus Lane
Jesus Lane is a historical street in central Cambridge, England. The street links with the junction of Bridge Street and Sidney Street to the west. To the east is a roundabout. To the south is King Street, running parallel with Jesus Lane and linking at the roundabout. The road continues east as...
, which was originally designed as Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
Roman Baths
Roman Baths
The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing....
in 1863 by Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt
Matthew Digby Wyatt
Sir Matthew Digby Wyatt was a British architect and art historian who became Secretary of the Great Exhibition, Surveyor of the East India Company and the first Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge.-Life:...
. The baths were an extremely short-lived venture, opening in late February 1863, and closing by December of that year. After the closure, a liquidation sale ensued, and the building was auctioned off, being bought by its own architect, Wyatt for £2,700. He rented out half of the building to the Pitt Club, and the other half to Orme's Billiards Rooms. Later, the club bought the entire building, and for much of the 20th century, the club occupied the whole of this prominent neo-classical building, but it went through mounting financial difficulties in the 1990s, and in October 1997, it sold a 25-year leasehold on the ground floor of its building to the Pizza Express
Pizza Express
PizzaExpress is a restaurant group with over 400 restaurants across the United Kingdom and 40 overseas in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan and the Middle East. It was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot.In Ireland, PizzaExpress trades under the name Milano....
chain. Previous to this, in the early-mid 1980s, the ground floor had been used as a restaurant "Xanadu". Since then, the Club has occupied only the first floor of the building, with the entire ground floor now taken up by the restaurant, and between 1997 and 2006 the basement was a nightclub called Po Na Na. The nightclub abruptly closed in November 2006, but has reopened under the name of Hidden Rooms.
The Pitt Club's equivalent Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
club is the Gridiron Club
The Gridiron Club (Oxford University)
The Gridiron Club, popularly referred to as the The Grid, is a club, only open to male students at the University of Oxford. In the past, most of its membership attended certain private schools, and whilst this is no longer a criterion for membership it is still largely true.It was founded in 1884...
. Several other universities also have comparable establishments, including the Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, the Pacifica House at Brown
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and the Porcellian Club
Porcellian Club
The Porcellian Club is a men's-only final club at Harvard University, sometimes called the Porc or the P.C. The year of founding is usually given as 1791, when a group began meeting under the name "the Argonauts," or as 1794, the year of the roast pig dinner at which the club, known first as "the...
at Harvard. The Pitt Club maintains reciprocal relations with the Oxford and Cambridge Club
Oxford and Cambridge Club
The Oxford and Cambridge Club is at 71 Pall Mall, London, England. The clubhouse was designed for the membership by architect Sir Robert Smirke and completed towards the end of 1837. It was founded for members of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge...
and Oxford's Gridiron Club
The Gridiron Club (Oxford University)
The Gridiron Club, popularly referred to as the The Grid, is a club, only open to male students at the University of Oxford. In the past, most of its membership attended certain private schools, and whilst this is no longer a criterion for membership it is still largely true.It was founded in 1884...
.
In October 2011 the Pitt Club set up the Pitt Club Scholarship. Graduate students applying to read for an MPhil in Politics or International Relations will be eligible to apply for the scholarship which will provide up to £15 000 per annum to cover fees, maintenance, travel costs or other funding to help with research. The Pitt Club Scholarship is open to any student, regardless of nationality, age, gender or race.
The current president of the Pitt Club is the renowned History of Art Professor David Watkin
David Watkin (historian)
David John Watkin, MA PhD LittD Hon FRIBA FSA is a British architectural historian. He is an Emeritus Fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge, and Professor Emeritus of History of Architecture in the Department of History of Art at the University of Cambridge...
. The other trustees are Tim Steel, Jeremy Norman and Lord Edward Spencer Churchill.
Notable members and former members of the club include kings Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
and George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, HRH Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the economist John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes
John Maynard Keynes, Baron Keynes of Tilton, CB FBA , was a British economist whose ideas have profoundly affected the theory and practice of modern macroeconomics, as well as the economic policies of governments...
, Cambridge spies
Cambridge Spies
Cambridge Spies is a 2003 four-part BBC television drama concerning the lives of the best-known quartet of the Cambridge Five Soviet spies from 1934 to the 1951 defection of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean to the Soviet Union...
Guy Burgess
Guy Burgess
Guy Francis De Moncy Burgess was a British-born intelligence officer and double agent, who worked for the Soviet Union. He was part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets before and during the Cold War...
and Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
, and journalist Sir David Frost.