On Thursday 16th June we are taking a trip outside of the Synagogue, when going for a tour at Brooks's St James St. 

We're delighted to have a fantastic tour guide in Charles Sebag-Montefiore, who recently retired as a trustee of the National Gallery and who is also a Trustee of Brooks's and Joint Secretary of the Society of Dilettanti. Charles will speak of the foundation of the Club in 1764, the club house (1776-78) for which the architect was Henry Holland, the Club's reputation for gambling and its significance as the Whig HQ in London in the 18th and 19th centuries.

A highlight of Brooks's is the superb collection of portraits, mostly belonging to the Society of Dilettanti, which are on loan to the Club.  Charles will also speak about the Society of Dilettanti, founded in 1732, and actively flourishing today.  See below for more information about the club.

We will meet at Brooks's between 9.00-9.15am, there will be coffee in the bar and the tour will start by 9.30am and will take approximately an hour and a half. 

Dress code for visiting Brooks's Club: Suit or jacket with a collar and tie for men, and an equivalent smart-dress for ladies.

Brooks's was founded in 1764 and its clubhouse, designed by Henry Holland, was completed by 1778. Its chief architectural glory is the Great Subscription Room, used in the 18th century for gambling.  A Victorian extension was designed by John MacVicar Anderson in the 1880s to accommodate a new, larger dining room with the library above it. 

The Society of Dilettanti (founded in 1732) placed its celebrated collection of portraits in Brooks's in 1976. These comprise a group of 23 portraits by George Knapton, masterpieces by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin West, and other works by Sir Thomas Lawence, Sir Martin Archer Shee, Lord Leighton, Sir Edward Poynter, John SInger Sargent, Sir James Gunn and John Ward. The tradition of portraiture has been extended by the commission of a new group portrait of 42 members of the Society, painted by Stuart Pearson Wright and completed in 2020.