The Dining Room at The Empress Club, 13 Berkeley Street
A Sectional Drawing through the extensive premises of The Empress Club, sitting between Dover Street and 13 Berkeley Street, W1, London. One of the very first Ladies Clubs, The Empress Club was founded in 1897. The palatial building covered upwards of a quarter of an acre and was palatial in scope, boasting two drawing room -offering a choice between the Louis Quinze or the Venetian style, a dining room, a lounge, a smoking gallery and a smoking room, a library, a writing room, a tape machine for news, a telephone, and a staircase decorated with stained glass windows depicting Shakespeare?s heroines. On the night of the 1901 census Otho Oliver, the owner and club secretary, was living on the premises, together with a female manager and a large domestic staff, comprising around 40 female and 12 male servants (including an engineer). There were around 30 women guests staying at the club, as well as several family groups, including husbands. At one time the Empress had 70 bedrooms available to its 2700 members
