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FIRST CLUB
When the Lyceum Club was launched in 1903, several Women’s Clubs already existed in London, but it was the first to have the ambition of expanding overseas: in 1905, Constance inaugurated the Berlin Club, in 1906 the Club in Paris, in 1908 in Florence, and so on.
In London, the Lyceum Club succeeded in securing one of the most prestigious addresses in Clubland: 128 Piccadilly (now the Royal Air force Club) and one can easily imagine that the inauguration of this magnificent building was greeted with excitement and curiosity.
To lead the Club, Constance Smedley convinced Lady Balfour to be its President. She remained in that position for 15 years and until the Club moved to an even more prestigious address: 138 Piccadilly. This transpired to be an unwise move for the Club. The Club’s first members were still paying the original subscription rates, and as a result it was only due to the generosity of Ms Sarah Clegg and Mr Smedley, Constance’s father, that the Club was able to balance the books. Furthermore, in 1920 the Club took the decision to purchase the lease of the building, creating financial constraints. When Sarah Clegg passed away suddently in 1931, bills could not be settled, and the London Club went into liquidation.
Meanwhile, Lyceum Clubs across the world continued to develop in both the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres.
The Lyceum Club in London continued to exist without its own venue and with fewer members.
By the late 1990s, the Club was composed of a small group of friends of the late Constance’s niece, Elizabeth Smedley. They knew each other from the time when they were working at Bletchey Park during the Second World War.
The Club disappeared in 2012 and was brought back to life in 2022 when Lauriane Bradford, member of the Club of Paris and resident in London, decided to relaunch it, with the support of the International Federation of Lyceum Clubs.