A new document has emerged showing that the prolific English novelist and short-story writer Beatrice Kean Seymour, born in Clapham into a working-class family, spoke at the Whitefriars’ 1930 Christmas Banquet at the Trocadero.
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President Roosevelt was invited to speak at the Whitefriars Club, but, replying from Naivasha, British East Africa, on 6th August 1909 to the Honorary Secretary of the Club, Friar Joseph Shaylor, he wrote…
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Thank you for visiting the Whitefriars Club website. We are one of the oldest literary dining clubs in London, dating back to 1868. We meet eight times a year for dinner at the Savile Club, where we invite prominent cultural or political figures as our guests to speak about their careers or the important topics of the day. Our club prides itself on the warm, inclusive and convivial atmosphere it offers to all its members and guests.
Please feel free to browse our website to find out more about our rich history and our list of forthcoming events. If you are interested in joining our club, please click on the button below and complete the relevant enquiry form. The archive section is only available in full to our club members.
2nd June 2026
For our 2026 Pilgrimage, we will be visiting one of the Club's former venues, Dr Johnson's House, 17 Gough Square, which was our headquarters between 1926 and 1936. After a brief historical talk and a tour of the house, including the famous "Dictionary Garret", which was our Club room between 1926 and 1936, we will enjoy convivial drinks and later adjourn to the nearby Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, where we will continue the merriment in the beautiful setting of one of the oldest pubs in London (rebuilt in 1667).
Following an old tradition, this “cordial” is read or recited at every dinner by our Prior of the Day or another Friar specifically appointed to the task:
“By this wine we commemorate the Whitefriars of Old – fortified with spirit, the spirit of admiration for their services to charity and good learning, and sweetened by sympathy for those who, broken by fortune, dwell in Alsatia. It is left for me, as Prior of the Day, to add a cordial – a cordial welcome to the guests of the Brotherhood assembled at our board. Gentlemen and ladies, I bid a hearty welcome to you all, and invite you to join with the brothers of a gracious Order in drinking to the prosperity of the Whitefriars Club.”
The “Prior of the Day” is the member who acts as MC for the dinner. “Alsatia” is a humorous name for a historical area in London that offered sanctuary to debtors.
If you are interested in joining the Whitefriars Club, you can try one of our dinners without being a full member. Click the button below to find out more.
The Whitefriars Club is currently administered by a Committee of seven members and five ex-officio members who are elected annually following the club’s AGM. The Honorary Treasurer and the Honorary Secretary are ex-officio members of the Committee. The Chairman is elected by the Committee.