George Gissing, the celebrated author of the novel New Grub Street, which satirizes the literary and journalistic world of 1880s London, attended the 20th April 1900 Dinner as a guest of Friar Edward Clodd.
The July 1906 Pilgrimage to Tennyson country was one of the most anticipated events of the year.
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This is a selection of some of our most recent events. A complete list of our past events is available here. If you are a member of the club, you can also read the reports and articles from the Whitefriars Journal (for the years 1900–23) and The Whitefriar (2001 onwards) by clicking here.
25th June 2025
On a glorious afternoon of late June, the Friars turned Pilgrims and made their way to Stratford Place for a visit to the Oriental Club, one of the most prestigious clubland institutions, founded in 1824. Meeting time was 16:00, with a much-needed we…
28th May 2025
For our 157th Annual General Meeting Dinner, we welcomed a very special guest, Countess Fiona Carnarvon of Highclere Castle, who delighted a packed Drawing Room with anecdotes from her daily life and from the rich history of the Carnarvon family, whi…
30th April 2025
Only a week after the Shakespeare Commemoration event at the Swan, we were treated to another wonderful dinner with acclaimed speaker Quentin Letts, who talked to us about his latest novel Nunc!, which draws its inspiration from the story of Simeon i…
23rd April 2025
On 23rd April 2025 we ventured south of the river to the Globe Theatre complex to honour William Shakespeare in his playhouse on his birthday. We gathered at the Swan Restaurant’s Balcony Room (but not that balcony) overlooking the Thames and St Paul…
26th March 2025
Our Prior called order to the bustling Ball Room, deferring to the Literary Review in introducing our Speaker as ‘the foremost British expert on contemporary Russian.’ ‘If Russia stops fighting, no more war. If Ukraine stops fighting, no more Ukraine…
10th March 2025
On 6th March 2025 the Whitefriars Club held their Drinks Party in the Drawing Room at The Savile Club and were thrilled that so many Savilians took up the invitation to come and meet the Committee and discover a little of what the Whitefriars Club ca…
