With all of the British Gentleman’s Clubs I have seen depicted in films and TV shows over the years (including the comedy series “Jeeves & Wooster” with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie), when I saw that there was a private tour of one of these clubs in Liverpool, I signed up immediately. It seemed like a great opportunity for me to see something that I would not normally be able to see.
Back at the ship, after the Beatles excursion, there was time to have a light lunch before changing my clothes for the private tour of the Athenaeum. They had a dress code according to the information we had been given. I decided to dress up a bit. I wore the same slinky black slacks I had worn for the special dinner at the Chef’s Table restaurant onboard the ship (the one with five courses and four wine pairings). With that I had on a slinky black “cold shoulder” top and some of my new amber earrings and an amber bracelet. I took along a lacy black shawl just in case. Although my friend and I were dressed up, we soon discovered that either very few people in our group read the part about a dress code, or they were ignoring it.
On our way to the club, we went to the university and saw several buildings, including the theatre that had been dedicated by Yoko Ono Lennon. We then drove by some upscale townhouses of the late 18th century.
When we got off of the coach (which was a double-decker that had groupings of tables seating four people each), we visited the Bluecoat Arts Centre. This was originally founded in 1708 as a charity school. The present building was erected in 1716.
The Athenaeum had been founded in 1797 to augment the education of merchants and other professionals. Liverpool was growing, but not fast enough to be large enough for a university. The club provided a library, plus current newspapers, pamphlets and other reading material for its members. It also provided places for members (called Proprietors, because they all had shares in the club which has always been limited to 500 members) to congregate, discuss, and debate. These days the membership at the Athenaeum includes both men and women.
At the time of the founding of the Athenaeum, there were gentlemen’s clubs in London, but they were either political in nature or mainly for gambling. Express riders, messengers, and coaches were called upon to provide news and information to the club. One of England’s first abolitionists and a founding member of the Athenaeum, William Roscoe, donated numerous books to the club’s library. Maps, globes, and navigation charts were also donated. Over time the library grew into a very highly regarded private literary collection. I was delighted to see that they were quite proud of a book that they have in their collection that I also have in my own – Salem Is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Edwin Haviland Miller.
Before we could start our tour, we needed to wait for some of the rooms (especially the dining room) to clear out. They had hosted the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, for lunch and some people were still hanging out. Our host had intended to start up in the dining room and then work our way down to the newsroom. Instead, we began in the newsroom and worked our way up. Too bad, I would have loved to have seen the PM if he was still in the building and maybe said, “Congratulations.”
The newsroom was where people would gather to chat (there is a bar) and to read newspapers, etc. There were several comfy, roomy chairs to settle into. I picked a lovely, leather, high-backed chair like Sherlock Holmes might have sat in to smoke his pipe. Our host, who was a Proprietor, gave us the background history of the club while we enjoyed our comfortable seats. It was about 2:30pm by this time. After the very busy morning I had had, I was starting to get a little bit tired. The friend I was with had also encountered a busy morning and was beginning to fade as well. Fortunately neither one of us nodded off so nobody needed to kick anybody under the low table we were seated around.
We were told a story about a couple of busts in the room. A bust of Napoleon had been given to the club by a French visitor and placed on a shelf in a corner of the room. One of the Proprietors put another shelf above that one and placed a bust of Wellington there. They have been there ever since.
On our way upstairs to the Committee Room, we passed a framed copy of the US Declaration of Independence on the wall. The Committee Room was relatively small and was quickly filled with our group. Not too conducive for taking photographs. There was an old voting box in there, however, as well as a small bust of William Roscoe and a painting of Samuel Johnson (the fellow who wrote the dictionary in 1755).
On the same floor as the Committee Room were the Reading Room and the Library. We were still waiting on the Dining Room above to completely clear out, so we lingered in both of these rooms for a while. In the meantime, refreshments were being prepared for us back in the Newsroom.
With the delay in getting through the Athenaeum, we were the last excursion group back to the ship. It had begun to rain while we were heading to where the coach was waiting for us. I was glad that, even though a lacey shawl is not much help in the rain, I at least had something with me. As soon as we were onboard, the ship was prepared to sail. We were underway very shortly thereafter.
I perked up a bit from the cake and tea we had been given at the Club. I ordered my usual Lemon Drop Martini and joined the Long Beach ladies down front for the lecture on “The Tudors” by Russell Lee. I didn’t feel the need to change clothes for either the lecture or dinner. But I did head back to my stateroom shortly after dinner and called it a night. The next day was going to be another busy one.
Next time – Belfast: The Titanic
