Comfort zone: six of the best private members’ clubs
25 July 2024
High notes: your own bespoke perfume
22 August 2024Bright lights and dice
Hands up if you’ve heard of Sir Thomas Neale. No cheating at the back; no looking at Google for clues.
A nyone? Anyone? No. Thought not. Well, it’s largely thanks to this seventeenth century politician, Master of the Mint no less, that casino gambling today is what gambling is today.
The gaming we know today has roots that reach a long way back. Both the Tudors and the Stuarts were reputedly rather fond of a flutter with Henry VIII rumoured to be quite the avid gamer with a particular fondness for laying wagers on dice games. When he found out that soldiers in his army were spending more time playing games than actually fighting Henry banned them from participating. It didn’t stop him from continuing to play though, the old hypocrite.
Fast forward a century (and never has the monarchy of Elizabeth I, the English Civil War and the subsequent Commonwealth of the two Cromwells been dismissed in such a hasty manner) and we return to Sir Thomas (1641-99) who, among his many positions, became the croupier to, successively, Charles II, James II and William III. His official title for this role was Groom Porter and it was he who ensured that their tables were always frequented by willing opponents and that dice and cards were to hand.
In 1684 he was granted the role of royal overseer for casino gaming in London and it was he who was authorised by the king to license and suppress gaming houses and to prosecute unlicensed keepers of ‘rafflings’ and other public games. A remarkably powerful man of his time and yet, three centuries later, he’s barely known but for a street in the Seven Dials area of Covent Garden named in his honour for his impact on London’s casino scene.
Gaming establishments took off in the 18th and 19th centuries with the first gentlemen’s club, eponymously named, offering casino-style gaming opened in 1828 by William Crockford on Curzon Street in Mayfair, on a site it still occupies to this day. Many similar venues were to follow in the years to come.
Both the Tudors and the Stuarts were reputedly rather fond of a flutter
It was to be another century and a half later though before regulation was brought in to oversee the industry. The Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 (coming into effect on 1 January 1961) legalised wagering on many games of skill, including bridge, dice and card games. One of the first establishments to take advantage of the new law – in May 1961 – was Le Cercle, a gaming club complete with French croupiers, Paris-made chips and the correct kidney-shaped tables. It opened exclusively to members of a private members club called Les Ambassadeurs and even attracted the notice of The Times which was most impressed by ‘its high standard of professionalism and sophistication’.
Les Ambassadeurs Club (fondly known as ‘Les A’ by its members) had been welcoming aristocrats, diplomats and famous names from the early 19th century. Based in Hanover Square it was, from 1941, the personal fiefdom of John Mills (not the actor but a Polish-born soldier and businessman who had changed his name from Jean-Jean Millstein) who also co-owned the Milroy nightclub in Mayfair. It was Mills who, in 1950, moved the establishment (along with the Milroy nightclub) from its Hanover Square residence to its current location of 5 Hamilton Place, a gentle stumble from the junction of Piccadilly and Hyde Park Corner, on the introduction of the Betting and Gaming Act and who founded Le Cercle.
Over the centuries Hamilton Place has been owned by, among others, the 4th Earl of Buckinghamshire (Robert Hobard, 1760-1816)), the 1st Marquess Conyngham (1766-1832) whose wife was a close personal friend of the Prince Regent, later George IV, and Leopold de Rothschild (1845-1917). During de Rothschild’s tenure Hamilton Place became known as ‘Rothschild Row’ and was the centre of the Mayfair social scene.
Le Cercle opened exclusively to members of a private members club called Les Ambassadeurs and even attracted the notice of The Times
Having purchased the lease for what now seems a staggeringly low sum of £40,000 (equivalent to c.£1.4million in 2022) the stage was set to grow. Mills ran Les Ambassadeurs until 1981 when it was purchased by London Clubs International as part of Caesars Entertainment Corporation and then, in 2006, by Bluestream Holdings Limited. Its current owner is Cho Hung Suen, a Chinese-born, Australian-educated, 60-year-old businessman who also owns Birmingham City Football Club.
Les Ambassadeurs is a destination that doesn’t shout about itself. If you know then you know. On entering the club you can feel its history in the plush carpets, marble and gold and red décor. No expense has been spared in a recent upgrade and update, right down to underfloor heating in the outdoor terrace areas.
As private rooms go, the Marble Room is exquisite with five gaming tables as well as a private dining table. The room is adorned with gold leaf and intricate coving while the ceiling is covered in a beautifully painted renaissance fresco depicting The Four Seasons by Edmund Thomas Parris (1793-1873) whose portraits also included Queen Victoria at her coronation in 1838.
The Leopold Room, named in honour of previous owner of the property, Leopold de Rothschild, is perhaps the most extravagant private gaming area in the whole of Les Ambassadeurs. Bronze lights made from Murano glass and a marble fireplace adorned with gold patterning it is surrounded by intricately designed wallpaper depicting the panoramic scene of a classic British hunt.
As private rooms go, the Marble Room is exquisite with five gaming tables as well as a private dining table
Just off the main gaming floor is the Gold Room which is heavily inspired by the Orient. Members are surrounded by panelled landscapes and gold brocade décor while plush red furnishings and an ornate fireplace sit against a backdrop of opulent gold silk wallpaper. Another private room this has just three playing tables with dedicated croupiers and is but a stagger from the smoking garden just next door where an extensive list of cigars and whiskies can be enjoyed.
If outdoors is where you want to be then there is the bespoke Smoking Garden which provides all of the facilities and services al fresco. Despite being in the heart of Mayfair, this truly is a silent oasis in the jungle of London. Listed trees and foliage encase the setting and provide a stunning backdrop and true privacy for your activities.
Shaded tables and the aforementioned underfloor heating mean that the Smoking Garden can be enjoyed no matter the weather or season. Just imagine turning over a winning hand, snug and warm at your table, and yet still en plein air.
When it comes to sustenance at Les Ambassadeurs it doesn’t matter your cravings. Regional and further-afield cuisines are all available with a team of international chefs specialising in their own area of culinary expertise. You can eat while gaming or experience fine dining in the recently refurbished restaurant. With an Art Deco-inspired interior the white marble and chic black fittings offer a relaxed and convivial space for members and their guests to dine, drink and relax.
The one thing that Les Ambassadeurs doesn’t have is suites for members. Given the geography and the historic nature of the building that’s not surprising. However, naturally, they have relationships with a number of high-profile London hotels and a car service gives a member a seamless and comfortable transition to a nearby bed to get a few moments of rest before starting all over again the next day (or night). If a member needs this service then hotels like the Four Seasons, the Bvlgari, the Lanesborough, the Mandarin Oriental, the Berkeley, the Connaught or Claridge's are all within ten minutes of the tables.
Regional and further-afield cuisines are all available with a team of international chefs specialising in their own area of culinary expertise
Les Ambassadeurs really is a hidden gem in the gaming world. There are plenty of other establishments in London, many of them good, but none like this. For all that it makes a big splash indoors, it is sepulchrally quiet to those outside. That’s how it should be. No-one believes money should shout; it should only whisper. And, sotto voce, Les Ambassadeurs is worth hearing.
All you should be careful of is not to end up like Sir Thomas Neale. This most fundamental of men, the virtual instigator of everything ‘gaming’ in London and the most influential man of his time, died heavily in debt having exhausted two fortunes – his own and that of his wife.
