The Pitt Club, a Cambridge University members’ club that has survived wartime recruitment crises, a disastrous fire, and a “horrible scarcity of whisky,” is now facing a new challenge to its survival due to the lockdown misfortunes of its tenant, Pizza Express. Established 185 years ago, the club whose alumni include John Maynard Keynes, John Cleese, and the Prince of Wales, is on the verge of financial catastrophe and has issued a desperate appeal to its lifetime members.
In an email from the trustees and senior committee, the club has issued a warning that it is in a “perilous position” and that the survival of the club in its present form is at risk. The Pitt Club is infamous for its public school ties, male-only membership, and bacchanalian parties, and is often mentioned alongside its flashier cousin, the Bullingdon at Oxford.
Apart from its partying reputation, the club rents the ground floor of its listed neoclassical premises to Pizza Express. Due to the impact of Covid-19 on casual dining, the loss of the rental income from Pizza Express, which is at least 65% of what the club had expected for the next three years, has taken a heavy toll.
To keep the club’s doors open, alumni are being asked to contribute to a “Pitt Club 200th anniversary campaign emergency cash appeal” of £50,000, with a minimum suggested donation of £100. The life members, who include QCs, senior politicians, and Hollywood A-listers such as Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston, appear to be willing to open their wallets.
However, not everybody regards the institution as deserving of its members’ generosity. While it allowed women to join as full members in 2015, prior to that, they were allowed access to the club only during the daytime and only “after dark except Sunday lunch” but were barred from buying their drinks. A generation before that, the club was dominated by alumni of a select group of boarding schools who were said to rate the looks of girls as a basis for the invitations handed out.
Accounts from alumni and former guests recall stories of nine-course dinners where attendees were expected to consume a bottle of wine with each course, with a bucket or barrel at the corner to accommodate unpleasant consequences. Floor protection varied between sawdust or a tarpaulin.
Notwithstanding the club’s reputation, members, current and past, have rallied around to help the club weather through current challenges. One club member declined to speak on internal matters, citing the club’s status as a private members’ representative. The club has faced serious threats to its existence before; a serious fire in 1907 caused a complete renovation of its interior. During WWI, the club was forced to close its doors when many members joined the armed forces, leaving it £2,600 in debt upon re-opening in 1919. In 1920, its return to normality was hampered by a whisky shortage.
Despite the warm and idyllic memories attached to the club, former members of the organization seem somewhat reluctant to speak out. Among those who declined to comment was Conservative politician Kwasi Kwarteng, who held a particular fondness for the club and even returned for a drink or two after graduating. Unfortunately, he was unavailable for conversation.
Only one alumnus – historian and broadcaster Andrew Roberts – was willing to discuss the club with The Guardian. However, even Roberts felt that the club would continue to struggle even if it managed to survive. "I can’t recall a time when it wasn’t in dire financial straits," said Roberts. "Such uncertainty is an inherent part of the territory."
He went on to add that the club was distinct from the Bullingdon in several ways, primarily because they had actual premises and traditions that they respected and wanted to maintain, rather than simply engaging in wanton destruction. However, he did acknowledge that there were certainly moments where things spiraled out of control, though he refused to elaborate any further.
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