From the inception of White's in the 1600s - considered to be the oldest gentleman's clubs in London - the exclusive clubland circuit has for centuries acted as a refuge for the wealthy and powerful.
From celebrities and royals looking to escape paparazzi, to politicians who'd prefer to conduct business outside of the Commons and away from the scrutiny of prying journalists, these venues have been instrumental in providing a refuge for the elite.
Some within this network - such as the Carlton Club or the United and Cecil - have explicit political goals, and are a key part of the Conservative fundraising ecosystem, in which donors can buy access to politicians for the price of a membership fee or where young hopeful MPs can network with party bigwigs.
Many of these donating dining clubs - registered as 'unincorporated associations' - give exclusively to the Conservatives, and are often linked to individuals who oversee the internal fundraising efforts of the party's campaigning machine. They give generously to marginal seats with the express intention of boosting party prospects in specific areas, in a relationship that dates back, in some instances, more than 100 years.
One such entity, The 1900 Club, has emerged as a significant force over the past year, after a period of inactivity since 2017. It donated £77,000 to the Conservatives, £25,000 of which was given since 2023, divided amongst nine 'battleground' seats.
While very little information on The 1900 Club exists, a recently unearthed booklet, seen by Byline Times, sheds some light on the history of this opaque organisation, its purpose, and its longstanding relationship with the Conservatives.
The 1986 document was written by club deputy chair and member of 54 years, Ronald Warlow (who stood as a Conservative against Labour MP Henry White in the 1945 General Election in North East Derbyshire), in response to the as then 'rising Tory generation' lacking a clear understanding of the club's purpose. It is an instructional brief history for up-and-coming young Conservatives.
The document describes the club as a successor to previous members' collectives born out of shared goals: the October Club, the Halsbury Club, and the Carlton. The 1900 Club is described cryptically by Warlow as the "dining club that does more than dine".
The booklet details how, just before the close of the last session of Parliament in 1906, a group of Conservatives decided to meet and dine together periodically, among friends, with the condition that they were either sitting Conservative MPs or peers in the Parliament of 1900, or Conservative 1906 prospective parliamentary candidates.
The inaugural dinner was held at London's Savoy Hotel on 25 June 1906.
The pamphlet outlines early efforts to influence the outcome of elections in certain seats, explaining that "at the first two by-elections, Cockermouth and Bodmin, the Unionist candidate proved successful and the club's assistance certainly played some part in these and latter successes". It goes on to say the club "soon established itself as a political force of considerable influence".
"From the beginning of its existence," Warlow went on to state, "the club received much friendliness from the Committee of the Carlton Club". The booklet describes dinners between the two memberships and how, at its lavish biennial get-togethers, 1900 Club members would mingle with important guests and ring up an exorbitant bill - one such bash cost £4,000 - in 1907 (according to Officialdata.org, that would be worth more than £616,000 today).
After a time, the overlap in members between The Carlton and The 1900 Club meant that monthly dinners started being held at The Carlton for the newer club's membership. It was around this period that the club began establishing connections with the larger network of institutions through which easy routes to power were created.
Warlow explained: "Sometime around 1908, the Club removed its premises to 5 Pickering Place (a quie...