The Bishopsgate Ward Club
The Club was founded in 1790 as a forum for the merchants, traders and other interested gentlemen of the Ward to communicate their views to the Aldermen and Common Councilmen, linking them to the governance of the City. It was re-founded in 1861 and has continued since then, and although records are limited we do have some 19th century Committee Minutes safely stored in the City's Guildhall Library.
For many decades the Club held monthly social lunches, but in the 1990s change started as new Presidents (including the first lady President) started to hold evening events and arrange visits to places of interest.
The Club elects a President for one year, the Club being managed by a Committee along with an Honorary Treasurer and and Honorary Secretary. We have close ties with the Ward Church St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate.
Our key events are: Christmas Carols at St Botolph-without-Bishopsgate, followed by a buffet lunch in the Church Hall; a Civic Lunch in the Crypts at Guildhall, to which the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs are invited; a dinner, currently at Leathersellers' Hall, and the Annual General Meeting which is held in May.
The Club is not a charity but we support a number of charitable activities each year including the Lord Mayor's Appeal, the Sheriffs' and Recorder's Fund, the Big Curry Lunch, Church appeals, and others as they arise.