The Reform Club

The Reform Club stands in London as a private members’ club shaped by nineteenth-century politics and architecture. Charles Barry designed the building, which opened in 1841 with rooms for reading, dining, and conversation. Its political roots reach back to the Reform Act of 1832 and connections with Whig and Liberal circles. Inside, a grand saloon displays lavishly framed paintings while members once read The Times and other newspapers.

Barry’s original plan included a parliamentary library with a complete set of Hansard and an upper library. In 1853, the large rear drawing room became the main library, creating at least three library rooms by the early 1870s. The collection focused on history, politics, and law, reaching around 30,000 books by 1873. Bankers, engineers, brewers, politicians, intellectuals, and reformers all formed part of its nineteenth-century membership.

Jules Verne placed the opening wager of Around the World in Eighty Days inside these rooms. The novel also refers to nine dining-room windows and several libraries, details that remain tied to the building’s literary image. Its architecture, paintings, and shelves preserve a clear connection with London’s political and intellectual life.