I have always liked the idea of being a member of a club.  Not just any club, you understand.  No, I mean one of those exclusive, members-only, old London clubs.  Somewhere that has quiet, wood-panelled lounges where elderly gentlemen fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon in comfortable leather armchairs whilst consulting copies of Lloyd’s Register or Burke’s Peerage; where it is possible to rush in hot-foot from the boat-train after some continental escapade and announce to an enthralled audience that you have just returned from a six-year overland expedition hunting the Mokele-mbembe in the swamps of the Congo Basin in Central Africa; or where it is possible to get a good meal, fine wine and a comfortable overnight shakedown, and where the ancient porter on the front desk will take your hat and coat with the familiar reception: “Your usual, Sir?”

Okay, I admit my idea of the perfect London club is probably two centuries out of date, but a vaguely modern equivalent would suffice.  And might I have found it in the UnHerd Club?

I had never heard of UnHerd.  That fact alone seemed to qualify me as an ideal candidate for membership.  Located in Old Queen Street, a hop, skip and a jump from Westminster Abbey, it occupies a fine old Victorian building, the bottom floor of which is a restaurant; the upper storeys, the home of the UnHerd news and opinion website.  The club itself is on the first floor, consisting of an intimate bar and a large lounge/library room.

I run through my pre-requisites.  Wine?  Tick.  Comfy armchairs?  Tick.  Wood panels?  Tick.   Inviting fireplace?  Tick.  Okay, there is not an elderly, bowler-hatted retainer on the front door, but the staff I met there were all perfectly pleasant; and while there appeared to be no opportunity of finding an overnight refuge there should I find myself stuck in Town after missing the last tube, most other things were looking distinctly promising.

One big plus-point for the UnHerd Club is that it organises a regular calendar of interesting talks by guest speakers; this was actually my introduction to the club.  I had booked tickets to hear Geoff Dyer discussing John Berger.  The following month, I was back again to find out what Andrew Graham-Dixon had to say about Vermeer.  They were two very convivial evenings.

The UnHerd website describes itself as accepting contributions from both the left- and right-wing.  Most external commentators appear to consider the group more Conservative than otherwise.  But, while the surrounding pubs currently swarm with Reform supporters, UnHerd’s brand of conservatism seems rather innocently mild in comparison.

So, is this it?  My club in London?

I probably won’t know until I have fallen asleep there in the middle of the afternoon, dribbling in an armchair, in front of the fireplace.

© Fergus Longfellow

Fergus Longfellow thinks he just not a very clubbable person.

Fergus Longfellow is author of Gently Observed: An Uncritical Reading of the George Gently Crime Novels of Alan Hunter.