Motoring gymkhanas were also enjoyed with events such as a ‘crawling race’ where competitors had to drive as slowly as possible without the use of the clutch or brake and without stalling the engine. 5įurther events were organised, often involving a massed drive out to one of the members’ estate or to a country club such as Hurlingham. No unsightly goggles nor hideous masks marred the beauty of London’s fairest daughters: bright dresses and pretty hats were the order of the day. Press coverage of the event tended to focus on the femininity of the participants rather than their driving prowess: So striking was the spectacle of so many women driving en masse in both petrol and electric cars (as well as one steam wagon) that the King and Queen watched them go past from a window in Buckingham Palace. Some 56 vehicles assembled at the Athenaeum Club in Mayfair and progressed along Pall Mall to Hyde Park, finishing for tea at the Ranelagh Club in Barn Elms. The first outdoor Club event was held on 15 June 1904 in London and was featured on the front cover of motoring journal, The Car Illustrated. Other lectures included ‘Hints on Motor-car Driving’ by Lord Montagu in 1907 and a 1913 talk by Filson Young on ‘Motors and Morals’, described as “a gloomy affair” in The Autocar magazine. The Club was to organise many motoring-themed lectures including, notably, one by Charles Rolls entitled ‘Historical Reminiscences and Roadside Experiences’, which he summarised as follows: 4 I was gratified to hear much technique from feminine lips, which goes only to show that woman, when really interested, is twice as thorough as man. After the lecture, tea was taken in the Great Hall, and automobile conversation was rife the while. My hostesses the ladies have really the most dainty headquarters at Claridge’s, with their own entrance and many other conveniences. Members could also leave their cars at the nearby Harrods Garage for a fee of 10 shillings a week.Ī column in The Autocar magazine in 1905 describes an invitation “the Autocrat” took up to attend a lecture at the Club headquarters: Rooms for the Club were initially located within the Hans Crescent Hotel in Piccadilly but after six months they moved into more spacious accommodation at Claridge’s Hotel in Mayfair. In 1904, The Duchess of Sutherland became the first elected president of the Club. 2 The annual subscription fee was set at two guineas. The Club’s aims were both social and technical, so as well as providing premises to meet in, technical information was to be provided to all members as well as the organisation of tours and competitions, and instruction in driving “to members and servants of members”. Many ladies who own cars now drive them with grace and skill, and these fair motorists soon found the necessity for forming a club, which is now a flourishing institution daily increasing in numbers¹ Ladies have long felt that they could not leave such as fascinating pastime as automobilism to be enjoyed by the sterner sex alone. The Autocar reported on the formation of the Club in June 1904: The list of the first fifty members includes 23 titled ladies, so this was very much an organisation for the moneyed elite. The Ladies Automobile Club was founded in 1903, with Lady Cecil Scott Montagu as a driving force behind its inauguration. Via Caprera is the first street on the right behind the Esselunga supermarket.As part of The Drive For Change project celebrating 100 years of women’s suffrage, we have been exploring the story of the Ladies’ Automobile Club.Īt the the turn of the century, some of Britain’s prominent society women began to feel that they needed a club in which to share their interest in motoring, as the existing automobile clubs did not admit women. 4: Piazza Gioberti, go along Via Guasco at the crossroads, cross Viale Timavo and get into Via Magenta. 1: stop in Via Magenta next to the office of Bus no.
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