Reform Club

Completed in 1841, the Reform Club was designed by Sir Charles Barry. It was inspired by the 16th century Palazzo Farnese in Rome and is perhaps most famously known as the starting and finishing point of Phileas Fogg's epic 80-day journey around the world. The club itself was founded in 1836 at the home of "The Bear" Ellice, the Whig Member of Parliament who was instrumental in getting the Reform Act of 1832 passed. Whereas anti-Reformist Torys (who won the election in 1834) met at the Carleton Club, Reformers felt it was necessary to have a club of their own in which to meet and so the club was born. From 1839, it became the unofficial headquarters of the fledgling Liberal Party and continues to maintain, "liberal and progressive traditions".