The Myrmidon Club is a dining club elected from the male undergraduate members of Merton College, Oxford. Founded in 1865, it is one of the handful of such clubs with an almost continuous existence from the second half of the 19th century. It is thought to be the model for the Junta, the fictional club in Max Beerbohm's Zuleika Dobson, of which the Duke of Dorset was for some time the sole member.
For the origin of its name, see Myrmidons.
The Club, which formerly had rooms in the High Street but whose territorial ambitions are now confined to a cupboard in College, is intermittently out of favour with the authorities. Its colours are purple, gold and silver.
Describing Lord Randolph Churchill's membership of the Club towards the end of the 1860s, T.H.S.Escott wrote:
- "There is a certain monotony in the chronicle of the doings at these feasts. In all cases there are the same narratives of proctors' invasions, youthful concealments in coal-cellars, varied sometimes by the incarceration of indiscreet waiters in pantries or ice safes ; or encounters with proctors and bull-dogs, tempered by conflicts with the city police."[1]
Notable members include:
- Max Beerbohm
- Brigadier Lorne Campbell VC
- Lord Randolph Churchill
- Andrew Irvine
- Reginald Maudling
- Airey Neave
- Edward Vaizey
- Angus Wilson
References
- Merton College Register (1891-1989) (printed for private circulation, 1990)
- David Cecil, Max (London, Constable, 1964)
External links
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