A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally set up by men from Britain's upper classes in the 18th and succeeding centuries. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the British Empire.
In particular, India , Pakistan , and Bangladesh have enthusiastically taken up the practice, and have a thriving club scene. There are also many extant clubs in major American cities. A gentleman's club typically contains a formal dining room, a bar, a library, a billiards room and one or more parlours for reading, gaming or socializing.
Many clubs also contain guest rooms and fitness amenities. Some are associated mainly with sports such as sailing, skiing and mountaineering and maintain regular opportunities for other events such as formal dining. The original clubs were established in the West End of London.
Today, the area of St James's is still sometimes called "clubland". Clubs took over some parts of the role occupied by coffee houses in 18th-century London , and reached the height of their influence in the late 19th century. The first clubs, such as White's , Brooks's and Boodle's , were aristocratic in flavour, and provided an environment for gambling, which was illegal outside of members-only establishments. The 19th century brought an explosion in the popularity of clubs, particularly around the s.
At their height, London had over such establishments. This expansion can be explained in part by the large extensions of the franchise in the Reform Acts of , , and Each time, hundreds of thousands more men were qualified to vote, and it was common for them to feel that they had been elevated to the status of a gentleman , thus they sought a club. The existing clubs, with strict limits on membership numbers and long waiting lists, were generally wary of such newly enfranchised potential members, and so these people began forming their own clubs.
