Lost Landmarks of Chennai

-- by Sriram V

The Club remembered by a Gate

That the Madras Club is located in the Boat Club area is well known. It is also equally well known that the Club, founded in 1832 operated for more than a century in what was known thereafter as Express Estates in Mount Road, the road leading to the premises being known even now as Club House Road. The Club, faced with a dwindling membership post-Independence chiefly owing to its whites-only policy, had to sell the space and move to the opposite sideof Mount Road, to a property that is marked today by Khivraj Motors and the compound of the erstwhile Safire Theatre. But the wolf was relentless in its pursuit and the only option was to move again, to merge this time with the Adyar Club, another whites-only institution that operated from Mowbray’s Cupola by the Adyar River at the end of what was once Mowbray’s and is now TTK Road. This amalgamation was effected in April 1963. With that the Madras Club subsumed into itself the Adyar Club. However, the road leading out from TTK Salai/Chamier’s Road intersection to the Madras Club is even now known as Adyar Club Gate Road. Memories die slowly in Madras and this article gives a brief history of the Adyar Club that is remembered only in a road name.

The principal source for this article is a slim booklet – A Short History of Moubray’s Cupola by John Malvenan, written in 1968 and published by the Madras Club. The text is accompanied by a few sketches by the noted architect HF Prynne of the firm of Prynne Abbott and Davis, which later became Pithavadian and Partners. Another artist whose sketches feature in the book is a Mrs JF Boase. It is clear from the text that Malvenan was an expatriate working for one of the British business houses of Madras but I am yet to fathom where.

Moubray’s Cupola. From our Archives.

Interestingly, the Adyar Club was born in the Madras Club. That was in October 1890, when a few members of the latter institution, chafing no doubt under its strict rules and regulations, decided to form a ‘country club in beautiful surroundings’. The patron was Lord Connemara, then Governor of Madras. The Madras Mail carried details of the formation of the Club, for which entrance fees were Rs 24 if paid before October 21 or Rs 50 if paid thereafter, with monthly fees of Rs 3. Mow(or was it u)bray’s Cupola then stood in the middle of 120 acres and all of this was rented to the Club by the Diocese of Mylapore, which owned the property thanks to the merchant John De’Monte’s bequest. The rent was Rs 300 per month, which as per Malvenan could be ‘considered moderate’. The boundaries were Boat Club Road, Chamier’s Road, Turnbull’s Road and the river.

The Club formally began on January 3,1891 with an At Home for its members. It offered boating, rifle shooting, clock golf, lawn tennis and dance. A billiards table was added shortly thereafter. By 1892, the vast grounds were put to use as a golf course, the layout being planned by Justice FH Wilkinson. This was one of the biggest attractions of the Club and survived till 1947, when financial compulsions necessitated return of surplus land to the Church, which then sold it all for commercial development, after obtaining due permission from the High Court of Madras.

That the Adyar Club was a more relaxed place when compared to the Madras Club is evident from some of its activities. There was rowing, from the steps by the river all the way to Elliots Beach where members could bathe and return. At what is now Nandanam stood the Kennels of the Madras Hunt which comprised many members of the Adyar Club. There was a standing arrangement for the serving of coffee at the Kennels each morning to members of the Adyar Club who exercised the hounds. A chokra called Fatty brought the beverage over.

Unlike the Madras Club this was a place where ladies were welcome and we read of facilities being built for them – a ladies’ toilet, a croquet lawn and a bicycle track. Sports facilities in general kept improving – tennis and squash courts coming up on the grounds. Dance being an important feature, the Club invested in a ball room, which survives to date in the Madras Club. It is interesting to read of some of the entertainments, including a River Concert where the stage was set on a float to which performers were rowed by the lascars of the Boat Club. And the sheer variety of equestrian events is mindboggling. What for instance is a Madras Pagal Gymkhana? There were horse shows and a pony gymkhana and for a while there was even a demand for a polo ground.

The entertainments offered and the attendance by members peaked each Friday evening. Contrary to what can be expected of a club in general, the Adyar Club fell silent on Sundays, out of deference to the Church which owned the property. Negotiations for extension of lease took place at periodic intervals and the rents kept rising. At one stage in the 1930s, the Diocese was willing to sell the place to the Adyar Club but the latter demurred and a major opportunity was lost. Notwithstanding that it did not own the space, the Adyar Club kept investing in facilities. The Club was ventilated by punkahs and illuminated by gaslights until electricity came, not without some grumbling at the expense, in 1911. Much of what we now recognise as standard features of the Madras Club building evidently came about during the Adyar Club’s ownership. The portico acquired its present dimensions owing to the necessity of accommodating cars. Kitchen and toilets, as well as wash rooms were built where none existed before and the verandah was extended to its present size. The black and white marble flooring at the entrance was laid as early as in 1904.

The Club was known for the quality of its entertainment, and it rose to its zenith in January 1922 when the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII and still later the Duke of Windsor came during the course of his disastrous India tour. Gandhi made sure that the prince was met with protests everywhere he went and in Madras the Governor, Lord Willingdon was anxious to make the best out of what was a bad show from the start. The Club pulled out all stops and presented a memorable evening on January 16, which elicited a letter of thanks from the Governor. The Willingdons themselves were given a warm send off in 1924 with a ball, the banyan tree fronting the Club, which still survives, being the centre stage.

The Second World War and its aftermath saw membership come down sharply. And thereafter it was a time of struggle. By 1958 it became clear that Indians had to be let in but even that did not stem the financial decline. The golf course was long gone, and the Adyar Club had shrunk to 12 acres. Even as early as in 1953, feelers had been sent to the Madras Club for a possible merger. While the discussions and negotiations went on the Adyar Club managed one last hurrah. In 1961, it lent its premises to the Deputy High Commissioner of the UK to host an evening for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip. But by then the end was in sight. In 1962, the Adyar Club and the Madras Club negotiated with the Archbishop of Madras to purchase the property that was left. This was completed by 1963 and the two clubs merged to become The Madras Club Pvt Limited. But the road leading to the place remained Adyar Club Gate Road.

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