18th Century
1761
John Stuart, third Earl of Bute, buys the empty site in Berkeley Square and commissions Robert Adam to design a house there

1763
Lord Bute resigns as the King’s chief minister
1765
William, second Earl of Shelburne, buys the unfinished property from Lord Bute, agreeing to keep to Adam’s original designs

1766
Lord Shelburne becomes Secretary of State for the Southern Department, responsible for American affairs
1768
Lord Shelburne and his family move into the unfinished house. Lord Shelburne resigns as Secretary of State in October
1771
After the death of his first wife, Lord Shelburne goes to Italy and starts his collection of paintings and antique statues
1775
Outbreak of American War of Independence. Adam’s First Drawing Room completed
1782
Lord Shelburne negotiates peace treaty with America. Tradition holds that he drafted the treaty in what is now the Round Room Cocktail Bar of The Lansdowne Club. His friend Benjamin Franklin is the chief American signatory

1784
Lord Shelburne is created first Marquess of Lansdowne. The house becomes known as Lansdowne House
1788
George Dance the Younger is commissioned to redesign Adam’s library and other rooms
19th Century
1805
The second Marquess of Lansdowne inherits the title and sells the bulk of his father’s art collection

1809
The third Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds. He re-establishes the Lansdowne Art Collection
1816-19
Further alterations to Adam’s library carried out by Robert Smirke the younger
1830s -1850s
Visitors to the house include Charles Dickens, Byron’s biographer Thomas Moore and Lord Macaulay
1834-52
After fire destroys both Houses of Parliament, the Lansdowne Dining Room is used for meetings of the Privy Council until the Palace of Westminster is built
1847-51
The third Marquess employs Matthew Arnold as his secretary
1863
The fourth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds
1866
The fifth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds

1870s
A sculpture gallery in the Gothic style is designed by T.H. Wyatt

1888-94
The fifth Marquess holds office as Viceroy of India
20th Century
1902-4
As Foreign Secretary, the fifth Marquess negotiates the Anglo-Japanese Treaty and the Entente Cordiale
1914-18
Lansdowne House is used as a first aid station throughout the First World War
1921
The last grand family party at the house is held for the wedding of Lady Dorothy Cavendish to Harold Macmillan. The fifth Marquess rents the house to Gordon Selfridge, the American owner of Selfridge’s department store
1927
The sixth Marquess of Lansdowne succeeds
1929
An exhibition of English decorative art is held at Lansdowne House. The sixth Marquess then sells the house to the American architect and property developer Benson Greenall. Greenall is refused permission to build a fifteen-storey hotel on the south side of Berkeley Square
1930
Greenall sells Lansdowne House to the Bruton Club
1931
Lansdowne House is radically restructured. Adam’s façade is cut back forty feet. The First Drawing Room and Great Eating Room are dismantled and shipped to America

1934
The Bruton Club sells the freehold to London Assurance
1935
Official opening of the renamed The Lansdowne Club on 1 May. Plans to extend Curzon Street are shelved. The cul-de-sac outside the Club is named Fitzmaurice Place
1939
Outbreak of the Second World War. The Club pool is closed for the duration
1943
Adam’s First Drawing Room is reassembled for permanent display at the Museum of Art in Philadelphia
1946
Swimming pool reopens on 12 February
1954
Adam’s Great Eating Room is reassembled as the Lansdowne Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum in New York

1964-5
Westminster Council builds the extension of Curzon Street, sweeping away The Lansdowne Club's steps' and adjusting the split levels
1972
The Club buys the freehold
1998
The Masterplan commences
21st Century
2001
Refurbishment of the Fencing Salle is completed
2012
The sports area refurbishment is completed with a new exercise studio and steam room
2015
The Club's Strategy is put into action to start the next chapter in the Club's history with a focus on Members, upgrading the Club and the Staff's development and training