The history of the Elgin Club

The ‘Elgin Club’ building in Commerce Street is thought to have been completed in 1869. The architects were the distinguished Elgin practice of the brothers A & W Reid. They were also the architects of the alterations to Grant Lodge in 1849, the new South Church in 1853, and the Sheriff Courthouse of 1864-6 which shares the same street block as the Elgin Club.

The generous ceiling heights, along with the internal detail still present, make the building ‘one of Elgin’s finest interiors’.

The elevation to Commerce Street is the finest in the street, of an imposing scale much larger than that of the adjoining buildings to reflect the significance of the interior spaces.

Mary Byatt, in her 2008 book ‘Victorian Elgin’, describes the purpose-built Club premises, designed in palazzo style, as being “another of A & W Reid’s masterpieces.”

The ‘Elgin Club’ was founded by a group of eminent local gentlemen in 1863 and by 1864 the ‘Club’ had a constitution and engaged a ‘Man’ who would look after their needs.

Functioning as a ‘Gentlemen's Club’ until the late twentieth century when ladies were permitted membership, it closed its doors in December 2002 due to falling membership and increased running costs.
David Boyd purchased the property in 2003.