Our Building

15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW

Most members will know, either from personal contact or through the pages of The London Philatelist, that one of the most difficult issues addressed by your Council was that of the buildings at 41 Devonshire Place. It was a question which had been facing the Council for almost twenty years.

At its meeting on 9 November 2016, Council decided to look for alternative premises. The sale of 41 Devonshire Place was completed on 7 July 2017, and the Society leased the premises from the new owners.

The search for suitable new premises to buy was a complex and at times fast-moving process, involving finding and assessing the suitability, value and affordability, of available properties. On 8 December 2017 the Society was very pleased to be able to report the completion of the purchase of a building in the City of London. The Society moved into temporary accommodation in late June 2019 just before our lease at 41 Devonshire Place expired in July, and then moved into 15 Abchurch Lane in early September 2019. The building has presence and gravitas, and its location will help the Society develop in the future.

The Gresham Club, founded 1843, moved to 15 Abchurch Lane in 1915. Designed by William Campbell Jones, the building has five storeys above ground level and two basement levels.

The building had always been a club, and until the end of July 2018 it was occupied by the London Capital Club. The Society has been fortunate to acquire the freehold.

It is constructed of a combination of brick and structural steel frame which supports a Portland stone façade to ground, first and second floor levels on Abchurch Lane. This façade is richly carved in a style partially taken from the church next door, St Mary Abchurch, first mentioned in 1198–1199, which was rebuilt by the office of Sir Christopher Wren in 1681–1686 after its destruction in the Great Fire of London.

In and around Abchurch Lane

Next door in Abchurch Yard, which is a pleasant cobbled square outside St Mary Abchurch, are The Vintry, a Fuller’s public house, and Harry’s Bar, both serving drinks and food. From the budget Travelodge at Bank to the five star Threadneedles, Autograph Collection by Marriott, there are hotels and restaurants nearby, and the rest of London remains easily accessible.