Uknown to most, it was started 107 years ago (1914) as a ‘watering hole’ for Kenya’s wealthiest families at the time.
The Club’s first president was Hugh Cholmondeley – a 3rd Baron Delamere, whose history in Kenya is well documented.
He was one of the first and most influential British settlers in Kenya.
Nairobi’s Sixth Avenue was named Delamere Avenue to commemorate his place in the development of the colony. It was later renamed Kenyatta Avenue after Kenya gained independence.
One of the restaurants inside the famous Nairobi Norfolk Hotel has been known as the Lord Delamere Terrace for decades.
Speaking to the media prior to his passing in February 2014, Cholmondeley’s stepson – Michael Cunningham, best captured the nature of the parties that were held there at the time.
“We jumped horses over the tables and shotguns in the air,” he recalled.
The Country Club was described as having a reputation during the colonial times as the ‘Moulin Rouge of Africa’, where the elite drank champagne and pink gin for breakfast, played cards, and danced through the night.
Sons (as it was a men’s only club) of the rich white settlers used to travel as far as 60 kilometres from their farms in the highlands to the club just to get a taste of its famous night parties.
Denys Finch Hatton – famed for being idolised in the movie Out of Africa, was a known regular at the elite club.
In Channel 4’s Edward VIII: The Lion King, it was revealed that in 1928 and 1930, Finch played host to the Prince of Wales in a safari that switched to photography.
Their relationship led to Edward VIII’s abandoning the use of cars for hunting safaris and shifting towards filming big game, wildlife photography, and the founding of the Serengeti National Park.
Muthaiga Club was their favorite chill spot where a rule still stands to date stipulating that a member is entitled to damage any loose property as long as he pays double its value.
Today, the club is still frequented by the upper echelons of Kenyan society. Members also have access to the nearby Muthaiga Golf Club.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
