The British Club

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria · Category: Cultural spaces · Subcategory: Institutions · Year: 1902 · Authors: Fernando Navarro

Having spent three years searching for its ideal headquarters, the British Club was set up at the Brown House or White House (as it was called). This stately home was built at the start of last century by a Scottish millionaire called Robert Brown the owner of a whiskey distillery, for his son who was ill with tuberculosis, so that he could get better [...] Robert Brown lost interest in the house following the death of his son, and in 1906 he sold it to the Elder Dempster Company for a grand total of 3500 British pounds. Due to the property's proximity to the former Hotel Metropole (present day municipal offices), and that fact that both buildings belonged to the same owner, the house was used as an overflow of the Hotel to put up the 'Fifteen pounders', referring to those Britons who came over on the boats of the Yeoward company for a modest 15 pounds, allowing them to stay for fifteen days at the Hotel, although their presence wasn't best appreciated by the resident colonies in the city. [...]

The Brown House then became, from 1st January 1912, the headquarters for the British Club of Las Palmas, in exchange for 150 pounds annual rent. Following several years of haggling, president Mr. Blandy bought the property in 1933 for 3000 pounds.

The house is a sturdy builing, and is currently in almost the same condition as it was when it was built, as it has hardly been refurbished at all. It stands on two floors and a basement, and has gardens all round, covering a surface area of 2145 square metres. Years ago it looked right over the sea edge (now the motorway passes in front of it along the Avenida Marítima) and one of its doors provided direct access to the beach. This privileged location was then lost around 1930 when the port was expanded with a new dock being built there. 

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