Little Ship Club

The Little Ship Club sits on the Thames Path below Upper Thames Street, between Southwark Bridge and London Bridge, and is the only sailing club in the City of London. Twenty-seven enthusiasts founded it in November 1926 at a restaurant in Whitehall; by 1937 the Admiralty had invited it to fly its own defaced blue ensign, and it had begun training officers of the Royal Naval Supplementary Reserve. The Lord Mayor laid the foundation stone of the Bell Wharf Lane clubhouse in 1962, the site was redeveloped, and the club returned to the present building in 1991. It has around 1,300 members and marks its centenary in 2026.

Five rooms take private hire, and at weekends the whole clubhouse goes together. The Dining Room faces Southwark Bridge through a long window wall, and sliding internal doors open it into the Club Room, where leather upholstery, oil paintings and sailing mementos surround the club's bar and a wooden dance floor. The Library keeps the club's collection behind glass on one side and its own outlook over the river on the other. The Claud Worth Room is mahogany-panelled and sits beside the Dining Room on connecting doors; the River Room is a small meeting room a few paces from the Library.

For a private event the appeal is the water. Doors from the Club Room open straight onto the Thames Path, and the riverside frontage takes standing receptions, though music outside is not amplified. Catering is in-house, the club is licensed for civil ceremonies, and the restaurant is open to non-members for lunch during the week. Arrival is on foot, down the steps at the north end of Southwark Bridge.