Kennel Club: The home of dogs

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Editor's Picks
28 January 2025
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Let's head just north of Buckingham Palace to Clarges Street, home of the Kennel Club, and see what the home of dogs has do offer behind their doors!

Founded in 1873, The Kennel Club, led by S E Shirley and 12 other gentlemen, set out a consistent set of rules for the increasingly popular activity of dog showing and field trials. Today, their efforts have resulted in The Kennel Club becoming one of the largest organisations in the world dedicated to dog health, welfare, and training.

The organisation now consists of a club with 1,500 members, 1,800 registered canine societies, and the registry for UK pedigree dogs. As the governing body for all canine activities in the UK, The Kennel Club currently recognises 223 pedigree dog breeds. 

To go with their 4,000 licensed dog shows and events each year, the pièce de résistance remains Crufts. Acquired in 1939, Crufts is The Kennel Club’s flagship event and the biggest dog show in the world. The 2025 edition of Crufts will take place between 6-9 March at the NEC in Birmingham. 

 

Taking a tour 

Residing in Mayfair, The Kennel Club’s headquarters consist of several rooms steeped in history and prestige within the world of dogs. The facilities include a private members’ club with a bar, lounge, and dining area, meeting and conference rooms, an art gallery, a library, a picture library, and a residential apartment for the chairman (Tony Allcock OBE). 

The tours are a completely unique opportunity to visit the largest collection of literature and art dedicated to dogs, with items in the collection dating back to AD 8, and encompassing every breed of pedigree dog recognised by The Kennel Club. Visitors often remark on how the curators, who host the tours, can bring the ‘story’ of dogs to life, and topics can cover anything from personal to scholarly interest – depending on the visitors’ interest.

A guided tour of the building, led by expert curators, includes:

 The Art Gallery – with the opportunity to see the world-famous Crufts Best in Show trophy, the Keddell Memorial Trophy, as well as some of the most impressive canine artworks of all time, including the well-known painting An Early Canine Meeting. The oldest item in the collection is a Celtic coin dating from AD 8 – AD 41, which is decorated with the image of a hound.

Current exhibitions that can be seen during the tours are:

Drawings of Dogs – running until 25 April, 2025 – featuring all styles of drawing, and includes works by artists such as Marjorie Cox, Barbara Robinson Tester, Gary Stinton, Julie Brenan, and Gifford Ambler, many of which are being exhibited for the first time. There will also be 19th century charcoal and chalk drawings and Sir Edwin Landseer’s painting of a Newfoundland entitled A Distinguished Member of The Humane Society, the original of which is currently on display at The Kennel Club, on loan from Tate.

Deirdre Ashdown capsule exhibition – running until 4 April, 2025. The Kennel Club has been steadily accruing a strong collection of original works and prints by this artist who is well-known for her wonderful pen and ink drawings of dogs.  A huge variety of breeds of dog are featured in the exhibition which spans her artistic career and will also include her commemorative works for the UK Toy Dog Society.

The Kennel Club Photographic Collections – one of the largest dog image collections in the world and includes digital photographs, photographic prints, slides, transparencies, negatives, postcards, cigarette cards, carte de visite, cabinet cards, ambrotypes, tin-types, glass plate slides, and more. Some of the oldest photographs include early Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes of dogs. One of the most prized photographs is an early photogravure of Dandy (an early Retriever type) that is depicted from the first dog show in Newcastle, 1859.

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The Kennel Club Library – a unique library devoted to all things dog. The collection holds books on every breed recognised by The Kennel Club, as well as covering topics such as dog training, breeding, dog shows, field trials, as well as dog and veterinary care, dogs in art, and even dogs in literature. The collection dates back to the 16th century, and also features a wide selection of dog magazines and dog newspapers, stud books, and breed record supplements – all essential sources of information for breed history and pedigree research.

The tour concludes with an optional three-course lunch in The Kennel Club Dining Room – visitors should note that a dress code is required if choosing this option, as well as advance booking – for £55 per person, and also includes a glass of wine, tea, coffee, and chocolates.

The tour offers a fascinating look at the history of dogs, told from the unique perspective of art, literature, and photography, delivered by expert curators, all of whom can share the varied history associated with the collections. It’s not just the chance to see such an impressive collection of canine history. It’s a unique opportunity to step, literally, inside the culture and history of the leading canine organisation and experience how it has evolved to promote the well-being and love of our canine companions.

Factfile 

- Where: 10 Clarges Street, Mayfair W1J 8AB 

- Touring the gallery is available by prior appointment only, during the opening times of 9:30am – 4:30pm on Monday to Friday. The length of the tour is dependent on factors such as the size of your group and the number of questions (which are encouraged!) at each exhibit 

- For £5 per person, a private tour can be made on a convenient date. However, these are subject to availability and require a minimum of
10 people 

- The best way to travel to The Kennel Club Art Gallery is by public transport. The nearest tube station is Green Park, just a two-minute walk away. However, with its central London location, other underground stops in walking distance include Hyde Park Corner (0.6 miles), Piccadilly Circus (0.6 miles), St. James’s Park (0.8 miles)

- You cannot take your dog along with you 

Many thanks to Ciara Farrell, Culture & Heritage Senior Manager at The Kennel Club for providing this information.