Almack's

Almack's, a suite of assembly-rooms in King Street, St James's. They were built in 1765 by Almack, a tavern-keeper; but for a century (they were closed in 1890) they were known as Willis's Rooms, from the name of Almack's heir. The name is chiefly associated with the balls that, from the opening of the rooms till about 1840, were held there under the management of a committee of ladies of high rank; and the circle having admission to the balls at Almack's was at the beginning of the century regarded as the seventh heaven of the fashionable world. Willis's Rooms were also used for dinners and concerts. Almack seems to have been a Highlander called MacCaul or M'All, who transposed his name when he came to London as valet to a nobleman. Almack's Club (1764), where high play was indulged in, became Brooks's in 1778. See Notes and Queries for 1891. Almack died in 1781, leaving a large fortune to his family.