Recently. I had lunch with some friends at an elegant Polish club in London’s South Kensington.
Immediately opposite the Imperial College Business School, one of the terraced houses on Exhibition Road (number 55) is the home of Ognisko, the Polish Hearth Club. The word ‘ogniszko., which means ‘hearth’, is related to the Latin word ‘ignis’ and the Sanskrit word ‘agni’, and both mean ‘fire’.
The building can be recognised by the plaque affixed to it, which commemorates the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Contained in a house constructed in about 1870, the club was founded in 1939. Its website, www.ogniskopolskie.org.uk , explained that the organisation is:
“… a Members’ Club and an important part of Polish Social and Cultural life in London … Founded with the combined initiative of the British and Polish Governments, it was inaugurated by HRH The Duke of Kent in 1940 … It became the hub of Polish social and cultural life, with a good restaurant, meeting rooms, a theatre and a ballroom. It was supported by Officers, along with their families and friends together with a prospering theatrical and literary community. Leading figures in Polish cultural society, along with senior Military figures were frequently to be seen in the Club. After the War it continued to meet the needs of the Polish community, their friends and supporters, as it still does today…”
As for its early history, the website related:
“In order to have a centre where the Free Poles would feel at home a house was rented for £300 p.a. in December 1939 from Sir Frank Newnes who held the leasehold on 55 Prince’s Gate. The Polish House was in effect the intellectual hub for Poles arriving in London whether as civilians, enlisted, diplomats or politicians.”
In 1978, the Club bought the freehold of its home from the University of London. The restaurant, which I have visited several times, serves Polish food in an elegant dining room. We ate our lunch on a covered, air-conditioned terrace, part of the garden behind the clubhouse. The club provides an enjoyable Polish ‘fine dining’ experience. However, although the food is good, it is much better at the less pretentious Café Maja, part of POSK (the Polish Cultural Centre) in Hammersmith.
At the entrance, there is a bust of the composer Chopin. Near it, on the walls of the lobby, there are paintings and photographs. And in the basement, there are several beautiful old framed posters, each one advertising a tourist destination in Poland.
If you want to experience the elegance of pre-WW2 Poland, a visit to Ognisko will not disappoint.
yamey 