History of the Rec Club

The main building was funded by the Royal Free Special Trustees who at the time were a committee of hospital Consultants and benefactors of local donated money for the benefit of the Royal Free Hospital. The swimming pool was funded by the League of Friends of the Royal Free. The Chairman of the Special Trustees (which later became the Royal Free Charity) was Sir William Wells and he was also the first Chairman of the Royal Recreation Club.

Sir William’s deputy, Albert Bernard succeeded him and the current Chair, Dave Thomas is only the 5^th Chair in the club’s 45 years. In a similar vein the first Rec Club Manager was Tom Gunning who was succeeded by Keith Hunt (the club’s longest serving Manager for over 20 years) with the current Manager, Craig Johnson, being only the 6^th Manager in the club’s history.

Initially, the club was predominantly a social club (with a large bar and eating facilities) for the hospital staff with only 5% of its membership open to the local community but over the first 20 years habits changed and the fitness culture came to the fore. The business decision to close the large bar and eating area and convert the space into a fully functioning gym was taken in the late 1990s and coincided with the hospital’s decision to close its bars and ban alcohol on site. Again the cost of this investment at over £500,000, which took place over the 1999-2000 financial year, was met by the Special Trustees of the Royal Free Charity.

The new emphasis on fitness, health and well-being promoted by the club from this time saw the club grow and grow and open its doors to offer its facilities more widely to the local community as well as staff and patients of the Royal Free. The club’s relationship with the now Royal Free London NHS Trust remained strong even more so during the Covid pandemic when it was forced to close along with all other leisure centres. In conjunction with the Royal Free Charity, the club reopened during the pandemic to provide essential support to the hospital staff by providing a free shop as well as welfare services such as relaxation and massage areas. The club also, in conjunction with local health bodies, became a vaccine centre for the local community for 9 months as part of the national vaccine roll-out.

When government restrictions were relaxed the club could fully reopen and once again provide a welcoming and modern fitness centre in a safe environment to the trust’s staff, patients and the local community.