Kate Meyrick (7 August 1875 – 19 January 1933) known as the 'Night Club Queen' was an Irish night-club owner in 1920s London. During her 13-year career she made, and spent, a fortune and served five prison sentences. She was the inspiration for the character Ma Mayfield in Evelyn Waugh's novel, Brideshead Revisited.
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Early life and marriage
Kate Evelyn Nason was born on 7 August 1875 at 24 Cambridge Terrace, Kingstown to John William Washington Nason, a doctor, and Sarah Frances, née Bateman. Her father died from meningitis in 1876 and her mother married the clergyman Reverend Edwin Sandys Jackson in June 1880. The family moved to England and lived at the rectory in Great Sankey, Lancashire. When Kate was seven years old, her mother died and she and her older sister, Ethel, returned to Kingstown where they were raised by their grandmother, Isabella Bateman, and two great aunts at Fairyland, York Road. She was educated by governesses then attended Alexandra College from 1891 to 1893.
In December 1899 she married a doctor, Ferdinand Richard Holmes Merrick (later changed to Meyrick), in a ceremony performed by her stepfather in St John's church, Monkstown. The couple lived on Palmerston Road, Rathmines, Dublin, for a short time before moving to England and settling in Southsea, Hampshire. For fifteen years, Kate Meyrick assisted her husband with running nursing homes for psychiatric patients, during this time the couple moved to London and lived in Ealing for a time. Between 1900 and 1914, eight children were born to the couple: six daughters and two sons. The marriage was not successful and the couple considered divorce three times before permanently separating in 1918.
Career
After separation from her husband at the age of 43, Meyrick found herself having to support eight children with a weekly allowance of less than £1 a week. Looking for well-paid work, she responded to an advert, "Fifty pounds wanted for partnership to run tea dances" whilst in London nursing her eldest daughter, who had caught influenza whilst studying at college. In April 1919, she opened Dalton's in a basement close to the Alhambra Theatre in Leicester Square in partnership with Harry Dalton (real name Henry Sampson). Dalton's was described as a "rendezvous for members of the theatrical and variety professions and their friends" but the venture was short-lived. In January 1920, the club was struck off the register and Meyrick and Dalton were both fined at Bow Street Magistrates' Court. The prosecutor in the case described the club as a "dancing hell and a sink of iniquity".
Meyrick's 1920 conviction was the first in a string of encounters with the Metropolitan Police and law courts which lasted throughout her career. The sale of alcohol in Britain at the time was subject to strict licensing laws as well as the Defence of the Realm Act which was introduced during the First World War. Night club owners did what they could to circumvent the rules to provide venues for dancing and drinking to the new generation of Bright Young Things. In a game of cat and mouse with the authorities, Meyrick opened a series of clubs under different names. As soon as one was shut down for breaching licensing laws she would open another – usually at the same premises.
After running clubs called the Bedford and Brett's, Meyrick opened her most famous venue, the 43 Club at 43 Gerrard Street, Soho, in November 1920, an address which was also once the home of poet John Dryden. The basement was used as a dance hall and the ground floor housed a large lounge. The bar was located in a small room accessed via a locked door, the manager kept hold of the key. The 43 Club was open all night until 6am and offered dinners, suppers and breakfasts alongside the illicit alcohol. Meyrick collected the door money in a front office and customers paid to dance to jazz bands and artists with Meyrick's Merry Maids who encouraged them to spend even more. The club was popular with celebrities and royalty including the actors Rudolph Valentino and Tallulah Bankhead, jazz musician Harry Gold, and authors J. B. Priestley, Evelyn Waugh and Joseph Conrad. Meyrick claimed that the Egyptian aristocrat Ali Kamel Fahmy Bey had been a regular customer before he was murdered by his wife Marguerite Alibert at the Savoy Hotel. Army and naval officers on leave were regular attendees as were students, "butterflies of the gay nightlife" and underworld figures. Meyrick claimed that gangsters would sometimes refuse to pay. A disagreement one evening led to two shots being fired inside the club. Mirrors were shattered and a piano was damaged but no one was hurt. On another notable evening, members of the IRA celebrated at the club after stealing machine guns from Chelsea Barracks.
Death
Meyrick died on 19 January 1933 from influenza, aged 57. Her son-in-law, Lord Kinnoull commented shortly after her death, "Mrs Meyrick's health had undoubtedly been weakened by her several periods of imprisonment.” On the day of her large funeral at St Martin-in-the-Fields, West End theatres and clubs dimmed their lights. There was a big turnout on the day from people well known in London's night club life. Meyrick's estranged husband was reported to have attended at her funeral, inconsolable. She is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.
Despite the vast sums of money Meyrick earned during her career, her estate was valued at only £771 8s 1d. She had claimed that all her earnings had been spent on running her clubs, educating her children and legal fees.
In February 1933, the Leeds Mercury stated that Scotland Yard had obtained a copy of the manuscript of Meyrick's posthumously published autobiography, Secrets of the 43 Club, leading to suspicion that it was subsequently censored to protect the Metropolitan Police and aristocratic society. The author J. B. Priestley objected to being mentioned in the book, claiming he had never frequented Meyrick's clubs.
In fiction
The character Ma Mayfield and her 'Old Hundredth' Club featured in Evelyn Waugh's 1934 novel A Handful of Dust and his 1945 novel, Brideshead Revisited. The character and the club were inspired by Meyrick and the 43 Club.
Anthony Powell referenced the 43 Club in his 1931 novel, Afternoon Men.
In Kate Atkinson's 2022 novel Shrines of Gaiety, the character Nellie Coker is based on Meyrick.
Kerry Greenwood referenced Kate Meyrick in her 2001 book Away With the Fairies (Phryne Fisher #11), describing her as a "notorious night-club keeper".
The lead character Kate Galloway in the 2025 British TV drama Dope Girls is based on Meyrick. The series is adapted from the non-fiction book of the same name by Marek Kohn.
Commemoration
Kate Meyrick was one of the figures showcased by the UK National Archives in their 2022 exhibition 20's People, including a recreation of The 43 Club based on police records.