The 16' Club

The 16' Club, commonly referred to as The Sixteens, the College Sixteen or simply 16,[1] is a private dining club for male members of St David's College, Trinity Saint David.

The Club Emblem

It is the only remaining undergraduate dining club at the university, and the oldest in Wales.

Foundation and tradition

Established for undergraduate scholars at St David's College, the precise foundation of the club is impossible to place accurately because so much documentation from the pre-war era has been lost. Nonetheless a volume published by HarperCollins places the approximate foundation of the club at 1874-6.[2]

There existed a body of students in the 1830s to 1850s who banded together in secrecy to flout the rules forbidding students from appearing in the town without their gown, "communicating" with local women and frequenting the local alehouses.[2] It is this tradition which the Club is known for following.

While some authors have categorised it as a secret society,[2] this is contested in other sources.[1]

The club's colour is pale blue.

Present day

Today The 16' Club is solely a dining club, though vestiges of the university's clerical origin remain in the retention of the College Prayer and the nominal requirement that members be bachelors.[3]

The clandestine nature of these meetings, and the reticence of its members, means that little is known about the club.

Purpose

The purpose of the College 16 is loosely defined as, "...to maintain the traditions of Saint David's College, and to provide and maintain a fraternity of gentlemen of calibre for mutual support whilst at University and in post graduate life."[3]

Membership

Membership of the club is by invitation only. The requirements and procedure are unknown. There is also reference to an initiation where all members stand on the Mound outside the Old Building and relieve themselves. How true these tasks are is unknown.

Notable members

References

Secret Societies: From the Ancient and Arcane to the Modern and Clandestine, by David V. Barrett, ISBN 978-0-7137-2772-2
The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders, by Alan Axelrod, ISBN 978-0-8160-3871-8
The 16' Club Codex, independently published: 1971
BBC Wales, Canwr, bardd a chyfansoddwr wedi'i ddylanwadu gan y blŵs Biography, 16 January 2016 (accessed 13 July 2021)
Ian Marchant, Interview: A Hero for High Times Lumieres Podcast, 15 February 2018(accessed 13 July 2021)
Pete Paphides, Broken Greek: A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs (Quercus, 2020), at page 116
John Lambert Rees, Timothy Rees of Mirfield and Llandaff : a biography (Morehouse-Gorham, 1945), at page 32
Matteo Pistono, Roar: Sulak Sivaraksa and the Path of Socially Engaged Buddhism (North Atlantic Books, 2019), at page 16

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[:2-1] Secret Societies: From the Ancient and Arcane to the Modern and Clandestine, by David V. Barrett, ISBN 978-0-7137-2772-2

[:0-2] The International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders, by Alan Axelrod, ISBN 978-0-8160-3871-8

[:1-3] The 16' Club Codex, independently published: 1971

[4] BBC Wales, Canwr, bardd a chyfansoddwr wedi'i ddylanwadu gan y blŵs Biography, 16 January 2016 (accessed 13 July 2021)

[5] Ian Marchant, Interview: A Hero for High Times Lumieres Podcast, 15 February 2018(accessed 13 July 2021)

[6] Pete Paphides, Broken Greek: A Story of Chip Shops and Pop Songs (Quercus, 2020), at page 116

[7] John Lambert Rees, Timothy Rees of Mirfield and Llandaff : a biography (Morehouse-Gorham, 1945), at page 32

[8] Matteo Pistono, Roar: Sulak Sivaraksa and the Path of Socially Engaged Buddhism (North Atlantic Books, 2019), at page 16