The social season, or Season, refers to the traditional annual period in the spring and summer when it is customary for members of the social elite to hold balls, dinner parties and charity events. Until the First World War, it was also the appropriate time to reside in the city (generally meaning London in Great Britain and Dublin in Ireland) rather than in the country in order to attend such events.
In modern times in the United Kingdom, "The Season" is known to encompass various prestigious but mostly accessible events that take place during the spring and summer.
Traditionally the "Scottish social season" would follow the "London social season" and take place in the Scottish Highlands. There was a social season, or some semblance of one, in British colonies, including British India, British Hong Kong, British Shanghai, British Australia, British New Zealand and British Egypt. Despite being republics with no official aristocracies, the United States and France had social seasons in the 19th century. The Dublin social season began to decline after the formation of the Irish Free State and no longer occurs today.
Social season in the United Kingdom
The London social season The London social season evolved in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in its traditional form it peaked in the 19th century. In this era the British elite was dominated by families of the nobility and landed gentry, who generally regarded their country house as their main home, but spent several months of the year in the capital to socialise and to engage in politics. The most exclusive events were held at the townhouses of leading members of the aristocracy. Exclusive public venues such as Almack's played a secondary role. The Season coincided with the sitting of parliament; it began some time after Christmas and ran until midsummer, roughly late June.'The Social Character of the Estate: The London Season in 1841′, Survey of London: volume 39: The Grosvenor Estate in Mayfair, Part 1 (General History) (1977), pp. 89-93. Some sources say it began at Parliament's Easter session break.
The social season played a role in the political life of the country: the members of the two Houses of Parliament were almost all participants in the season, as all Peers sitting in the House of Lords were by definition nobility, and many if not most Members of the House of Commons were gentry. But the Season also provided an opportunity for the children of marriageable age of the nobility and gentry to be launched into society. Debutantes were formally introduced into society by presentation to the monarch at royal court during the Court Drawing Rooms and Queen Charlotte's Ball until the practice was abolished by Queen Elizabeth II in 1958 – reportedly at Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's insistence. Queen Charlotte's Ball ceased to function in 1976, but has been relaunched since, by former debutante Jennie Hallam-Peel, without the monarch's involvement, and with more limited uptake; debutantes instead curtsy to "Queen Charlotte's Birthday Cake".
The traditional Season went into decline after the First World War, when many aristocratic families gave up their London townhouses. From then on, more society events took place at public venues, making it harder to maintain social exclusivity. The opulent coming-out party held for the 17 year-old Lady Sarah Consuelo Spencer-Churchill on 7 July 1939 at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, less than two months before World War Two was declared, has been styled by some as "the last season ever".Anne de Courcy. 1939: The Last Season (1989) Socialite Henry (Chips) Channon noted in his diary: "I have seen much, travelled far and am accustomed to splendour, but there has never been anything like tonight".Henry (Chips) Cannon, ed. Simon Heffer. The Diaries 1939-42 (2021), p. 594, 1039, 7/7/1939
The traditional end of the London Season is the Glorious Twelfth of August, which marks the beginning of the shooting season. Society would retire to the country to shoot birds during the autumn and hunt foxes during the winter before coming back to London again with the spring. For some time there was also the "Harrogate Season", where members of the upper classes would stop at Harrogate Spa to take in the waters on their way from London up to their shooting estates in the north.
Present day In its modern form the British Season emerged following the decline of the traditional aristocratic social season after the First World War. While sometimes still referred to traditionally as the London Social Season (especially in regard to events hosted in London), it is seen as more open than formerly; some of the events now regarded as included within it take place in other parts of the country, away from central London. Western dress codes still apply to certain events, especially those in which the monarch maintains an official role. Increasingly, many of the events now constituting the season are hosted or sponsored by large companies.
Below is a list of events widely considered to form part of the modern social season.
Arts Glyndebourne Opera Festival The Proms Royal Academy Summer Exhibition West End theatre
Horticulture Chelsea Flower Show
Equestrianism Royal Ascot Cheltenham Gold Cup Badminton Horse Trials Grand National Royal Windsor Horse Show Epsom Derby Glorious Goodwood Cartier Queen's Cup
The Crown Trooping the Colour Garter Service of the Order of the Garter Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Royal Garden Parties at Buckingham Palace and Holyrood Palace
Sport
Boat Race Henley Royal Regatta Guards Polo Club The Championships, Wimbledon Cowes Week Imperial Meeting Lord's Test cricket match British Grand Prix
The organisers of most events attempt to avoid date clashes, so it is generally possible to visit all of them in the same year.
Dress codes Many events of the season have traditional expectations with regard to Western dress codes. At Royal Ascot, for example, hats are compulsory in most enclosures, and to be admitted to the Royal Enclosure for the first time one must either be a guest of a member or be sponsored for membership by two members who have attended for at least six years as a member. This continues to maintain a socially exclusive character for the Royal Enclosure. Gentlemen are required to wear either black or grey morning dress with waistcoat and a top hat. A gentleman must remove his top hat within a restaurant, a private box, a private club or that facility's terrace, balcony or garden. Hats may also be removed within any enclosed external seating area within the Royal Enclosure Garden. Ladies must not show bare midriffs or shoulders and must wear hats. In the Queen Anne Enclosure (formerly known as the Grandstand), gentlemen are required to wear lounge suits with ties and ladies must wear a hat. At Henley Royal Regatta, in the Stewards' Enclosure gentlemen must wear a lounge jacket and tie. Rowing club colours on a blazer or cap are encouraged, as is the wearing of boaters. A lady's skirt hem must reach below the knee and is checked before entry by the Stewards' Officers. Both ladies and gentlemen will be turned away if they fail to comply with the dress code, regardless of their prestige in rowing or elsewhere. Hats are encouraged but not required for ladies. When a student protested being denied entry to the Stewards' Enclosure for failing to meet the dress code, saying she had worn the dress "in the Royal Enclosure at Ascot and nobody said anything", a spokesman defended the dress code, saying "The intention is to maintain the atmosphere of an English Garden party of the Edwardian period by wearing a more traditional dress." Members must display their enamel badges at all times. At polo matches, it is usual for gentlemen to wear a blazer and always white trousers. Ladies should wear flat shoes, as the tradition of "treading in the divots" (pressing back into place the clods of turf thrown up by the horses' hooves) precludes wearing heels. The famous Club House at Guards Polo Club in Windsor Great Park is for the use of club members only, who wear individually made gold and enamel badges. Members' guests are given special gold-embossed tags.
Scottish social season Following the London season, most of the high society participants would traditionally travel to the Scottish Highlands for the Scottish season, which would last around ten weeks. There, they would rent hunting grounds from Scottish lords in genteel poverty to hunt. They would also host parties at country estates which involved partridge shooting and hunting. The climax was the Hunt Ball, a semi-private event with attendees consisting both of invitees from high society and ticket purchasers. The Scottish season was more relaxed than the London one due to the Highlands tradition of hospitality to all.
Irish social season The Irish Social Season was a period of aristocratic entertainment and social functions that stretched from January to St. Patrick's Day of a given year. During this period, the major and minor nobility left their country residences and lived in Georgian mansions in places like Rutland Square (now Parnell Square), Mountjoy Square, Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin. Those with less financial means lived in (or in some cases rented) smaller properties in streets nearby.
The focal point of the Social Season was the move of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (the King's representative) from his 'out of season' residence, the Viceregal Lodge (now , the residence of the President of Ireland) to live in state in the Viceregal Apartments in Dublin Castle, where he and his wife hosted a series of levées, drawing rooms, banquets and balls in the Castle.
The period of the social season also coincided with the parliamentary sessions of the Irish House of Lords, which many of the peers in Dublin would be attending. However, the Irish Parliament was abolished with the Act of Union, which merged the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801.
With the abolition of the lord lieutenancy in 1922, the emergence of a new nationalist state (the Irish Free State) the same year, and the economic and social downturn that resulted from World War I, the Social Season dwindled and then died. Most of the aristocratic homes in Merrion Square and Fitzwilliam Square were sold and are now used as corporate offices.
Among the Irish peers who would reside in Dublin during the 'Social Season' were
The Duke of Leinster, Ireland's senior peer The Marquess of Slane The Duke of Ormonde Viscount Powerscourt The Earl of Fingall The Earl of Headfort
Other British colonies In British territories, high society and the social season revolved around the Government House, with an invitation to an event there often being no less exclusive than one to a court ball in London.
In British Australia and British New Zealand, there existed a high society. However, the high society's membership was very fluid and its members were way less formal in etiquette.
In British India, the cold season, from October to April, involved the presentation of the "fishing fleet" (debutantes), peaked at Christmas and concluded with the Viceroy's Ball in April. During the hot season, which lasted until October, female members would relocate to the hills to escape the heat, leaving their men to work. Membership in high society was synonymous with membership in the exclusive local club almost every English settlement had.