Cambridge University Chit-Chat Club was founded on 27 October 1860 by students of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, with the object of 'the promotion of rational conversation'. Students of other colleges joined the Club soon after its foundation. The number of actual members was restricted to fifteen, but there was also an unrestricted number of honorary members. Members paid a yearly subscription. Graduates were only eligible to join the Club as honorary members, and actual members became honorary members on taking their degrees. The Club met until 1897.
From the guide to the Cambridge University Chit-Chat Club: Minutes, 1860-1897, (Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives)