The Club was founded in 1870 under the patronage of Benjamin Disraeli, later Earl of Beaconsfield, as a convenient meeting place for Conservative Members of Parliament close to the House.

The Club remained in its original premises, overlooking the Thames opposite the Palace of Westminster, and linked to it by an underground passageway, until they were acquired by the Government in 1960 to facilitate plans to expand the Palace of Westminster.

The original building still stands substantially unaltered, and provides overflow offices for Members of Parliament. In 1914 the Members of The Whitehall Club, mostly professional Engineers and related disciplines, joined St. Stephen's Club, and this balanced fusion of professional and political interests is still reflected today.

Following the sale of the original Club premises to the Government in 1960, the present smaller elegant Club House in Queen Anne's Gate, previously the town residence of Lord Glenconner and later of Sir Harrison Hughes, Bt. was purchased. On completion of conversion works it was formally opened by Mr. Harold MacMillan, then Prime Minister, on 12th December 1962. The St. Stephen's Club was joined in 1979 by The Constitutional Club to form the present Club.