Photo: Imperial College Union
Holland Club: Darts in South Kensington, London
The Holland Club is the old staff bar at Imperial College in South Kensington, the place that gave its name to one of London's longest-running pub darts teams. The bar itself now trades as "h-bar" (a physics in-joke, after the reduced Planck constant) and sits on the lower floor of the Sherfield Building. It is a members' room for college staff and postgraduates plus staff from the neighbouring Royal College of Music, Royal College of Art and the South Kensington museums, so it is not a free walk-in pub. The single most useful thing to know: the famous Holland Club darts team founded here in 1988 no longer throws on campus. After the original club was reorganised into h-bar in December 2012, the team moved its matches to the Rising Sun pub near Victoria, where it still competes today.
Contact
- Address Sherfield Building, Imperial College, Ayrton Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AZ
Opening hours
- Mon 17:00-23:00
- Tue 17:00-23:00
- Wed 17:00-23:00
- Thu 17:00-23:00
- Fri 16:00-23:00
- Sat Closed
- Sun Closed
The darts scene here
Darts is the reason the Holland Club name still travels. A team formed inside the club in 1988 on a purely social basis, grew up through local City leagues, and celebrated its 30th anniversary still going strong. It now plays in the Trafalgar Dart League, the central London competition that traces its teams back to the pubs around Trafalgar Square, and appears on the 2025/26 fixture list simply as Holland Club. When the campus bar became h-bar in late 2012, the side relocated to the Rising Sun and took on the nickname Holland Club RS. The roster is mostly college staff, ex-staff and alumni tied to the Albertopolis museum quarter.
Where the team plays now
League nights happen at the Rising Sun, 44-46 Ebury Bridge Road, Pimlico SW1W 8PZ, a low-ceilinged wood-panelled local that has had a board for decades. There is one dart board at the fireplace end of the bar. You can throw on it for free when the team is not in a fixture, but it is reserved during league matches. Trafalgar matches run on Wednesday evenings, starting between 18:30 and 19:00, across an October to March season. The pub keeps Young's-style cask ale and shows sport, though check ahead on food as the kitchen has been closed at points.
The Holland Club bar itself
If it is the original venue you want, head for h-bar in the Sherfield Building on Imperial's South Kensington campus, postcode SW7 2AZ. It opens weekday evenings, typically from 17:00 (Fridays from around 16:00) until 23:00, and stays shut at weekends. Expect one regular and one guest cask ale, evening meals served until about 21:00, sports TV and the occasional live music night. Access is for college staff, postgraduates and staff of the nearby colleges and museums, so you generally need to be a member or a guest of one rather than wandering in off Exhibition Road.
Common questions
- What is the Holland Club?
- It is the former staff bar at Imperial College in South Kensington, now trading as h-bar, and the namesake of a London darts team founded there in 1988. The team still competes in the Trafalgar Dart League, though it now plays its matches at the Rising Sun pub in Pimlico rather than on campus.
- Can you just walk in to play darts at the Holland Club?
- No. The campus bar (h-bar) is a members' room for Imperial staff and postgraduates and staff of the neighbouring colleges and museums, not a public walk-in. The Holland Club darts team plays its league nights at the Rising Sun in Pimlico, where the board is open to anyone except during matches.
- Is it free to play darts?
- The Holland Club bar is a members' venue rather than a free public pub. At the Rising Sun in Pimlico, where the team now plays, the single board by the fireplace is free to use casually but is reserved when league matches are on.
- How many dart boards are there?
- There is one board. The Rising Sun in Pimlico, the team's current home, has a single board at the fireplace end of the bar.
- What darts league does the Holland Club play in?
- The Trafalgar Dart League, a long-running central London competition. The team appears on the 2025/26 fixture list as Holland Club and plays on Wednesday evenings across an October to March season.
- Where is the Holland Club and what is the nearest station?
- The original bar (h-bar) is in the Sherfield Building on Imperial College's South Kensington campus, SW7 2AZ, near South Kensington station. The team's match nights are at the Rising Sun, 44-46 Ebury Bridge Road, Pimlico SW1W 8PZ, close to Victoria and Pimlico.
Other darts bars nearby
- Queens Skate Dine Bowl Queensway Queensway
- Horse and Groom (Soho) Soho, W1
- Rileys Sports Bar Victoria Victoria
- Cock Tavern (Fulham) Fulham
- Greenwood Pub & Kitchen Victoria Victoria
- Flight Club Victoria Victoria