Members of Phyllis Court Club have prime position when it comes to the Henley Royal Regatta but that is just one incentive to join the club as Lindi Bilgorri finds out.

It's as English as Hugh Grant, strawberries and cream and high tea. Phyllis Court Club is a little oasis that will be forever England.The club is situated just a stone's throw away from Henley bridge, and has glorious views overlooking the River Thames with its green pristine lawns sweeping down to the water's edge.

It's a Friday morning and I am standing on a well-maincured croquet court (not lawn, I'm informed) with a crocket mallet in my hand.

"Croquet is a very complicated game," says Terje Johansen, chairman of council at the club who is looking very dapper dressed all in white for the sport. "It is like a game of chess, you have to think and work things out. In association croquet each game takes three hours and a match takes three days to play."

I never knew the game was so involved, I had to admit, but at Phyllis Court they take their croquet seriously and compete against other clubs from Roehampton, Hurlingham and Cheltenham.

The biggest event of the year for the club is, of course, the Henley Royal Regatta. And Phyllis Court has prime position on the river with its grandstand pavilion overlooking the finish line of the race. The cast iron framed pavilion, now a listed building, is only available for members and corporate clients who can have the most enviable position on the course.

However, the entire club is taken over by the regatta for the four days, with a marquee on the lawn and, if the members hadn't booked a table in the pavilion, they can watch the race from the waterside edge.

Terje admits that when he retired the main attraction for him to join Phyllis Court was to be able to get the best view of the regatta, but over the years he became so involved in the club with all the activites he is now helping to run the club.

Phyllis Court is unlike any other club. It's like a gentleman's club which allows women as members, and a sports club but voted against building a swimming pool.

"We are a sports club with rowing, tennis and croquet, but we are also a social club," says Sue Gill, the marketing and membership manager, who I meet in the large airy lounge and looks after the members.

"The social side comes from the sections, which are clubs within a club," she explains.

The sections have activities the members can get involved in. There are 21 sections including bridge, art appreciation, wine, classic motoring and dance. Each of the section's events are posted on a large notice board in the reception area.

"The sections are the heart of the club," Sue says.

The main reason for the sections or clubs is for people to get to know each other.

"A lot of friendships come out of them. Some of our members have just lost a husband or wife, or are divorced. The club is a place where ladies can feel more at ease and they can happily come to the bar, when they wouldn't in another place. We have even had one or two weddings as a result of people meeting at the sections."

Unlike other businesses or clubs, Phyllis Court Club is owned by its members, of which there are 2,850 aged from 18 to 98.

"The members want it to stay a piece of Old England but they realise they have to diversify as well," Sue says, who knows most of the members by name and looks after them in a delightful mothering way.

Phyllis Court wants to attract younger people to join the club.

"The members can use the club to entertain and meet people on a professional basis. People can use it for business if they want," says Sue.

If a member just wants to catch up on the latest news, there's a reading room where they can browse through the daily papers, or they can play bridge or billiards in the snooker room.

But whatever they do, Sue and other members of the staff make sure the atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly.

I discovered that when I went into the club dining room which is traditionally decorated but light and airy. The cuisine could rival any top restaurant with extremely attentive waiting staff.

Phyllis Court has two banqueting halls overlooking the Thames which they hire out for weddings and conferences. And for the ultimate fairytale wedding, Sue told me, the bride and groom can arrive on a boat up the river.

Apart from it being a member-only club anyone can become a member for a day or two when they book into one of the 17 bedrooms, all charmingly decorated in a fresh English style.

The room I stayed in overlooked the river and I was woken by the excitable sound of gulls in the morning and looked out onto the perfect English setting.

I then enjoyed a hearty English breakfast in the breakfast room before I left this little piece England, and entered the real world again.

Phyllis Court Club: enquiries@phylliscourt.co.uk

A potted history of the club

Phyllis Court Club was originally the manor of Henley on Thames and was known as Filletts Court in 1301.

There are several theories as to whether the name originated from fyllis of filletts, the old name for a red rose which was the nominal rent paid by the first owner of the land, John de Molyns. He was treasurer of the King's Chamber and Keeper of the Royal Hawks and Falcons. He was given the Manor of Filletts by King Edward lll in 1347. Phyllis Court Club became a club in 1906.

During the Second World War Phyllis Court was requisitioned by the Ministry of Supply. During the latter part of the war the club became a rest home for American air crews.

In 1976 a serious fire destroyed part of the building but it was rebuilt and totally refurbished.