Founded in 1898, Harvard's Fox Club was a bastion of male exclusivity.

One of the eight original male only clubs, its membership has boasted some distinguished names including T S Eliot, Bill Gates and Henry Cabot Lodge, one of America's most distinguished diplomats.

This male bastion was all set to fall when nine women were granted "provisional status" in October 2015. But this radical co-educational experiment has proved short-lived.

The Harvard Crimson reported that provisional memberships have been revoked.

But while male provisional members have been invited to reapply, the invitation has not been extended to the nine women.

Details of the change in policy emerged in correspondence seen by the Harvard Crimson, including an email sent out by Daniel Skarzynski, the club's undergraduate president.