Page 3 - Ian Marshall - London Coffe Houses - Standing Display January 2016

A brief Introduction to London Coffee Houses

1652:The first "coffee-house" was established in St. Michael's Alley,
Cornhill by Mr. Bowman called the "Pasqua Rosee".

1660: The Restoration realised a flood of activity and re-settlement; many
exiles returned and others made themselves scarce. A pamphleteer
remarked that "Coffee and Commonwealth came in together".

1664: Coffee Houses survived the Plague and people ignored the Lord
Mayor's warning to stay away from "alehouses and coffee-houses".

1666: Many Coffee-house were destroyed in the Great Fire but within 6
years the City was almost completely re-housed.

1672: The use of Tokens issued by coffee-men was stopped.
1674: "The Womens' Petition against Coffee" was presented complaining

that it made men as unfruitful as the deserts from whence it came.
1670s: Writers of news-sheets frequented the coffee-houses to gain their

material and the news-sheets themselves were often supplied free to
a house and were displayed for the benefit of its patrons.
1675: A Proclamation of Charles II called for the suppression of all
coffee-houses in London as being "places where the disaffected met,
and spread salacious reports concerning the conduct ofHis Majesty"
but the public uproar that ensued caused the order to be withdrawn.
1679: Several coffee-men were summoned before the Council for writing
seditious news.
1680: Dockwra and Murray established a Penny Post in London using
coffee-houses as receiving houses.
1682: The Penny Post was suppressed by the Courts as an infringement
ofthe Government monopoly but they promptly established their
own Penny Post and continued to use coffee-houses for the
collection and delivery of letters.
1688: By the King's command J.P.s were directed to suppress all coffee-
houses that deal in news-letters or expose to the public any foreign