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Garraway's Coffee House

17th-century establishments in England17th century in London18th century in LondonCoffeehouses and cafés in the United KingdomFormer buildings and structures in the City of London
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Garraway's Coffee House
Garraway's Coffee House

Garraways Coffee House was a London coffee house in Exchange Alley from the period where such houses served as important places where other business was performed. Its original proprietor, Thomas Garway, was already said to be the first person in England to sell tea prior to the house's founding, and when he began to sell it here in 1657 it became the first place in England to do so. The Hudson's Bay Company conducted its first sale of furs at the coffee house in 1671. Different kinds of merchants patronized different coffee houses, with tea merchants patronising Garraway's, as well as many investors in the South Sea Bubble of the 1710s. The establishment became famous as a sandwich and drinking room, it being said that the sandwich-maker spent two hours preparing each day's food.The works of Charles Dickens include multiple references to Garraway's, and Daniel Defoe wrote of it being frequented by wealthy traders from the City.The building was destroyed by fire in 1748, having been open for 216 years.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Garraway's Coffee House (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Garraway's Coffee House
Change Alley, City of London

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Latitude Longitude
N 51.5129 ° E -0.087 °
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Change Alley

Change Alley
EC3V 9AH City of London
England, United Kingdom
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Garraway's Coffee House
Garraway's Coffee House
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Lloyd's Coffee House
Lloyd's Coffee House

Lloyd's Coffee House was a significant meeting place in London in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was opened by Edward Lloyd (c. 1648 – 15 February 1713) on Tower Street in 1686. The establishment was a popular place for sailors, merchants and shipowners, and Lloyd catered to them by providing reliable shipping news. The shipping industry community frequented the place to discuss maritime insurance, shipbroking and foreign trade. The dealings that took place led to the establishment of the insurance market Lloyd's of London, Lloyd's Register and several related shipping and insurance businesses.The coffee shop relocated to Lombard Street in December 1691. Lloyd had a pulpit installed in the new premises, from which maritime auction prices and shipping news were announced. Candle auctions were held in the establishment, with lots frequently involving ships and shipping. From 1696–1697 Lloyd also experimented with publishing a newspaper, Lloyd's News, reporting on shipping schedules and insurance agreements reached in the coffee house. In 1713, the year of Edward Lloyd's death, he modified his will to assign the lease of the coffee house to his head waiter, William Newton, who then married one of Lloyd's daughters, Handy. Newton died the following year and Handy subsequently married Samuel Sheppard. She died in 1720 and Sheppard died in 1727, leaving the coffee house to his sister Elizabeth and her husband, Thomas Jemson. Jemson founded the Lloyd's List newspaper in 1734, similar to the previous Lloyd's News. Merchants continued to discuss insurance matters there until 1774, when the participating members of the insurance arrangement formed a committee and moved to the Royal Exchange on Cornhill as the Society of Lloyd's.