The British Coffee House was a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...

at 27

Cockspur Street Cockspur Street is a short street in the City of Westminster, London, within which a very short part of Trafalgar Square links Charing Cross to Pall Mall/Pall Mall East at the point where that road changes name, opposite the traffic exit from ...

, London. It is known to have existed in 1722, and was run in 1759 by a sister of

John Douglas (bishop of Salisbury) John Douglas (14 July 1721 – 18 May 1807) was a Scottish scholar and Anglican bishop. Douglas was born at Pittenweem, Fife, the son of a shopkeeper, and was educated at Dunbar, East Lothian, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he gained hi ...

, and then by Mrs. Anderson, and was particularly popular with the Scottish.

English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries English coffeehouses in the 17th and 18th centuries were public social places where men would meet for conversation and commerce. For the price of a penny, customers purchased a cup of coffee and admission. Travellers introduced coffee as a bevera ...

acted as public meeting places.

Ned Ward Ned Ward (1667 – 20 June 1731), also known as Edward Ward, was a satirical writer and publican in the late 17th and early 18th century in London. His most famous work, ''The London Spy'', appeared in 18 monthly instalments from November 1698. ...

, the 18th century writer was a client to the coffeehouse. It was rebuilt by

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him. With his o ...

in 1770, and was owned by

David Hatton Morley David Hatton Morley (1746 - 8 April 1810) was a British coffee house keeper, and owned the British Coffee House at 27 Cockspur Street, London. He was born in 1746 in Scotter, Lincolnshire, the son of William Morley and Anne Mercer. In 1771, he mar ...

, the father of

Atkinson Morley Atkinson Morley (1781 - 14 July 1858) was a British hotelier. He was responsible for Morley's Hotel, designed by George Ledwell Taylor and which occupied the entire eastern side of London's Trafalgar Square, from 1832, until it was demolished in 19 ...

References

Coffeehouses and cafés in the United Kingdom 1722 establishments in England History of the City of Westminster 18th century in London British companies established in 1722 {{Business-stub