Crown And Anchor, Strand

The Crown and Anchor, also written Crown & Anchor and earlier known as The Crown, was a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

in Arundel Street, off The Strand in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, famous for meetings of political (particularly the early 19th-century Radicals) and various other groups. It is no longer in existence. The first tavern built on the site sometime before 1710 accommodated the Academy of Vocal Music and the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

premiered his first oratorio, ''

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

'', here in 1732, a significant moment in British musical life as it was the first oratorio in English (rather than the usual Italian).

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

dined here during the 18th century. A second tavern was built in 1790, and both this and its earlier incarnation may have been called The Crown. Its rooms were large and able to accommodate 2,500 people, leading to its use as a venue for political meetings, particularly by the Radicals, including

John Cam Hobhouse John Cam Hobhouse, 1st Baron Broughton, (27 June 1786 – 3 June 1869), known as Sir John Hobhouse, Bt, from 1831 to 1851, was an English politician and diarist. Early life Born at Redland near Bristol, Broughton was the eldest son of Sir ...

and

Charles James Fox Charles James Fox (24 January 1749 – 13 September 1806), styled ''The Honourable'' from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned 38 years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was the arch-riv ...

. One meeting was addressed by the Irish leader and MP in the

United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

Daniel O'Connell Daniel O'Connell (I) ( ga, Dónall Ó Conaill; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilizat ...

. On 11 November 1823,

George Birkbeck George Birkbeck Royal Society of London, FRS (; 10 January 1776 – 1 December 1841) was a British physician, academic, philanthropist, pioneer in adult education and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Strathclyde, Andersonia ...

made a speech at the Crown and Anchor, attended by over 2000 people including

Jeremy Bentham Jeremy Bentham (; 15 February 1748 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._4_February_1747.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 4 February 1747">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.htm ...

, Hobhouse and Henry Brougham, at which he proposed the foundation of an institution dedicated to educating the working-class inhabitants of London. This meeting led to the foundation of London Mechanics' Institute on 2 December 1823, which would go on to become

Birkbeck, University of London , mottoeng = Advice comes over nightTranslation used by Birkbeck. , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £4.3 m (2014) , budget = £10 ...

. The

Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers #REDIRECT Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers #REDIRECT Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers {{R from miscapitalisation ...

{{R from miscapitalisation ...

References