The Rainbow Coffee House was a famous

coffee house 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- ...

located at 15

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

, London. It was opened by James Farr in 1657, becoming London's second coffee house. The Rainbow provided a meeting place for

freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

refugee

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

who established an information centre there. The Rainbow was also featured in the furore created by

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the " Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father Samuel (1610� ...

, who accused Sir Philip Lloyd of denying the existence of a

popish plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

there, finding witnesses from amongst the coffee drinkers to testify against him In 1719

John Woodward John Woodward or ''variant'', may refer to: Sports *John Woodward (English footballer) (born 1947), former footballer *John Woodward (Scottish footballer) (born 1949), former footballer *Johnny Woodward (1924–2002), English footballer *John D ...

wrote a satire ''The Two Sosias: Or, the True Dr. Byfield at the Rainbow Coffee-House, to the Pretender in Jermyn-Street'' David Hughson wrote in 1807 that the Rainbow was replaced by

Nando's Coffee House Nando's was a coffee house in Fleet Street in London. It was known to exist in 1696, being the subject of a conveyance, and was popular in the 18th century, especially with the legal profession in the nearby courts and chambers. The name ''Nan ...

in the same building, later in the 17th century.

Notable people

Many notable Huguenots were associated with the Rainbow Coffee House. However, there were also other German and English notable people.

French exiles

Paul Colomiès Paul Colomiès or Columesius (1638–1692) was a French Huguenot librarian and scholar. He is best known for his work ''Gallia Orientalis'', a biographical dictionary of French Christian Hebraists. Life He was born at La Rochelle on 2 December 16 ...

(1638–1692) *

César de Missy Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * Ce ...

(1703–1775) *

John Theophilus Desaguliers John Theophilus Desaguliers FRS (12 March 1683 – 29 February 1744) was a British natural philosopher, clergyman, engineer and freemason who was elected to the Royal Society in 1714 as experimental assistant to Isaac Newton. He had studied at O ...

(1683 – 1744) *

Pierre des Maizeaux Pierre des Maizeaux, also spelled Desmaizeaux (c. 1666 or 1673June 1745), was a French Huguenot writer exiled in London, best known as the translator and biographer of Pierre Bayle. He was born in Pailhat, Auvergne, France. His father, a minister ...

(1673–1745) * David Durand (1680 – 1763) *

Peter Anthony Motteux Peter Anthony Motteux (born Pierre Antoine Motteux ; 25 February 1663 – 18 February 1718) was a French-born English author, playwright, and translator. Motteux was a significant figure in the evolution of English journalism in his era, as the ...

(1663 – 1718) *

Michel de La Roche Michel de La Roche (also Michael) (fl. 1710–1742) was a French Huguenot refugee and author in England, where he was known as an editor of early literary periodicals, monthly or quarterly. Life While young in France he experienced religious per ...

(fl. 1710–1731) *

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

(1694 – 1778)

Others

* Anthony Collins (1676 – 1729) *

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; 7 May 1711 NS (26 April 1711 OS) – 25 August 1776) Cranston, Maurice, and Thomas Edmund Jessop. 2020 999br>David Hume" ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 18 May 2020. was a Scottish Enlightenment philo ...

(1711 – 1776) *

Richard Mead Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

(1673 – 1754) *

Daniel Maichel Daniel Maichel (14 August 1693 – 20 January 1752) was a German professor of philosophy, theology, logic, physics, rights and politics. He studied protestant theology in Tübingen and earned a master's degree in 1713. Maichel was born in Stuttgart ...

(1693–1752) *

Thomas Sprat Thomas Sprat, FRS (163520 May 1713) was an English churchman and writer, Bishop of Rochester from 1684. Life Sprat was born at Beaminster, Dorset, and educated at Wadham College, Oxford, where he held a fellowship from 1657 to 1670. Having t ...

(1635 – 1713) *

John Toland John Toland (30 November 167011 March 1722) was an Irish people, Irish rationalist philosopher and freethought, freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, whi ...

(1670 – 1722)

References

{{reflist Coffeehouses and cafés in London 1657 establishments in England