Coffee, tea of insurance?

September 25^th –  On this day in 1660, Samuel Pepys “did send for a cup of tee, a China drink, of which I had never drunk before”. 

Coffee- and tea- houses began to spring up all over fashionable London after the introduction to England of the said mild stimulants in the mid seventeenth century.  They became places where respectable gentlemen, who wouldn’t be seen dead in ale-houses, congregated and transacted business.  One eventually evolved into an entirely separate  enterprise – Lloyd’s.

Garraway's 

On a related note, the site of the first coffee house in London is visited on our Thursday  morning walk “Aldgate, Bishopsgate and beyond – Priories and Playhouses”.

Please note that any of our walks can also be booked at any other time, subject to prior agreement (e-mail lostcityoflondon@sky.co.uk or phone 020-8998-3051).