In June, Ian Marshall brought us coffee houses and to put the display into context, he began his display with a brief history of the story of coffee, which arrived in the UK in 1652. Coffee houses, of which there were well over 2,000 in London over a 200-year period, played a very important role both in the development of the City of London and in the distribution of mail during this period. This was particularly so in respect of overseas mail, where they proved far more adept than the Post Office in handling mail destined largely to the Colonies. The display illustrated this with many examples covering the period to the 1850s by which time the so called “coffee house craze” was abating because of competition from, amongst others, a more efficient Post Office, the development of offices, the arrival of London Gentlemen’s’ clubs and changing social habits; which brought about their fairly abrupt demise. A thoroughly engaging, educational and entertaining display.
