Page 19 - Ian Marshall - London Coffe Houses - Standing Display January 2016

Batson's Coffee House
No. 17 Cornhill
(1693-1833)

Batson's Coffee House remained at 17 Cornhill throughout its 140 year
existence and is described as "Against the Royal Exchange". In 1694
subscriptions for the National land bank were taken in at Batson's and the
Union Assurance Society made use of it for business meetings following
its establishment in 1714. From 1736 a number of traders were using
Batson's as a business address mainly described as "merchants, Turkey
merchants, brokers, yam throwsters, silk-brokers, exchange brokers and,
in particular Russian merchants and brokers". In 1764 a subscription list
was opened at Batson's to aid some 600 Protestant Germans en route to
settle in the Island of St John and Le Croix in Americaleft stranded in the
fields of Bow by a German who could not proceed with his undertaking
and £800 was instantly subscribed and the Government assisted with
tents enabling the whole party to proceed to America. By 1798 Mr. Flood
was listed as proprietor and Batson's was described as "frequented by
Russian and Swedish merchants in general and the brokers, owners and
commanders of ships in the trade of Russia and Sweden". A great deal of
the Russia trade was centred on Batson's from the 1730s until well into
the following century. It appears to have closed in 1833.

The penscript reference
and press cutting shown
here date from 1694 and
1696 respectively.