Page 67 - Ian Marshall - London Coffe Houses - Standing Display January 2016

John's Coffee House
87, Cornhill
(1661-1840)

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The earliest reference that may indicate the founder of this coffee house is
the name of John Painter in Cornhill, which appears in a list of names of
I persons to be found at various coffee houses. The first coffee house set up
in London in 1652 was in St. Michael's Alley in Cornhill.....John
Painter...was the first apprentice to the trade. The Great Fire destroyed the
premises in 1666 and in 1671 John Painter appears in a coffee house and
the name John's Coffee House is first recorded in 1677 by a quack selling
remedies who wrote "could be had from Mr. John Painter, at his house
called John's Coffee House, above the Royal Exchange in Com-hil". In
1719, in the "bubble" days, John's Coffee House advertises a project to
attract investors: "£2,000,000 for erecting salt-pans on Holy Island". The
property survived the Cornhill fire of 1746 but was "greatly scorched". It
was very popular and was well patronised by a variety oftraders who
used John's as their business address. In particular several important
figures in the insurance wolrd based themselves there. In 1796 the name
was changed to John's and Turkey Coffee House reflecting the then
preponderance of Turkey merchants among its patrons. Two years later
John's is described as "frequented by merchants, shipbrokers, owners and
commanders of ships; brokers of merchandise and others concerned in the
trade to and from Turkey, the Streights etc., and from Lisbon and Hambro
in particular". In 1822 the name reverts to John's Coffee House and the
proprietor is T.L.Terry. The property was again damaged when the Royal
Exchange was destroyed by fire in 1838 but by this stage the old coffee
house was on its last legs and disappeared into the site of the new Royal
Exchange.

View of Mitre Court, Fleet Street showing John's Coffee
House.