Page 90 - Ian Marshall - London Coffe Houses - Standing Display January 2016

Old Man's Coffee House
near Charing Cross
(1666-1741)

It was established in September 1666 by Alexander Man,
a Scot, who is said to have followed General Monk to
London just before the Restoration in 1660. Subsequently
he was declared "Coffee Man to Charles II" and the coffee
house went through a succession ofname changes including:
Man's Coffee House behind Charing Cross near Scotland
Yard (1674); Man's Coffee House at the Court ofRequests
(1678); Mr. Man at the Royal Coffee House, Charing Cross
(1700);0ld Man's , Tilt Yard, Whitehall....kept by the well-
known Jenny Man (1712); Old Man's Coffee House at
Charing Cross (1726-36). It is recorded as the second coffee
house established in London and became a rendez-vous for
officers in the Army. It was the establishment ofYoung man's
Coffee House in 1701 that induced Alexander Man to adopt
the title "Old Man's Coffee House". Alexander died in 1714
and his wife Elizabeth took over until her death in 1718 when
their son Edmund took over until his death in 1728 when the
family connection ended.

A letter written in Edinburgh on 18th March 1721 with a rare small
reddish-black oval bishop mark (ED 3a) addressed to Sir Alexander
Brand ofBrandsfield at "Old mans coffee hous near Charing Cross" with
a black circular bishop mark of London dated 24th March which was
charged at 6d. The letter asks Sir Alexander to instruct his wife to pay
him the moneys due to him. The letter is reproduced on the reverse.