Jonathan's Coffee House

[Jonathan's Coffee House.] Westward of Birching Lane, are these following Places. Exchange Alley, which passeth strait through Cornhil: Here are divers eminent Coffee Houses, as Garways, Jonathans, Barkers, Elmers, chiefly frequented by Brokers, Stockjobbers, Frenchmen, Jews, as well as other Merchants and Gentlemen.

Jonathan's Coffee-House. This is another Change-alley Coffee-house, which is described in the Tatler, No. 38, as "the general mart of stock-jobbers;" and the Spectator, No. 1, tells us that he "sometimes passes for a Jew in the assembly of stock-jobbers at Jonathan's." This was the rendezvous, where gambling of all sorts was carried on; notwithstanding a formal prohibition against the assemblage of the jobbers, issued by the City of London, which prohibition continued unrepealed until 1825.

In the Anatomy of Exchange Alley, 1719, we read:—"The centre of the jobbing is in the kingdom of Exchange-alley and its adjacencies. The limits are easily surrounded in about a minute and a half: viz. stepping out of Jonathan's into the Alley, you turn your face full south; moving on a few paces, and then turning due east, you advance to Garraway's; from thence going out at the other door, you go on still east into Birchin-lane; and then halting a little at the Sword-blade Bank, to do much mischief in fewest words, you immediately face to the north, enter Cornhill, visit two or three petty provinces there in your way west; and thus having boxed your compass, and sailed round the whole stock-jobbing globe, you turn into Jonathan's again; and so, as most of the great follies of life oblige us to do, you end just where you began."

Mrs. Centlivre, in her comedy of A Bold Stroke for a Wife, has a scene from Jonathan's at the above period: while the stock-jobbers are talking, the coffee-boys are crying "Fresh coffee, gentlemen, fresh coffee! Bohea tea, gentlemen!"

Here is another picture of Jonathan's, during the South Sea mania; though not by an eye-witness, it groups, from various authorities, the life of the place and the time:—"At a table a few yards off sat a couple of men engaged in the discussion of a newly-started scheme. Plunging his hand impatiently under the deep silver-buttoned flap of his frock-coat of cinnamon cloth and drawing out a paper, the more business-looking of the pair commenced eagerly to read out figures intended to convince the listener, who took a jewelled snuff-box from the deep pocket of the green brocade waistcoat which overflapped his thigh, and, tapping the lid, enjoyed a pinch of perfumed Turkish as he leaned back lazily in his chair. Somewhat further off, standing in the middle of the room, was a keen-eyed lawyer, counting on his fingers the probable results of a certain speculation in human hair, to which a fresh-coloured farmer from St. Albans, on whose boots the mud of the cattle market was not dry, listened with a face of stolid avarice, clutching the stag-horn handle of his thonged whip as vigorously as if it were the wealth he coveted. There strode a Nonconformist divine, with S.S.S. in every line of his face, greedy for the gold that perisheth; here a bishop, whose truer place was Garraway's, edged his cassock through the crowd; sturdy ship-captains, whose manners smack of blustering breezes, and who hailed their acquaintance as if through a speaking-trumpet in a storm—booksellers' hacks from Grub-street, who were wont to borrow ink-bottles and just one sheet of paper at the bar of the Black Swan in St. Martin's-lane, and whose tarnished lace, when not altogether torn away, showed a suspicious coppery redness underneath—Jews of every grade, from the thriving promoter of a company for importing ashes from Spain or extracting stearine from sunflower seeds to the seller of sailor slops from Wapping-in-the-Wose, come to look for a skipper who had bilked him—a sprinkling of well-to-do merchants—and a host of those flashy hangers-on to the skirts of commerce, who brighten up in days of maniacal speculation, and are always ready to dispose of shares in some unopened mine or some untried invention—passed and repassed with continuous change and murmur before the squire's eyes during the quarter of an hour that he sat there."—Pictures of the Periods, by W. F. Collier LL.D.

656. Jonathan's Coffee House, Exchange Alley, Cornhill, No. 20, in 1767.

1680–84

Notwithstanding the exaggerated accounts given by various writers describing Jonathan's as 'a great coffee-house in 1663', the late Dr. Kenneth Rogers claimed the discovery that Jonathan's was established and named by its proprietor, Jonathan Miles, about 1680. This was first brought to light by Rogers and published in The Banker, Vol. VIII, No. 33, October 1928. In support, are quoted entries in the registers of St. Mary Woolnoth, and the MS lists of the Langbourne Ward housed in Guildhall Library. In 1680, is recorded the baptism of Jonathan, son of Jonathan and Dorothie Miles; 1684, a maidservant to Jonathan Miles, Coffeeman, buried. In the MS Watch Book list Langbourne Ward 1682, Jonathan Miles is assessed at 4s. in the same part of the list as Thomas Garraway, and in the Poll Tax list 1692, appears the assessment—Jonathan Miles, Coffeehouse, lls.—wife, 3 men and 2 mayds 6s.—17s.

1680

According to Robinson's History of Early Coffee Houses, Jonathan's Coffee-house is included in Dangerfield's list of suspect houses at the time of the Popish scare.

1681

John Aubrey does not mention Jonathan's in his 'Brief Lives' written about 1681; but writing on Sir Henry Blount's support of the coffeehouses, he records that 'Jonathan Paynter, opposite to St. Michael's Church, was the first apprentice to the Trade, viz.: to Bowman ... ' This remark may have led later writers to suppose that Jonathan Paynter established Jonathan's Coffee House Exchange-alley as early as 1663. It is known that Bowman's house was established in 1652 and that Jonathan Paynter his first apprentice; that Bowman died in 1662 and the coffee-house taken on by others, and perished in the Fire in 1666. Nearby, was John Painter, Cornhill, in Muddiman's list 1661[?] and in 1677 described as 'Mr. John Painter, at his house called John's Coffee-house, above the Royal Exchange in Corn-hil'. It is therefore very unlikely, apart from the discovery of Dr. Rogers, that Jonathan Paynter or John Painter, had any connexion whatsoever with Jonathan's Coffee-house, Exchange Alley. Many books need correction on this.

1682

An auction sale advertisement in Guildhall Library, of some books refers to: 'aedibus Jonathanis Miles, vulgo dicto Jonathan's Coffeehouse in Exchange Alley Cornhill.' The catalogue of Books of Wm. Cooper, Lond. 1682. In the same year, Jonathan's Exchange Alley is mentioned in an advertisement circulated on the proposed formation of a Bank of Credit. (Corporation Credit ... by John Murray, 1682, British Museum.)

1691–92

At the time Edward Lloyd removed his coffee-house from Tower Street to Lombard Street, Jonathan Miles Coffee House Exchange Alley, appears in the Poll Tax list of assessments, 1692.

1694

In 1694, subscriptions to John Briscoe's Land Bank, were taken in at Jonathan's Exchange Alley, prior to the formation of the National Land Bank on 4th October, 1694. (British Monetary Experiments—Horsfield.)

1694

Houghton's weekly journal on Husbandry & Trade, 1694, dealing with 'Stock-Jobbing', says 'the Monied Man goes among the Brokers (which are chiefly upon the Exchange), and at Jonathan's Coffee House, sometimes at Garroway's and at some other Coffee Houses, and asks how Stocks go? ... '

1695–96

During the trial of conspirators, 1696, against William III, it came to light that one of the meetings of the plotters had been held at Jonathan's Coffee-house. John Bernardi (1657—1736) major, a suspected conspirator, was arrested in bed in a tavern on Tower Hill in 1696 'on suspicion of being concerned in the assassination plot'. After nearly forty years imprisonment, without trial, he died in Newgate in his 80th year, 20 Sep. 1736. (State Trials. D.N.B., Besant, 1902.)

1697–98

In 1697, or 1698, when the dealers in stocks and shares 'were not tolerated by the more sedate merchants' on the Royal Exchange they left 'and took up their head-quarters at Jonathan's Coffee-house'; this says Zettersten 'may be looked upon as the foundation of the present Stock Exchange'. Whether the stock-dealers left of their own accord, or were asked to leave, is a matter in dispute; but there is no doubt about their leaving, and mostly centred at Jonathan's Coffeehouse, Exchange Alley. A price-list of Stocks, dated 4th January 1698, issued by John Castaing, Broker 'at his office at Jonathan's Coffee House' is among the Records of the Stock Exchange.

1700–20

Jonathan's figures in contemporary writings from the end of the 17th century to 1720. The parish records 1709, list the burial of Francis Powell, Servant to Mr. Jonathan Miles. The 'Tatler', in the same year, describes Jonathan's as 'the general mart of stock jobbers'. Addison in the 'Spectator' No. 1, 1710—11, remarks: 'I have been taken for a merchant upon the Exchange for above ten years, and sometimes pass for a Jew in the assembly of Stock-Jobbers at Jonathan's.'

1719–20

In the 'bubble' days of 1719–20, Jonathan's is described as a great centre for speculators. The house is depicted in 'The South Sea Bubble' one of four prints published by Bowles on the Humours of Stock Jobbing. Strangely enough, Jonathan's does not figure in the list of taverns and coffee-houses mentioned in Malcolm's Manners & Customs, 1808, used by the promoters of investment schemes. A number of projects were launched from John's Coffee-house, which some writers confuse with Jonathan's. John's was on the north side of Cornhill. See No. 635.

1720

Jonathan's Coffee-house is laid as a scene in the comedy 'A Bold Stroke for a Wife' by Mrs. Susannah Centlivre. The house is mentioned by Daniel Defoe, and in Strype's Survey, 1720. The 'Daily Courant' 21 Nov. 1720, advertises: 'LOST out of a pocket at Jonathan's Coffee House in Exchange Alley on Saturday 19th instant a plain vellum pocket book wherein was a first subscription to the South Sea Company of £1000 South Sea Bonds and some other papers. Whoever brings the said book, with the papers therein contained, to Mr. Jonathan Wilde in the Old Bailey shall have five guineas reward and no questions asked.'

1721

The after effects of the 'bubble' days in the city are brought to light by Edward Harley Junior in a letter to Abigail Harley, 20 April, 1721: '... Nothing arises or increases here but uneasiness, discontent, and clamour which reigns in every part of the city. The Exchange is the least frequented place of any of it. Jonathan's and Garraway's empty, and no creatures but passengers to be seen in the Alley, nor any trade stirring but what belongs to common necessaries. Many petitions are already presented and others are expected from every corner of the Kingdom ....' (de Castro MS, Guildhall Library.)

1722

'Daily Post' 17 Sep. 1722, advertises for news of the whereabouts of Strelly Nash, formerly a servant to Mr. Twining at Tom's Coffeehouse. '... If any person could secure the said Strelly Nash and give notice to Mr. John Beachall at Jonathan's Coffee House in Exchange Alley he shall receive five guineas reward ....' See Tom's. No. 1369.

1727

'The Craftsman' No. 77, 23 Dec. 1727: 'I spi'd a noted Broker at Jonathan's, in close Conference with a Gentleman whom 1 have often seen at a House near St. James's and heard him receive orders to buy 10,000 South Sea Stock publickly and sell out 50,000 privately ....'

1728

A Lost-Reward Notice from my collection: Numb. 11714, dated 18 Dec. 1728: LOST or MISLAID, a Bank Note for 100 l. payable to Mr. Sam. Betterefs or Bearer, dated Sep. 7, 1728. Whoever brings the said Note to William Whitmore, at Jonathan's Coffee-house in Exchange-Alley; or, to Mr. William Pepys in Lombard-street, Banker, shall have Five Guineas Reward, and no Questions ask'd. N.B. Payment is stopt at the Bank. Benjamin Pyne, Beadle, at Goldsmiths-Hall.

1731

 

Press-cutting in Guildhall Library: 'Stray'd out of Camomile Street near Bishopsgate—An Iron Grey Horse with a Bald Face ...' One Guinea Reward at the Bar of Jonathan's Coffee House.

1738–45

From 1738 to 1745, Jonathan's Coffee House Exchange Alley is listed in the directories, as the address of Joseph Cosgrove (or Coysgarne), Merchant of Stepney, and Osborne Ward, Stock Broker. In 1744, George Willes, Merchant is listed using the house as his address. Sampson Gideon is described as 'the leader and oracle of Jonathan's Coffee House' after making a fortune at the time of the 1745 rebellion, by buying stock during the panic caused by the Young Pretender's march on London.

1748

The disastrous fire in Cornhill March 1748, consumed Jonathan's Coffee House. The name of 'Price' is marked here on the Plan of the Fire by T. Jefferys, in the British Museum. The house appears to have been speedily rebuilt or repaired.

1749

The first contemporary mention noted of Jonathan's after the fire, is Osborn's directory 1749, when given as the address of James Hickman, described later as Stock Broker.

1752–74

No address is given for Jonathan's, but from 1752 to 1774, is regularly listed in directories as Exchange Alley, the address used by a number of Stock Brokers, several Insurance Brokers, Brokers, Sworn Brokers, and one Coal Merchant.

1761

Jonathan's is mentioned in Foote's comedy 'The Minor'. In 1761, Thomas Mortimer (1730–1810) a teacher of languages living in Catherine Street, Strand, author of 'Every Man his own Broker, or Guide to Exchange Alley', published a scathing attack on the Stock Brokers in a pamphlet entitled 'The Mystery and Iniquity of Stock-Jobbing'. His work ran to many editions, copies are in the British Museum. According to Mortimer, about 150 of the leading stockbrokers at Jonathan's paid a subscription of eight pounds per annum to the Master 'for the privilege of excluding their poor brethren and of assembling about three hours every day to transact only one part of their business ... ' He says further, it is the practice of stockjobbers during slack periods to wile away the time, by effecting gambling policies of a doubtful character.

1762

The Annual Register records a case tried at Guildhall, 8 June, 1762, arising out of an assault at Jonathan's Coffee-house. It seems the Master, Mr. Ferres, pushed the Plaintiff, one Isaac Renoux out of the house, for which he was fined one shilling damages, on it being proved at the trial that 'the house had been a market, time out of mind, for buying and selling Government securities'.

1767–77

With the general numbering of houses in 1767, Jonathan's is listed in the directories as No. 20, Exchange Alley.

1773

In 1773 a group of stockbrokers at Jonathan's decided to acquire or lease a building on the south side of Threadneedle Street, sited at the end of Sweeting'S Alley, known later as the 'Stock Exchange' and so-marked on Horwood's map 1799. Nothing is to be gleaned from the directories when the stock-broking element left Jonathan's, nor can I trace the actual date of the exodus. Obscure mention of 'New Jonathan's' is to be found; by some, mentioned as 'new Jonatban's Coffee-house in 'Change Ally' but this location is wrong.

1774–77

Jonathan's in Exchange Alley did not close with the departure of the stock-brokers, and is still listed in directories 1774–77. In 1777, as 'Jonathan's, 20, Exchange Alley' the address of Peter Cornard, Stock Broker. Sundry writers refer to a Lottery drawn on 3rd March 1774 'at a room formerly known as Jonathan's Coffee-house in Exchange-alley' but according to McMaster's 'St. Martin-in-the- Fields' (1916) this took place at Jonathan's Coffee House in Exchange Court on the north side of the Strand. The Lottery was arranged to enable the Adam brothers to raise money on their Adelphi buildings. (See Jonathan's No. 2012.)

1778

In December 1778, the press reports a fire on 1st December in Pope's Head Alley when '15 capital houses were burned and 9 others damaged'. The houses burned included 'Jonathan's Coffeehouse from which many Insurance projects had issued, and also several Lottery Insurance offices'. 'Lloyd's Evening Post' for 30 Nov–2 Dec. 1778, says: 'The flames reached the Lottery office, late Jonathan's Coffeehouse which was consumed ....' This would appear to be the end, but nevertheless, I have noted one directory in 1790, still listing Jonathan's!

See New Jonathan's Coffee House. No. 891, 892.

656. Jonathan's Coffee House Exchange Alley Cornhill. Established 9 July 1677–1767; No. 20 Exchange Alley 1767–c1777.