London's First Coffeehouses: News and Trade

Long before the high-street café, London had coffeehouses.

From 1652 they spread through the City as places to drink coffee, read the news, argue and do business. This independent guide follows them through blue plaques, library collections and printed records of the time.

Updated 19 October 2026 · 5 sources

A cheap cup
News and talk
Deals at the table
Where the City met

Visit a coffeehouse

THE SHORT ANSWER

More than coffee:
a place to meet.

Three things to know about the first coffeehouses.
Each comes from library or official records.

1652

The first one

A City of London blue plaque in St Michael's Alley marks the site of the first London coffee house, at the sign of Pasqua Rosee's Head, in 1652.

Visit a coffeehouse

BUSINESS

Deals over a cup

Plaques mark Jonathan's Coffee House (1680 to 1778), the principal meeting place of the City's stockbrokers, and Lloyd's Coffee House (1691 to 1785) in Lombard Street.

See the numbers

1675

A king tries to close them

Charles II's proclamation of December 1675 ordered their suppression, complaining of idle time and false reports. Chetham's Library notes that the king failed.

The story

An old printed broadside sheet with heavy black type and a royal crest-like ornament, lying on a library reading cushion — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

A SHORT CITY WALK

Find the plaques
in an afternoon.

All three plaques below share the City's EC3V postcode district, so they can be visited together on foot.

St Michael's Alley
At number 4, a plaque marks the first London coffee house, at the sign of Pasqua Rosee's Head, 1652.
Change Alley
Look for the plaque to Jonathan's Coffee House, where the City's stockbrokers met from 1680 to 1778.
Lombard Street
At 10 to 15 Lombard Street, a plaque marks the site of Lloyd's Coffee House, 1691 to 1785.
Then a library
Collections such as Chetham's in Manchester hold coffeehouse pamphlets, proclamations and rules.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

A drink that
built institutions.

One date for the start,
one for how long a coffeehouse could last.

1652

Year of London's first coffee house

At the sign of Pasqua Rosee's Head in St Michael's Alley, now marked by a City of London blue plaque.

THE FIRST · CITY OF LONDON

98 years

Years the stockbrokers' coffeehouse stood

Jonathan's Coffee House stood in Change Alley from 1680 to 1778 as the principal meeting place of the City's stockbrokers.

JONATHAN'S · CITY OF LONDON

The City of London's 2025 list records 138 blue plaques in the Square Mile, including the first coffee house, Jonathan's and Lloyd's.

VISIT A COFFEEHOUSE

Which room
shall we step into?

Pick a coffeehouse or moment to see what happened there. The bar shows when it belongs, from the 1650s (short) to the 1790s (long).

Based on the City of London blue plaques list, Chetham's Library and the Grub Street Project record of the 1675 proclamation.

Coffeehouse picker

Choose a momentPasqua Rosee's Head, St Michael's AlleyThe royal proclamationJonathan's, Change AlleyLloyd's, Lombard StreetThe Manchester Coffee Room

Pasqua Rosee's Head, St Michael's Alley1652

The site of the first London coffee house, according to the City of London's blue plaque at 4 St Michael's Alley.

The royal proclamation1675

'A proclamation for the suppression of coffee-houses', printed in London in 1675, said they drew 'idle and disaffected persons' and spread false reports.

Jonathan's, Change Alley1680–1778

The principal meeting place of the City's stockbrokers for almost a century, says its blue plaque.

Lloyd's, Lombard Street1691–1785

Edward Lloyd's coffee shop became a centre of marine intelligence. Lloyd's of London traces the insurance market to it.

The Manchester Coffee Room1793

Its printed rules, held by Chetham's Library, banned cutting adverts out of the newspapers and pulling off boots in the room.

Sources: City of London blue plaques list (2025); Chetham's Library blog; Grub Street Project; Lloyd's history page.

A narrow cobbled City of London alley beside an old stone church tower, with a blue plaque on a brick wall — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

THE 1675 PROCLAMATION

The king who tried
to close them.

In December 1675 Charles II issued 'A proclamation for the suppression of coffee-houses'. It complained that tradesmen misspent their time there and that false and scandalous reports were spread about the government.

A display by the Royal Philatelic Society London says closure was ordered by 10 January 1676, then extended to 24 June after an uproar. Chetham's Library notes that the king failed, and coffeehouses carried on.

In conversation

Questions people ask

When did London's first coffeehouse open?

A City of London blue plaque in St Michael's Alley marks the site of the first London coffee house, at the sign of Pasqua Rosee's Head, in 1652.

Why were coffeehouses so popular?

Chetham's Library says a cup of coffee was relatively cheap, and coffeehouses became places for social networking, reading newspapers, doing business and gossip.

Did a king really try to ban them?

Yes. Charles II issued a proclamation for the suppression of coffee-houses in December 1675. Chetham's Library notes that the attempt failed.

Did any businesses start in coffeehouses?

Lloyd's of London traces its history to Edward Lloyd's coffee shop of the 1680s, a centre of marine intelligence, and a plaque says Jonathan's was the stockbrokers' principal meeting place.

Can I still see where they stood?

Yes. City of London blue plaques mark the first coffee house in St Michael's Alley, Jonathan's in Change Alley and Lloyd's in Lombard Street.

Sources

Each figure on this page comes from the sources below.

Pour a cup,
hear the news.