Rainbow Coffee House facts for kids
The Rainbow Coffee House was a well-known coffee house in London. It was located at 15 Fleet Street, a famous street in the city. James Farr opened it in 1657, making it one of the very first coffee houses in London.
Contents
A Place to Meet and Talk
The Rainbow Coffee House was more than just a place to drink coffee. It became a popular spot for different groups of people to meet and share ideas.
Freemasons and French Refugees
- Freemasons: This was a meeting place for Freemasons. Freemasonry is a social group with old traditions and secret rituals.
- Huguenots: Many French people who had to leave their home country also met here. These people were called Huguenots, and they were Protestants who faced difficulties in France. They even set up a kind of information center at the Rainbow.
A Famous Story: The Popish Plot
The coffee house was part of a big event involving a man named Titus Oates. He claimed there was a secret plan by Catholics to harm the King and take over England. This was called the Popish Plot. Titus Oates said that Sir Philip Lloyd denied this plot at the Rainbow Coffee House. Oates even found people drinking coffee there who said they saw it happen.
A Book About the Rainbow
In 1719, a writer named John Woodward wrote a funny story. It was called The Two Sosias: Or, the True Dr. Byfield at the Rainbow Coffee-House, to the Pretender in Jermyn-Street. This shows how well-known the coffee house was.
What Happened Next
Later in the 1600s, another coffee house took its place. This was Nando's Coffee House, which opened in the same building.
Famous Visitors
Many interesting people visited the Rainbow Coffee House. Some were French exiles, while others were thinkers from different countries.
French Visitors
These French thinkers and writers often met at the Rainbow:
- Paul Colomiès (1638–1692)
- César de Missy (1703–1775)
- John Theophilus Desaguliers (1683 – 1744) - A scientist and Freemason.
- Pierre des Maizeaux (1673–1745) - A writer and translator.
- David Durand (1680 – 1763)
- Peter Anthony Motteux (1663 – 1718) - A writer and merchant.
- Michel de La Roche (fl. 1710–1731)
- Voltaire (1694 – 1778) - A very famous French writer and philosopher.
Other Notable Visitors
People from other countries, including England and Germany, also spent time at the Rainbow:
- Anthony Collins (1676 – 1729) - An English philosopher.
- David Hume (1711 – 1776) - A Scottish philosopher and historian.
- Richard Mead (1673 – 1754) - A well-known English doctor.
- Daniel Maichel (1693–1752) - A German scholar.
- Thomas Sprat (1635 – 1713) - An English bishop and writer.
- John Toland (1670 – 1722) - An Irish philosopher.
