With news that another coffee shop has sprung up here in town to add to our already rather large embarrassment of riches, I thought I'd look back at the history of the coffee shop in Tunbridge Wells.
We have to go way back in history, back to some of the very first buildings ever built here in fact. Two buildings of the earliest time were situated on The Pantiles in a small alley known as Pink Alley, a rather salubrious and sometime licentious hive of activity in the 17th Century. The two establishments in question were built in 1636 to satisfy the demands of visitors who were taking the waters, and were known respectively as the Ladies' and Gentlemen's Coffee Houses (one of which is pictured below). These were places that men and women would gather to socialise, although perhaps not usually together, read the newspapers and generally swap the news of the day whilst sipping on a nice hot cup of coffee. The gentleman's house was also called "The Pipe Office" where the men would gather to hire a pipe and indulge in the newly introduced habit of tobacco smoking.
These places were really the central hub of social activity in the area and were seen as an essential part of community life.
One can only wonder what the coffee of the day tasted like. It was said that the dark liquid resembled "syrup of soot or essence of old shoes", so I would think it wasn't that good, although another contemporary statement reads 'Tis extolled for drying up the Crudities of the Stomack, and for expelling Fumes out of the Head. Excellent Berry! which can cleanse the English-man's Stomak of Flegm, and expel Giddinesse out of his Head", which actually sounds quite nice.
One of these coffee houses was said to be the residence of Mrs. Humphreys, the original water-dipper, who passed away in 1678 at the grand old age of 102 thanks to the spring waters and probably not the coffee.
The two buildings survived until 1842 when they were demolished so that surrounding properties could be made larger. Such a shame, can you imagine how wonderful it would be to pass the time away with an espresso and a newspaper in the coffee shop picture above?
It is stated in many online texts and history books that the first coffee shops in England were either 1650 or 1652, was ours before that? Could Tunbridge Wells lay claim to the very first coffee shop in England? Could the history books be re-written?
Question is though, what's your favourite coffee shop today?
Where is Banjo's? Where is the new coffee shop? Do we need a special website devoted to coffee shops? My favourite is Arte Bianca at the bottom of Mount Sion; Carluccio's and Java Bean also do good coffee.
Posted by: Martin | Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 06:17 PM
my favourite coffee shop so far is Banjos. Coffee is lovely, strong and creamy... reminds me of Monmouths in Borough Market. I say 'so far' as we've just moved here from London and I am relieved and comforted to know that I can get a good, strong latte somewhere in TW.
btw, where's the new coffee shop then?
Posted by: Siobhan Fitzgerald | Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 12:17 PM