The Club at the Temple Coffee House—facts and supposition

Archives of Natural History (1989) 16 (3): 263-274

The Club at the Temple Coffee House—facts and
supposition

By L. JESSOP

Department of Entomology,
British Museum (Natural History),
Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD.

INTRODUCTION

This paper arises from an investigation into the life of Charles duBois as part of the
compilation of an introduction to a facsimile of his entomological notebook (Jessop,
in press). He has been listed (see infra for references) as one of the members of the
club at the Temple Coffee House, a club that was described by Allen (1976) as the
earliest natural history society in Britain and probably in the world. A thorough
examination was subsequently made of all of the manuscripts cited by those researchers
who had investigated the club, but not enough evidence was found to justify either
acceptance or rejection of the claim as to duBois's membership. Several other
assertions made in print about the club were also found to be open to doubt, and
one commonly-quoted claim—that there were forty members in the year 1691—to
result from a misreading of the source manuscripts.

It is worth setting out the evidence relating to the club in order to deter any further
repetition of the errors already in print.

THE SOURCE MATERIAL

The source material of the study comprises principally the correspondence of natural-
ists of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century that was preserved among
the manuscripts amassed by Sir Hans Sloane and which is now in the British Library
in London. Additionally, two letters relevant to the subject are among the Lister
Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

The body of papers comprising the Sloane Manuscripts is so immense that it has
only been practicable to index the authors of letters in the printed catalogue (Scott,
1904) but not their contents. There is no catalogue that facilitates searching for topics
such as "Temple Coffee House" or "Club".

The existence of a club at the Temple Coffee House was not known to modern
historians until references to it were discovered by G. Pasti.

FIRST DISCOVERY OF THE CLUB

Pasti wrote a PhD thesis in 1950 on the life of William Sherard, his study being
based largely on an examination of the correspondence of Sherard and his contempor-
aries. A chapter in the thesis is devoted to the Temple Coffee House, a Meeting Place
of Botanists (pp 48-55), the relevant text of which is reproduced below:

264 THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION

(p 48-49) The evidence as to the activities and members of the Temple Coffee House Club, as they
called themselves, is fragmentary, but its importance warrants a parading of that evidence. Immediately
following the Glorious Revolution

[citing Sloane 4036, f 126 and commenting that as William Sherard's last stay in
London prior to that letter had been from November 1688 to June 1690 it may be
assumed that he became a member of 'our clubb' [sic] during that time]

regular meetings were held every Friday evening [citing Sloane 4037, f 102] and in view of the nature
of their meetings—William Vernon and William Sherard wrote that they had many plants to lay before
the club on their return from America and the Continent respectively—it is probable that the meetings
began shortly after Sloane's return from Jamaica with a rich treasure of eight hundred plants at the
end of May, 1689.

(p 49) William Charleton noted in the spring of 1691 that forty members were present at one of their
regular Friday night meetings [citing Sloane 3961, f 41]. Of these only about a dozen emerge as bona

fide members.

(pp 49-53) The following are listed by Pasti as members of the club: James Petiver,
Hans Sloane, William Charleton, Tancred Robinson, Charles Hatton, John Watts,
Samuel Doody, William Vernon, David Krieg and William Sherard, the last three
being said to complete the list of known members. Sloane 4067, f 7 and Sloane 4036,

f 186 are cited in support of the list:

(p 53-54) "Mr Sherard tells me," wrote Llwyd to Dr. Martin Lister, "that the Botanic Club in London
have entertained some thoughts of sending me to Canarie Islands to make what discoveries I can in
Plants. If they continue their solution; I should be very forward to undertake the Voyage" [citing
Lister mss 36, f 12]

(p 55) "I wish't you" wrote Charleton to Sherard, "at our Club the other Night for an Houer or 2 to
have had sight of a curious book of plants in minature [sic] presented by the States to the Bishop of
London" [citing Sloane 3961, f 41, The Bishop of London was Henry Compton].

These weekly meetings brought together active London botanists. By combining their efforts, they
were able to focus their interest on the rapidly expanding knowledge of botany—on one hand encouraging
its expansion by patronizing explorations, on the other hand attempting to incorporate the results of
this exploration by the identification of exotic species.

The club is also discussed in other chapters of the thesis. On page 75 is quoted
from Sloane 4037, ff 64-65 '"my humble service to him'" [Sir John Hoskins] '"with

the rest of the Gent of the Clubb'". On page 89 Sherard's return to London in 1700

is described, and it is said that he 'brought plants which he showed to the members
of the Temple Coffee House Club' [citing Sloane 4037, f 340], and on page 90 that
the 'plants of William Sherard were scrutinized by the now seasoned botanists of the
Temple Coffee House Club, who, in most instances, had widened their reputations
in the past decade' [no supporting evidence cited]. Also on page 90: 'In a letter to
Martin Lister dated April 3, 1698, n.s., Hatton noted that visitors were invited and
welcomed at club meetings "Severall of your freinds & servants meeting yesterday at
our usuall place Dr Sloane obliged us all by bringing thither some learned and
Ingenious forreigners . . ."' [citing Lister 36, f 193].

On page 107: 'Members of the Temple Coffee House Club of course exchanged
plants; to some of the members Sherard forwarded a catalogue of Badminton gardens,
as he did also to Robert Uvedale at Enfield, and Jacob Bobart at Oxford' [citing
Sloane 4063, f 89, which contains a passage about Sherard sending Sloane and others
a catalogue of plants in the gardens at Badminton].

On page 191: 'The Temple Coffee House Club had ceased to meet' [by 1717] [no
supporting evidence cited].

THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION 265

FURTHER EVIDENCE DISCOVERED

The discoveries of Pasti were supplemented by those of R. P. Stearns, who in 1952
published a paper on James Petiver, during the preparation of which he also examined
some of the Sloane manuscripts.

Stearns begins his discussion of the club within the context of groups associated
with the Royal Society. He says (p 253-254):

Such was the Temple Coffee House Botany Club to which James Petiver belonged throughout most of
his professional life.

As this Club was unofficial, probably without formal organization, and certainly social as well as
scientific in its raison d'etre, there are no records of it in any collected sense. Only from the private
correspondence of its members are we informed of its existence. It appears to have come into being in
the early autumn of 1689, probably having been brought together in the first instance by Dr. Hans
Sloane, who had just returned from Jamaica . . .

[Stearns's discussion of the works of the naturalists mentioned is here omitted, and
in each case replaced with an ellipsis.]

The Club met on Friday evenings, and it mixed social intercourse with the exchange of botanical
information, specimens, and communications from correspondents at home and abroad—all, as
Mr. Petiver put it, for the benefit of "the World in the Recreative Science of Botany." [citing Sloane
4067, f 81]. On Sundays and occasional holidays during the Summer months members of the Botany
Club often embarked upon botanizing expeditions to Greenwich, Hampton Court, Primrose Hill,
Fulham Palace Gardens, and elsewhere. By the Spring of 1691 the club was said to consist of forty
members [citing Sloane 3961. f 41]. These included several persons already familiar—Dr. Sloane,
Dr. Martin Lister, Tancred Robinson, John Watts, Nehemiah Grew, William Sherard, Samuel Doody,
and James Petiver—and others, such as Samuel Dale . . . Charles du Bois Dr. Leonard Plunkenet

. . Captain Charles Hatton . Adam Buddie and occasional visitors..fr.om Oxford, Cambridge,
t.he Colonies, and continental c.ou. ntries. The Clu.b. c.ontinued to hold its weekly meetings in the Temple
Coffee House well into the 1700's, although its membership was obviously fluid [citing Sloane 4039,
f 80]. And Mr. Petiver continued to take an enthusiastic part in the botanizing expeditions until near
his death in April, 1718.

[citing Sloane 4020, f 107, citing also, as evidence of his assertions about botanizing
expeditions Sloane 3336, f llv, Sloane 4066, ff 277-291 and Sloane 4067, ff 144 and
146.]

There are several additions and alterations to Pasti's account presented by Stearns
without the citation of supporting evidence: the name of the club was changed by
the addition of 'Botany'; six members' names were added to those listed by Pasti
(Lister, Grew, Dale, duBois, Plukenet and Buddie); the assertion was made that there
were occasional visitors from Oxford, Cambridge, the Colonies and continental
countries; the date of the club's inception was moved from May 1689 to Autumn
1689, and it was claimed that James Petiver belonged to the club throughout most
of his professional life.

Additions to Pasti's account that were supported by citations were: the discussion
of botanizing expeditions to known places, the assertions that the weekly meetings
were held well into the '1700's' and that the membership was 'obviously fluid'.

In citing Sloane 3961, f 41 as support of the claim that there were forty members
of the club in the Spring of 1691, Stearns followed Pasti: it will be shown later that
the original manuscript does not support that assertion.

266 THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION

THE POPULAR ACCOUNTS

The works of Pasti and Stearns are the two primary sources of modern information
on the club at the Temple Coffee House. Their conclusions have subsequently been
repeated and paraphrased in works of a more popular nature, three of which are

presented below.
1. B. Henrey (1975: 78) provided the following account of the club at the Temple

Coffee House:

It appears that in 1689 the Temple Coffee House Botany Club came into being. 'The club', writes
Stearns [citing Stearns, 1952: 253], 'met on Friday evenings, and it mixed social intercourse with the
exchange of botanical information, specimens, and communications from correspondents at home and
abroad.' It also held botanizing expeditions. Included among its members, who by May 1691 numbered
forty [citing Sloane 3961, f 41], were James Petiver, Hans Sloane, Leonard Plukenet, Tancred Robinson,
later physician to George I, Nehemiah Grew, William Sherard, Charles Hatton, and Charles du Bois
of the East India Company [citing Stearns, 1952: 253-254]. Various members of this Club encouraged
Petiver in his collections and also introduced him to their scientific friends both in England and abroad.

2. D. E. Allen (1976: 10-11), in a book on the social history of natural history,
provided a summary of what had been written about the club, adding nothing
substantial to the accounts of Pasti and Stearns but interpreting their conclusions

within the framework of his book. He said:
Thus was born in or about 1689, as an unofficial outgrowth [of The Royal Society], the Temple

Coffee House Botanic Club, the earliest natural history society in Britain and probably in the world.
This was no ordinary club. For a start it had, apparently, no formal organization, such as officers

and rules: it functioned, it seems, as little more than a loose coterie of friends. Perhaps because of this
unofficial character no mention of it appears to have found its way into print; and it was only when
the correspondence of its members came to be thoroughly scrutinized within the last few years that its
full extent and significance were revealed. The list of these members reads like an author-catalogue of
British botany of this period: Hans Sloane, Martin Lister, Tancred Robinson, Nehemiah Grew, William
Sherard, James Petiver, Adam Buddie, Samuel Doody, Leonard Plukenet, Samuel Dale, Charles Du
Bois, William Vernon, Henry Compton There were as many as forty of them, all told, in the
spring of 1691, when the Club had been .g.oi.ng for something like two years. No more dazzling
assemblage of talent, probably, has ever been packed into a society of naturalists of such outwardly
unimposing dimensions. To have been invited along to the Coffee House for one of the Club's regular
Friday evening meetings must have been a singularly stimulating experience—and a good deal more
rewarding, in view of the intellectual climate of the time, than attending a session of some latter-day
natural history dining-club. It was more than a dining-club, in any case; for it also made excursions,
on Sundays and on certain holidays in the summer months, to places of interest in and around London.

In the next paragraph, after a discussion of the Herbarizings of the Apothecaries:
'The excursions of the Botanic Club, which must have alternated with those of the
Apothecaries and ranged on occasion a good way into Kent, could thus hardly have
helped but be influenced by their example.'

Apart from paraphrasing the work of Stearns and Pasti, the only alterations made
by Allen to previous accounts were to add the name of Henry Compton to the list
of members and to alter 'Botany' to 'Botanic'. Compton was mentioned in passing
in Pasti's thesis in the context of the club, but was not listed as a member.

Allen's account is the only one to use the word 'society' in referring to the club.

3. The third popular account is to be found in a paper provided by P. I. Edwards
for a symposium volume on history in the service of systematics (Edwards, 1981: 29).

She says:

THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION 267

The Temple House Coffee Club met regularly on Friday evenings to exchange botanical information
and specimens and hear communications from correspondents at home and abroad. James Petiver (ca.
1663/4-1718) stated "It meets for the benefit of the World of Recreative Science of botany". In 1691,
its members included Sloane, Tancred Robinson, Samuel Doody, John Watts, William Sherard, Samuel
Dale, Leonard Plukenet, and Petiver. According to a manuscript in the British Museum (Natural
History), a Botanical Society met in the Rainbow Coffee House, Watling Street, and recorded their

activities and collections around London.

Edwards changed the name of the club so as to exclude botany: it now reads as if
the members met at the Temple House in order to drink coffee. The text of Petiver's
letter (Sloane 4067, f 81), which had been quoted slightly out of context by Stearns,
was altered by Edwards and now apparently describes the purpose of the club.

The last sentence of Edwards's account indicates a reference to a Botanic Society
in 'a manuscript in the British Museum (Natural History)', but does not give a precise
description of the manuscript. The society in question is probably that discussed in
detail by Allen (1967): the Rainbow Coffee House is mentioned on page 309 of that

paper.

RELEVANT PASSAGES IN THE SOURCE MANUSCRIPTS

All of the manuscripts cited by Stearns and Pasti have been re-examined in the course
of preparation of the present paper. Only the relevant passages from previously-cited
manuscripts are presented here. No additional manuscripts are cited.

Manuscripts that mention the Temple Coffee House

Of all the manuscripts cited, it was found that only three letters mention the Temple
Coffee House. They are:

Sloane 4067, f 7
David Krieg to James Petiver, undated:

I have edged 3 other plates of insects but cannot get them printed here. Pray when you have an
opportunity, let me see a letter from you, you can send them for Hamburg to Mrs Lutken & Dunt
Merchants. My humble Service to all Friends especially to Dr Sloan, Dr Lister, Dr Haar, Dr Woodward,
& the noble club att the Temple Coffe house, to Mr Watts, Mr Ayrey, Mr Doody, Mr Stapphes [??] at
the Apothecary Hall, Mr Dare, Mr Adare: etc. etc.

Pray let me know from Mr Ayrey, if he has gott my Tabacco from Maryland. Adieu.

Cited by: Pasti (1950).

Comments: The phrase '& the noble club' makes it unclear as to how many of those

listed are members of the club. Petiver can be assumed to be associated with the

club in some way, as he was asked to convey Krieg's 'humble Service' to 'the noble
club'. One name in the manuscript is barely legible: it appears to read Stapphes, and
is possibly that of Nicholas Staphorst. The penultimate name is definitely Dare, not

Dale.

Pasti cited this manuscript together with Sloane 4036, f 186 (see infra) in support
of his list of members of the Temple Coffee House Club, but omitted the names of
Lister, Haar, Woodward, Ayrey, Stapphes [?], Dare and Adare.

268 THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION

Sloane 4037, ff 102-103
William Vernon to Hans Sloane, 24 July 1698:

I met severall Curious parts of Naturall knowledge, which I'd rather refer to you in ye Temple Coffe-
House, y" in Scriptis. I've a collection of plants for you & any other part of my Collection is at y'
Service. When I return, which I expect will be ye later End of October, I shall bring every Fryday night
a collection of plants to be discussed by you, & y1 Honourable Club, to whom my Service.

Cited by: Pasti (1950).
Comments: This letter provides the only certain dates for the existence of the club
(24 July and October 1698). It implies that in October 1698 there would be meetings
on every Friday night, and associates the name of Vernon and Sloane with the club.

Sloane 4039, f 80
Humphrey Wanley to Hans Sloane, 2 February 1702:

Your saying last Wednesday that you were to go to Westminster, brought into my mind an Errand to
the BP of Worcester at Whitehall that I had forgot, and was necessary to be done that very night; and
accordingly I went thither. I came to the Temple-Coffee-house as soon as I could, but you was just

gone before I came.

Cited by: Stearns (1952).
Comments: This letter does not mention a club. The day that Wanley visited the
Coffee House was given as Wednesday, which does not accord with the received
account of Friday meetings.

This letter was cited by Stearns in support of the assertion that 'The Club continued
to hold its weekly meetings in the Temple Coffee House well into the 1700's, although
its membership was obviously fluid'.

Manuscripts that mention a club
A club is mentioned in the following six letters, but not linked to the Temple Coffee
House. It cannot be ruled out that the club(s) mentioned might have been separate
from the one associated with the Temple Coffee House, and from each other.

Sloane 4036, f 126

William Sherard to Hans Sloane, 11 June 1692:

my humble service to all ye clubb particularly to Mr Charleton Dr Robinson & Mr Doody.

Cited by: Pasti (1950).
Comments: Pasti pointed out that Sherard's last stay in London prior to this letter
had been from November 1688 to June 1690, and assumed that he may have become

a member of the club at that time. Pasti transcribed 'ye clubb' as 'our Clubb': the

latter reading implies that Sherard was a member, the former carries no information

as to whether he was a member or not.

Sloane 3961, f 41
Draft of a letter from W. C. [William Charleton, AKA Courten] to Mr Sherwood
[Sherard] 11 May 1691:

I wisht (wish we could have had [crossed out]) yow at our club ye other night for an Hower or 2 to
have had a sight of a curious book of plants (of ye Cape of good Hope) in miniature presented by yc

THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION 269

States to yc Bishop of London, there were to ye number of 40—& as (ye learned said not [crossed out])
our cheif Botanists said most of ym not described.

Cited by: Pasti (1950), Stearns (1952) and Henrey (1975).

Comments: The text of the manuscript is clear in describing the examination of forty
plants by an unspecified number of people, not in describing the examination of
plants by forty botanists. It is curious that Pasti, Stearns and Henrey should all fail

to understand the contents of this passage.

The text as transcribed here should be compared with the version given by Pasti.

Shane 4036, f 186
William Sherard to Hans Sloane, 25 October 1694. Leyden:

I have given a large acct to Cap' Hatton of ye proceeding of Botany & books printing here, to whom I
refer you w"1)^ rest of ye Gent, of y6 Clubb

Cited by: Pasti (1950).
Comments: This manuscript was cited by Pasti in support of the claim that Hatton,
Sherard and Sloane were members of the Temple Coffee House Club.

Sloane 4037, ff 64-65
William Sherard to Hans Sloane, 1698:

my humble service to him [Sr. John Hoskins] w,hye rest of ye Gent, of ye Clubb.

Cited by: Pasti (1950).
Comments: The text of this part of the letter is quoted by Pasti.

Lister Mss. 36, f 12
Edward Lhwyd to Martin Lister, 1 July 1690:

Mr Sherard tells me y1 ye Botanic Club in London have entertain'd some thoughts of Sending me to
the Canarie Hands to make what Discoveries I can in Plants. If they continue their resolution; I should
be very forward to undertake ye Voyage.

Cited by: Pasti (1950).

Comments: This portion of the text was quoted by Pasti, whose only significant error
of transcription is the reading of 'resolution' as 'solution'.

Sloane 4037, f 340
William Sherard to Hans Sloane, 7 October 1699:

My humble service to all yr clubb, I shall have something to show them at my return tho not so much
as they can me, or as I had ye last voyage.

Cited by: Pasti (1950).

Comments: Pasti assumed that the 'something' that Sherard was to have to show on
his return were plants. Sherard's use of the phrase 'yr' implies that he was not a
member of this particular club.

Letters that refer neither to the Temple Coffee House, nor to a club

Sloane 3336, f 11 verso
To Joseph Dandridge, Joseph Miller, Mr Tindsley & Mr Boucher, From James
Petiver, 7 July 1707:

270 THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION

We meet this Evening between 6 & 7 at Waltons Coffe house in Warwick lane the corner of Newgate
markett, in order to goe from thence to Morrow morning at 4 of ye clock to Chistlehurst bogg, a
herbarizing.

Cited by: Stearns (1952).
Comments: This and the following five manuscripts here quoted were cited by Stearns
in support of the assertion that 'On Sundays and occasional holidays during the
Summer months members of the Botany Club often embarked upon botanizing
expeditions to Greenwich, Hampton Court, Primrose Hill, Fulham Palace Gardens,

and elsewhere'.

7 July 1707 was a Monday (Bond, 1889: 240-241).

Sloane 4067, f 144
William Sherard to James Petiver, undated:

Mr Breynius tells me you had appointed to go this afternoon to Fulham.

Cited by: Stearns (1952).

Sloane 4067, f 146
William Sherard to James Petiver, undated, Monday night:

At M' Sherards in Mark Lane to morrow at 9 will be a publik show of plants &c. where wdl meet
most of ye curious in those afairs: yr company will be very acceptable to them.

Cited by: Stearns (1952).

Sloane 4066, f 283
Adam Buddie to James Petiver. Undated. Tuesday morning:

Your company is desired at six of ye clock this evening at ye grey-hound Tavern by Salisbury court in
fleet Street, you will be sure to meet Mr Corlet [? or Lorlet] & my-self; perhaps Dr Nicholson &
Mr Doody.

Cited by: Stearns (1952).
Comments: Stearns cited Sloane 4066, ff 277-291, but of those folios, only this and
the following letter here quoted contain passages relevant to the subject in question.

Sloane 4066, f 284
Adam Buddie to James Petiver, no date. Monday morning:

If you find your-self so disposed you will find me, Mr Doody, &c exactly at 6 in ye evening at ye Crown
Tavern in Bloomsbury Market with a brace of Hares a present to me out of y° country.

Cited by: Stearns (1952).

Sloane 4020, f 107
A permit from the Lord Mayor of London, dated 12 July 1713, to allow Charles
duBois, James Petiver, Joseph Miller, John Cox, Richard Fildon and James [?error
for Joseph] Dandridge to travel to Gravesend on a Sunday.
Cited by: Stearns (1952).

Sloane 4067, f 81
James Petiver to Jacob Breynius, Christmas eve, 1692.

THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION 271

Yesternight att a Worthy Meeting of Botanick ffriends, amongst whom were Present ye Ingenious Dr
Plukenett, Dr Sloan, Dr Robinson M' Newton Mr Doody Mr Dale Mr DuBois &c, who all dranke &

wisht yr health

Later in the same paragraph, but referring to Breynius, not to the meeting, Petiver

thanked him 'for those Noble & great additions & Discoveries you have been Pleased

to Communicate to y* World in ye Recreative Science of Botany.'

Cited by: Stearns (1952).

Comments: The second sentence, quoted slightly out of context by Stearns, was
altered by Edwards so as to result in the impression being given that the aims of the
club at the Temple Coffee House are known.

23 December 1692 was a Friday (Bond, 1889: 240-241).

Lister Mss 36, f 193
Charles Hatton to Martin Lister, 3 April 1698:

Severall of your freinds and servants meeting yesterday Sr at our usuall place Dr Sloane oblig'd us all
by bringing thither some Learned and Ingenious forreigners.

Cited by: Pasti, 1950.

Comments: The text of this passage was quoted by Pasti. 2 April 1698 was a Saturday
(Bond, 1889: 240-241).

Evaluation of published accounts
The claims made about the club at the Temple Coffee House by Pasti, Stearns and
Edwards are listed below, with an evaluation of each claim presented in square
brackets. As Henrey and Allen do not significantly alter the previous accounts of the

club their papers are not further evaluated.

Name

'the Temple Coffee House Club, as they called themselves' (Pasti, 1950). [No
supporting evidence.]
'Temple Coffee House Botany Club' (Stearns, 1952). [No supporting evidence.]
'The Temple House Coffee Club' (Edwards, 1981). [No supporting evidence.]

Date of Club
'it is probable that the meetings began shortly after Sloane's return from Jamaica
... at the end of May, 1689' (Pasti, 1950). [Manuscript cited in support does not

refer to the Temple Coffee House.]
'It appears to have come into being in the early autumn of 1689, probably having
been brought together in the first instance by Dr Hans Sloane, who had just returned
from Jamaica' (Stearns, 1952). [Follows Pasti.]
'The Club continued to hold its weekly meetings in the Temple Coffee House well
into the 1700's' (Stearns, 1952). [Manuscript cited in support does not refer to a
club.]

272 THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION

'Mr. Petiver continued to take an enthusiastic part in the botanizing expeditions until
near his death in April, 1718' (Stearns, 1952). [Manuscript cited in support does not
refer to a club.]

'The Temple Coffee House Club had ceased to meet' [by 1717] (Pasti, 1950). [No
supporting evidence.]

Regularity of meetings
'regular meetings were held every Friday evening' (Pasti, 1950) [True, but possibly
only for the year 1698.]

'The Club met on Friday evenings' (Stearns, 1952). [Follows Pasti.]

Membership
'William Charleton noted in the spring of 1691 that forty members were present at
one of their regular Friday night meetings' (Pasti, 1950). [Not true.]

'By the Spring of 1691 the club was said to consist of forty members' (Stearns, 1952).
[Not true.]

'Among their numbers were . . . James Petiver, Hans Sloane and William Charleton'
(Pasti, 1950). [No supporting evidence.]

'Also members . . . Tancred Robinson, Charles Hatton, John Watts, and Samuel
Doody' (Pasti, 1950). [No supporting evidence.]

'William Vernon, David Krieg and William Sherard—complete the list of known
members' (Pasti, 1950). [No supporting evidence.]
'included . . . Dr. Sloane, Dr. Martin Lister, Tancred Robinson, John Watts, Nehem-
iah Grew, William Sherard, Samuel Doody, and James Petiver—and others, such as
Samuel Dale . . . Charles du Bois . . .Dr. Leonard Plunkenet . . . Captain Charles
Hatton . . . Adam Buddie' (Stearns, 1952). [No supporting evidence.]
'James Petiver belonged throughout most of his professional life (Stearns, 1952)'
[No supporting evidence.]

'its membership was obviously fluid' (Stearns, 1952). [No supporting evidence.]

Aims and Activities

'These weekly meetings brought together active London botanists. By combining
their efforts, they were able to focus their interest on the rapidly expanding knowledge
of botany—on one hand encouraging its expansion by patronizing explorations, on
the other hand attempting to incorporate the results of this exploration by the
identification of exotic species' (Pasti, 1950). [Partly true, partly supported by
manuscripts that do not mention the Temple Coffee House.]
'it mixed social intercourse with the exchange of botanical information, specimens,
and communications from correspondents at home and abroad—all, as Mr Petiver
put it, for the benefit of "the World in the Recreative Science of Botany'" (Stearns,
1952). [Partly true.]

'to exchange botanical information and specimens and hear communications from
correspondents at home and abroad. James Petiver (ca 1663/4-1718) stated "It meets
for the benefit of the World of Recreative Science of botany'" (Edwards, 1981).
[Partly true, partly a misquote of Stearns.]

THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION 273

'On Sundays and occasional holidays during the Summer months members of the
Botany Club often embarked upon botanizing expeditions to Greenwich, Hampton
Court, Primrose Hill, Fulham Palace Gardens, and elsewhere' (Stearns, 1952).
[Manuscript cited in support does not refer to a club.]

Organisation
'As this Club was unofficial, probably without formal organisation, and certainly
social as well as scientific in its raison d'etre, there are no records of it in any

collected sense' (Stearns, 1952). [No supporting evidence of the club being unofficial
or without formal organisation.]

CONCLUSIONS

The existence of a club at a Temple Coffee House was discovered by Pasti, and the
information he discovered was supplemented by that found by Stearns. Subsequent

accounts of the club have summarised the accounts of those two researchers.

Unfortunately, Pasti and Stearns did not strictly separate activities certainly
attributable to the club at the Temple Coffee House from activities undertaken
generally by the group of naturalists that existed in the London area in the late
seventeenth and early eighteenth century, and this has resulted in the impression
being given that far more is known about the club than is in fact known.

There is no evidence from the source manuscripts that the 'club' was anything
more than an informal group of friends that met from time to time (not necessarily
always at the Temple Coffee House) to discuss, possibly among other things, botany.
On the other hand there is no evidence that the club lacked organisation: it may
have been a 'society' that, like many modern natural history societies had rules,
officers, regular meetings at a regular venue and organised outings. There may even
have been a series of Transactions published, no record of which now exists.

If only those two letters that refer both to a club and the Temple Coffee House
are considered, then the following can be deduced about the nature of the club:

Name: The club is not given a name in contemporary manuscripts, but is referred to
as 'the noble club att the Temple Coffe house' and 'yl Honourable Club'.

Date: The only date referring to the existence of a club at the Temple Coffee House
is 24 July 1698.

Regularity of meetings: In July 1698, it was expected that meetings would be held
every Friday night in October of that year.
Membership: The phrase '& the noble club' in Sloane 4067, f 7 makes it unclear as
to how many people out of the list to whom go Krieg's 'humble service' are members
and how many are friends outside of the club. Vernon, Sloane, Krieg and Petiver

were associated with the club in some way, but it cannot be claimed for certain that

they were members of it.

Aims and Activities: The aims of the club are unknown. The only known activity is
the discussion of a collection of plants.

Organisation: There is no evidence of the organisation, or of the lack of organisation

of the club.

274 THE CLUB AT THE TEMPLE COFFEE HOUSE—FACTS AND SUPPOSITION

The Sloane manuscripts have still not been exhaustively studied for references to
clubs, either at the Temple Coffee House or elsewhere, and the possibility exists that

there may be manuscripts previously unstudied that explain in detail the structure
and functions of that club. Until further evidence emerges, it is probably best to
exercise caution in assigning activities to the club.

Note: Which Coffee House?

Lillywhite (1963) lists two coffee houses that could be the meeting place of the club:
The Temple Coffee House (Lillywhite's no. 1323) was located in Clifford's Inn,

Fleet Street, and is known to have existed between 1702 and 1714.
The Temple Exchange Coffee House (Lillywhite's no. 1326) was located in Fleet

Street, near Temple Bar. There is no contemporary mention earlier than 1710, but
Lillywhite claims that it may have been established some years earlier.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks are due to the following for their help in the preparation of this paper:
Mr D. E. Allen, for his comments on an early draft; the staff of the Manuscripts
Students' Room at the British Library for their quick and efficient service; the
librarians of the Entomology Library of the British Museum (Natural History)
(Miss P. Gilbert and Miss J. Harvey) for their assistance, and the Bodleian Library
for providing copies of manuscripts in their care.

MANUSCRIPTS CITED

Sloane: manuscripts held in the Sloane collection in the British Library, London.
Lister: manuscripts held in the Lister collection in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

REFERENCES

ALLEN, D. E., 1967 John Martyn's Botanical Society: a biographical analysis of the membership.
Proceedings of the Botanical Society of the British Isles 6(4): 305-324.

ALLEN, D. E., 1976 The Naturalist in Britain, A Social History. Allen Lane, London. Pp xii + 292.
BOND, J. J., 1889 Handy-book of Rules and Tables for Verifying Dates with the Christian Era. George

Bell & Sons, London. Pp xlii + 463.
EDWARDS, P. I., 1981 Sir Hans Sloane and his curious friends. Pp 27-35 in History in the Service of

Systematics. Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, London. Pp 164.
HENREY, B., 1975 British Botanical and Horticultural Literature Before 1800. II The Eighteenth Century,

History. Oxford University Press, London, New York, Toronto. Pp xvi + 748.
JESSOP, L., (in press) Notes on Insects 1692 & 1695 by Charles duBois. Edited and with an introduction

concerning the life of the author by L. Jessop. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History)
(Historical series).
LILLYWHITE, B., 1963 London Coffee Houses. Allen & Unwin, London. Pp 858.
PASTI, G., 1950 Consul Sherard: Amateur botanist and patron of learning. PhD thesis, University of

Illinois.

SCOTT, E. J. L., 1904 Index to the Sloane Manuscripts in the British Museum. British Museum, London.
Pp viii + 583.

STEARNS, R. P., 1952 James Petiver Promoter of Natural Science, c. 1663-1718. Proceedings of the
American Antiquarian Society 62: 243-365.