The following is a list of the principal taverns then in existence, for some of which I am indebted to Timbs' 'Club Life of London.' 'The Bear,' at the foot of London Bridge, Southwark and west side, which was in existence in 1463, was not pulled down till 1761. The 'Boar's Head,' in Eastcheap; Pontack's, in Abchurch Lane; and the 'Pope's Head' tavern in Pope's Head Alley, were all standing; and the 'Cock,' in Threadneedle Street, was only destroyed in 1851. There was the 'Salutation' in Newgate Street, where Wren used to smoke his pipe, whilst St. Paul's was rebuilding. Dolly's chop-house, in Paternoster Row, was established in Queen Anne's reign. The 'White Hart' in Bishopsgate Without, which bore the date 1480, was not pulled down till 1829. The 'King's Head,' in Fenchurch Street, at the corner of Mark Lane, was the hostel at which Queen Elizabeth is said to have dined in May 1554. The 'Devil,' in Fleet Street, now occupied by Childs' bank, was flourishing, and Steele describes it[321] as 'a place sacred to mirth tempered with discretion, where Ben Jonson and his Sons used to make their liberal meetings,' and he says that in the Apollo room were the rules of Ben's Club, painted in gold letters over the chimney piece.
This tavern was so popular that a rival sprang up on the other side of the street, the 'Young Devil,' and here, for a year or so, from the beginning of 1708, till some time in or about 1709, the Society of Antiquaries held their meetings, afterwards at the 'Fountain' tavern, Inner Temple Gate. The 'Cock,' in Fleet Street, has only just been demolished. There was another famous tavern which was near St. Dunstan's Church, in Fleet Street, called 'The Hercules' Pillars,' which was visited by Pepys, as appears by four entries in his diary. Another tavern of this name, at Charing Cross, will be noted when treating of the amusements of the people. The 'Mitre' tavern must not be confounded with the coffee-house of that name in Mitre Court, but was the one frequented by Dr. Johnson, and so often referred to by Boswell.
The 'Palsgrave's Head,' on the south side of the Strand, near Temple Bar, was then a coffee-house, and was so named from the Palsgrave Frederick, afterwards King of Bohemia, who married the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I. The 'Crown and Anchor,' which stretched along the Strand from Arundel Street to Milford Lane, was famous as being the place where the Academy of Music was instituted in 1710. The 'Rose' tavern in Drury Lane is frequently mentioned in the literature of this time. It was afterwards absorbed into Drury Lane Theatre, when Garrick enlarged it in 1776. The 'Rummer Tavern,' at Charing Cross, near Locket's Ordinary, is often mentioned in advertisements, and Brown and Ward speak of 'Heaven' and 'Hell,' which were two ale-houses near Westminster Hall. Pepys notices one of them on January 28, 1660—'And so I returned, and went to Heaven, where Ludlin and I dined.' And last, not least, was the 'Bumper' tavern, which 'Dick Estcourt,' the actor, opened on January 1, 1712, and which Steele so kindly puffed in Spectator No. 264. An exhaustive catalogue of the taverns in the City is given by Ward in his 'Vade Mecum for Maltworms,' a very curious and now rare book; but it is hardly worth while to reproduce their names, even in an appendix.
CHAPTER XIX.
CLUBS.
Origin — October Club — Calves Head Club — Kit Cat Club — Other clubs — Suggested clubs.
The name of Club is undoubtedly taken from the practice of a jovial company to 'club,' or divide the whole expenses of the entertainment; and 'the payment of our Clubs'[322] is a frequently mentioned wind-up of any festivity. Naturally, such agreeable meetings were repeated until they became habitual, and the society, or club, was formed; and these humble beginnings laid the foundation of that great social organisation which nowhere flourishes better than in England.
The principal clubs of Queen Anne's time were the October Club, the Calves Head Club, and the Kit Cat Club. The October Club was a Political Club, of high Tory proclivities, and it was so called from the 'October Ale' which was supposed to be the drink of the members. It was held at the 'Bell Tavern,' in King Street, Westminster, and they succeeded in plaguing the Whigs to their hearts' content. Swift writes Stella of them:[323] 'We are plagued here with an October Club; that is, a set of above a hundred Parliament men of the Country, who drink October beer at home, and meet every evening at a tavern near the Parliament, to consult affairs, and drive things on to extremes against the Whigs, to call the old ministry to account, and get off five or six heads. The ministry seem not to regard them, yet one of them in confidence, told me that there must be something thought on to settle things better.' Swift wrote a little pamphlet called 'Some Advice Humbly Offered to the Members of the October Club, in a letter from a Person of Honour,' which met with varying fortunes; for he tells Stella, 'The little twopenny letter of "Advice to the October Club," does not sell: I know the reason; for it is finely written, I assure you; and like a true author, I grow fond of it, because it does not sell: you know that it is usual to writers to condemn the judgment of the world; if I had hinted it to be mine, every body would have bought it, but it is a great secret.'[324] A few days later, and he writes, February 1, that it 'begins now to sell; but I believe its fame will hardly reach Ireland.' There is no doubt but that it partially had the desired effect—of making these troublesome gentlemen less obstructive. Poor Swift was once nearly getting into a dilemma with regard to this club, and his story is as follows: 'Then Ford drew me to dine at a tavern, it happened to be the day and the house where the October Club dine. After we had dined, coming down, we called to inquire, whether our yarn business had been over that day, and I sent into the room for Sir George Beaumont. But I had like to be drawn into a difficulty; for in two minutes out comes Mr. Finch, Lord Guernsey's son, to let me know, that my Lord Compton, the steward of this feast, desired, in the name of the club, that I would do them the honour to dine with them. I sent my excuses, adorned with about thirty compliments, and got off as fast as I could. It would have been a most improper thing for me to dine there, considering my friendship for the Ministry. The Club is about a hundred and fifty, and near eighty of them were then going to dinner at two long tables in a great ground room.'[325] Afterwards the October Club was split, and the more Jacobite portion formed themselves into the March Club.
The Calves Head Club was decidedly an opposition one, and its history, true or not, is told in a little book which some people have attributed to Ward,[326] 'The Secret History of the Calves Head Club: or, the REPUBLICAN UNMASK'D. Wherein is fully shewn the religion of the Calves head Heroes in their Anniversary Thanksgiving Songs on the Thirtieth of January, by them called Anthems, for the years 1693, 1694, 1695, 1696, 1697. Now published to demonstrate the Restless, Implacable Spirit of a certain Party still among us, who are never to be satisfied till the present Establishment in Church and State is subverted. The Second Edition.
Discite justitiam moniti, & non temnere Divos. Virg.