A historical site about early London coffee houses and taverns and will also link to my current pub history site and also the London street directory
WILL'S AND SERLE'S COFFEE-HOUSES.
At the corner of Serle-street and Portugal-street, most invitingly facing the
passage to Lincoln's Inn New square, was Will's, of old repute, and thus
described in the Epicure's Almanack, 1815:
" This is, indubitably, a house of the first class, which dresses very desirable
turtle and venison, and broaches many a pipe of mature port, double voyaged
Madeira, and princely claret ; wherewithal to wash down the dust of making law
books, and take out the inky blots from rotten parchment bonds ; or if we must
quote and parodize Will's, 'hath a sweet oblivious antidote which clears the
cranium of that perilous stuff that clouds the cerebellum.' "
The Coffee-house has some time being given up.
The 1829 Robsons dirctory refers to James Green at Wills hotel & Coffee house, 7
Serle street, Lincolns Inn fields
Serle's Coffee-house is one of those mentioned in No. 49, of the Spectator : " I
do not know that I meet in any of my walks, objects which move both my spleen
and laughter so effectually as those young fellows at the Grecian, Squire's,
Serle's, and all other Coffee-houses adjacent to the Law, who rise for no other
purpose but to publish their laziness."
References :
Lots of references are made to two sources on the
internet archive
:
Edward Callows, Old London Taverns &
John Timbs, Club life of London Volume 2