'The Coffee Palace - Lloyd's Coffee House .... ✍☕🍮'

Welcome to The Coffee Palace, otherwise know as 'Lloyd's Coffee House'. ☕

Inspired by the original Lloyd's coffeehouse in London that became a precursor to Lloyd's of London Insurance, and the original coffee palace(s) in colonial Melbourne, Australia.

______

Backstory:

In 1688 a coffee house in Tower Street in London was owned by a certain Edward Lloyd and called "Lloyd's Coffee House".

Being situated near the River Thames the coffee house customers consisted mainly of seafarers, merchants and bankers.

At that time the practice was for insurance on ships and their cargoes to be accepted by individual merchants as a sideline, each of whom would take a share of any particular risk - perhaps on a vessel's voyage to the New World.  These insurers were called "underwriters" simply because they wrote their signatures and shares "one under the other" on policies of insurance.

Lloyd's Coffee House proved a favourite place for underwriters to gather, and for seekers of insurance cover also, for there, more than at any other place, could be found sufficient underwriters to accept their risks.

The practice of businessmen meeting at the coffee house to transact insurance prospered, and was encouraged by Lloyd supplying pens, ink and paper, shipping information obtained from the docks and, for a short time, a news sheet called "Lloyd's News."

Lloyd died in 1713 but the character of the coffee house remained.  As years went by the business aspect grew more and more important and Lloyd's became something in the nature of a private club with the customers controlling the premises and restricting entry to those interested in insurance and shipping.

In 1771 a committee of customers was elected to find new premises and, in 1774, a move was made to the Royal Exchange: this was the start of the modern Lloyd's.

Lloyd's became a Corporation by Act of Parliament in 1871 with its affairs governed by a Committee elected from among its Members.

______

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd%27s_Coffee_House

 

A place to chat, build connections (both business and personal) and general store forum. A place where #democracyreignssupreme !

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Image: Rendering of Lloyd's Coffee House, London. (lloyds.com)

Excerpt: 'Lloyd's', The Committee of Lloyd's. London E.C.3.