Button's Coffee House

Button's Coffee House was an eighteenth-century coffee house in London, England, located on Russell Street in Covent Garden, between the City of London and Westminster. It became one of the best-known meeting places in the literary and political culture of early Georgian London. Although it was a commercial coffee house rather than a modern packaged-goods brand, its importance rested on the community, editorial activity, and literary exchange that developed around the premises. The establishment emerged in the early eighteenth century after the nearby Will's Coffee House received an unfavorable assessment from Richard Steele in The Tatler in April 1709. The criticism helped shift attention toward Button's. Around 1712, the essayist Joseph Addison helped Daniel Button establish the business. Button had previously served in the household of the Countess of Warwick. Addison's involvement connected the coffee house with the period's expanding world of periodical publishing and literary sociability. Button's was particularly associated with Addison's weekly newspaper The Guardian, published in 1713. A distinctive white marble letterbox, shaped as a lion's head and traditionally associated with the artist William Hogarth, stood at the coffee house. Visitors could place written material in the lion's mouth for possible consideration for publication in The Guardian. The feature made the premises an identifiable editorial and social hub, linking the everyday institution of the coffee house with the circulation of essays, satire, poetry, and news. Its customers and associates included Joseph Addison, Ambrose Philips, Alexander Pope, Thomas Tickell, John Arbuthnot, Martin Folkes, and Jonathan Swift. The presence of these writers and intellectuals made Button's part of the broader network of English coffee houses that served as informal clubs, news exchanges, and places for professional and literary contact. The establishment's historical significance therefore derives less from its coffee service than from its role in the public culture of eighteenth-century London. Daniel Button died in 1730, and the coffee house continued for a time before eventually closing in 1751. The lion's-head letterbox survived the business and was moved first to the Shakespeare Tavern and later through other establishments. It was ultimately acquired by the Duke of Bedford for Woburn Abbey. After Button's closed, the premises were operated as a cheese shop by Mr and Mrs Hall and later by Mr and Mrs Crisp. From 1786 to 1788, the actor and author Elizabeth Inchbald lodged at the site. The original location is now occupied by a Starbucks coffee shop at 10 Russell Street, east of Covent Garden Market and south of the Royal Opera House. The marble lion head was reported to have been displayed on a wall near the location of the modern shop's community notice board. Button's Coffee House is consequently remembered as a defunct historical institution whose name remains tied to London coffee-house culture, literary publishing, and the social history of Covent Garden.

Button's Coffee House was established in the early eighteenth century on Russell Street in Covent Garden, London. Its rise followed criticism of the nearby Will's Coffee House by Richard Steele in The Tatler on 8 April 1709. The unfavorable notice appears to have contributed to a redistribution of literary and social attention among London's coffee houses, helping Button's become a prominent alternative. Joseph Addison played an important role in the business's beginnings. Around 1712, he helped Daniel Button establish the coffee house. Button had formerly been a servant in the household of the Countess of Warwick. Addison's association gave the premises a connection to the literary networks surrounding the periodical press. The coffee house was not simply a place to purchase refreshments: like other influential London coffee houses, it functioned as a site for conversation, information exchange, writing, and professional networking. The establishment became especially linked to Addison's weekly newspaper The Guardian, which appeared in 1713. A white marble letterbox in the shape of a lion's head was installed at the coffee house. It was traditionally thought to have been designed by William Hogarth. An inscription on the object referred to the lion's claws and the select nature of its prey. Writers and visitors could submit written material through the lion's mouth for possible publication in The Guardian. This physical feature gave the coffee house a memorable identity while also symbolizing its role in the editorial culture of the period. Button's attracted a notable group of writers, scholars, and public intellectuals. Joseph Addison, Ambrose Philips, Alexander Pope, and Thomas Tickell were associated with the coffee house and The Guardian. Other customers or associates included John Arbuthnot, Martin Folkes, and Jonathan Swift. Their presence placed Button's within the sociable literary culture of early eighteenth-century London, in which coffee houses served as informal institutions for debate, reading, gossip, political discussion, and the circulation of manuscripts and printed work. Daniel Button died in 1730. The business survived him but eventually closed in 1751. The closure ended Button's as an operating coffee house, although objects and memories associated with the establishment continued to circulate. The marble lion head was transferred to the Shakespeare Tavern and subsequently to other establishments before being acquired by the Duke of Bedford for Woburn Abbey. The former premises later became a cheese shop. Mr and Mrs Hall operated the shop, followed by Mr and Mrs Crisp. The building also had a literary and theatrical connection after Elizabeth Inchbald, an actor and author, lodged there between 1786 and 1788. These later uses demonstrate how the site continued to participate in London's commercial and cultural history even after the coffee house itself had disappeared. The Russell Street location is now occupied by a Starbucks coffee shop at 10 Russell Street, east of Covent Garden Market and south of the Royal Opera House. The surviving lion-head object was reported to have been placed on a wall near the modern shop's community notice board. Button's Coffee House is therefore best understood as a historical hospitality and cultural institution, remembered for its role in the formation of literary communities and periodical publishing rather than as a continuing consumer brand.

1. 1786Elizabeth Inchbald lodges at the site

   Elizabeth Inchbald, an actor and author, began lodging at the former premises during the period from 1786 to 1788.

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2. 1751Coffee house closes

   Button's Coffee House eventually ceased operating as a coffee house.

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3. 1730Death of Daniel Button

   Daniel Button died. The coffee house continued for a period afterward before eventually closing.

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4. 1713Association with The Guardian

   Button's became associated with Joseph Addison's weekly newspaper The Guardian. Written submissions could be placed in the lion-head letterbox for possible publication.

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5. 1712Daniel Button enters the coffee-house trade

   Joseph Addison helped Daniel Button establish the coffee house on Russell Street. Button had previously served in the household of the Countess of Warwick.

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6. 1709Criticism of Will's Coffee House

   Richard Steele criticized the nearby Will's Coffee House in The Tatler on 8 April. The notice helped create conditions for Button's Coffee House to attract greater attention in Covent Garden.

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A fashionable London coffee house serving as a social, literary, and editorial meeting place in the early eighteenth century.

• Coffee-house refreshmentsHospitality

  Button's operated as an eighteenth-century London coffee house. Coffee was its defining commercial offering, while the venue also provided a setting for conversation, reading, writing, and the exchange of news and literary material. The available historical account does not provide a complete menu or detailed product range.

• The Guardian submission servicePublishing and editorial culture1713

  The lion-head letterbox allowed visitors to submit written material for possible consideration by Joseph Addison's weekly newspaper The Guardian. This was an editorial function associated with the venue rather than a separately sold product.

1. Button's Coffee House