The Rainbow Coffee House was a famous

coffee house A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, Caffè americano, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually ...

located at 15

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

, London. It was opened by James Farr in 1657, becoming London's second coffee house. The Rainbow provided a meeting place for

freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

refugee

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

who established an information centre there. The Rainbow was also featured in the furore created by

Titus Oates Titus Oates (15 September 1649 – 12/13 July 1705) was an English priest who fabricated the "Popish Plot", a supposed Catholic conspiracy to kill King Charles II. Early life Titus Oates was born at Oakham in Rutland. His father was the Baptis ...

, who accused Sir Philip Lloyd of denying the existence of a

popish plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinat ...

there, finding witnesses from amongst the coffee drinkers to testify against him In 1719

John Woodward John Woodward or ''variant'', may refer to: Sports *John Woodward (English footballer) (born 1947), former footballer *John Woodward (Scottish footballer) (born 1949), former footballer *Johnny Woodward (1924–2002), English footballer *John D ...

wrote a satire ''The Two Sosias: Or, the True Dr. Byfield at the Rainbow Coffee-House, to the Pretender in Jermyn-Street'' David Hughson wrote in 1807 that the Rainbow was replaced by

Nando's Coffee House Nando's was a coffee house in Fleet Street in London. It was known to exist in 1696, being the subject of a conveyance, and was popular in the 18th century, especially with the legal profession in the nearby courts and chambers. The name ''Na ...

in the same building, later in the 17th century.

Notable people

Many notable Huguenots were associated with the Rainbow Coffee House. However, there were also other German and English notable people.

French exiles

Paul Colomiès Paul Colomiès or Columesius (1638–1692) was a French Huguenot librarian and scholar. He is best known for his work ''Gallia Orientalis'', a biographical dictionary of French Christian Hebraists. Life He was born at La Rochelle, Aunis on 2 Dece ...

(1638–1692) *

César de Missy Cesar or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar River, in Colombia * Cesar ...

(1703–1775) *

John Theophilus Desaguliers John Theophilus Desaguliers (12 March 1683 – 29 February 1744) was a French-born British natural philosopher, clergyman, engineer and freemason who was elected to the Royal Society in 1714 as experimental assistant to Isaac Newton. He had stu ...

(1683 – 1744) *

Pierre des Maizeaux Pierre des Maizeaux, also spelled Desmaizeaux (c. 1666 or 1673June 1745), was a French Huguenot writer exiled in London, best known as the translator and biographer of Pierre Bayle. He was born in Pailhat, Auvergne, France. His father, a minister ...

(1673–1745) * David Durand (1680 – 1763) *

Peter Anthony Motteux Peter Anthony Motteux (born Pierre Antoine Motteux ; 25 February 1663 – 18 February 1718) was a French-born English author, playwright, and translator. Motteux was a significant figure in the evolution of English journalism in his era, as the ...

(1663 – 1718) *

Michel de La Roche Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

(fl. 1710–1731) *

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

(1694 – 1778)

Others

* Anthony Collins (1676 – 1729) *

David Hume David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...

(1711 – 1776) *

Richard Mead Richard Mead, FRSFRCP (11 August 1673 – 16 February 1754) was an English physician. His work, ''A Short Discourse concerning Pestilential Contagion, and the Method to be used to prevent it'' (1720), was of historic importance in advancing t ...

(1673 – 1754) *

Daniel Maichel Daniel Maichel (14 August 1693 – 20 January 1752) was a German professor of philosophy, theology, logic, physics, rights and politics. He studied protestant theology in Tübingen and earned a master's degree in 1713. Maichel was born in Stuttgart ...

(1693–1752) *

Thomas Sprat Thomas Sprat, FRS (163520 May 1713) was an English churchman and writer, Bishop of Rochester from 1684. Life Sprat was born at Beaminster, Dorset, and educated at Wadham College, Oxford, where he held a fellowship from 1657 to 1670. Having ...

(1635 – 1713) *

John Toland John Toland (30 November 167011 March 1722) was an Irish rationalist philosopher and freethinker, and occasional satirist, who wrote numerous books and pamphlets on political philosophy and philosophy of religion, which are early expressions ...

(1670 – 1722)

References

{{reflist Coffeehouses and cafés in London 1657 establishments in England