East London History (Fictionalised Vignettes)

Did you know that the simple act of enjoying a cup of coffee has played a major role in shaping the world as we know it?

(A longer version of this article is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZIm2p04KvE )

Coffee originated in Ethiopia in the 9th century, and it quickly spread across the Arabian Peninsula. It wasn't long before it became popular throughout the Islamic world.

In the 15th century, coffee reached Europe and started a brewing revolution. Coffeehouses became the centers of social and intellectual gatherings, fostering lively discussions and the exchange of ideas.

But it wasn't just about stimulating conversation; coffee also had significant economic implications. It became a commodity that drove trade and colonization.

Coffee plantations started to emerge in various parts of the world. Countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam took advantage of the ideal climate and conditions to cultivate coffee beans on a large scale.

These plantations led to the growth of entire industries, providing jobs and livelihoods for millions of people worldwide. They also fueled technological advancements, from steam-powered machinery to modern packaging techniques.

Today, coffee is the second most traded commodity globally, after oil. It has become an essential part of modern society, with millions of people relying on it for their daily dose of energy and enjoyment.

A page from history: 10 January 1645

A page from history: 9 January 1669

In his diary entry for 9 January 1669, Samuel Pepys writes “my Lord Brouncker, Mr. Wren, Joseph Williamson, and Captain Cocke, dined with me.” Lord Brouncker, a mathematician, was the first president of the Royal Society. Politician and writer Matthew Wren was also a prominent member of the Royal Society as well as The African Company. In other words, he was a supporter of the transatlantic slave trade. Joseph Williamson, a politician, was involved with the foundation of the London Gazette. He later became the second president of the Royal Society. Finally, Capt. George Cocke was a Baltic merchant and navy contractor. As an influential member of the Eastland Company, he dealt extensively in hemp and owned a tannery in Limerick. 

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1669/01/09/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JC1jiYTbIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yReB-l1wDgc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtEGj_cTwWQ

A page from history: 8 January 1800

(On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!)

On 8 January 1800 one of the first soup kitchens opened in East London. The forgotten poor of the city were given a hot meal several times a week, especially in the winter months when work was scarce. Churches and wealthy local benefactors mostly provided the means to set up these soup kitchens and distribute soup and bread. 

Over time, Spitalfields became known for its soup kitchens. For example, in Brick Lane was the Spitalfields Soup Society and the London Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor functioned on Brune Street. At the time, soup kitchens were possibly the only form of welfare in the society. In late-Victorian London, soup kitchens grew in number considerably. 

A page from history: 7 January 1928 

 (On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!) 

 On 7 January 1928 the River Thames flooded much of central London. After midnight the river burst its banks. In addition to many streets, building such as the Houses of Parliament, the Tate Gallery and the Tower of London were all swamped. Even the moat at the Tower of London was filled for the first time in decades. Christmas 1927 had seen heavy falls of snow in the Cotswolds where the Thames has its source. In the first days of 1928, a sudden thaw doubled the volume of water flowing down the Thames and in the early hours of 7 January, so many Londoners had to literally swim for their lives. At the time there had been no Thames Barrier to protect the city from tidal surges or even an early warning system to warn residents. Fourteen people drowned and thousands were made homeless.

A page from history: 7 January 1871 

 (On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!) 

A page from history: 6 January 1540 

 (On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!) 

(On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!) 

 6 January 1616, Elizabethan theatrical entrepreneur and impresario Philip Henslowe died in London. His diary has been a primary source on the theatrical world of Renaissance London. If you have watched the Academy Award-winning movie Shakespeare in Love, you might then remember actor Geoffrey Rush portraying Philip Henslowe. While he lived in Southwark, he purchased several properties, including The Little Rose, which had rose gardens as well as a brothel. In 1587, it became The Rose, the first permanent playhouse in Bankside. You may be interested to know that in 1598 another group of entrepreneurs built the new Globe Theatre in Bankside.

https://lnkd.in/gTiTtqb 

A page from history: 5 January 1771 

(On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!) 

On 5 January 1771, Captain David Ferguson, master of the merchant-ship Betsey, was hanged in chains at Execution Dock in Wapping for the murder of his cabin-boy. By custom, all those sentenced to death by the Admiralty courts were hanged at Execution Dock (rather than Tyburn). This was located between Wapping Old Stairs (off Wapping High Street) and Wapping Dock Stairs in east London.  The gallows was erected on the foreshore at low tide and executions were timed to fit in with low tide. At the Admiralty sessions, held at the Old Bailey, on 17 December, 1770, David Ferguson, aged 26, was tried for the murder of his cabin-boy, a lad about thirteen years of age, during his voyage from Virginia to Antigua.

 https://lnkd.in/geszQHJ 

A page from history: 5 January 1796 

 (On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!) 

 (On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!)

A page from history: 2 January 1911

 (On professional networks such as LinkedIn we come across a wide range of job titles as well as companies. Occasionally, I’d like to share a page from the history of London. My aim is to get a better appreciation of how people worked and lived in old days and how those professions and organisations might be affecting our lives today. If you are reading today’s entry, hope you enjoy it!)