Search for
Search for
Search forTokens of fortitude and temperance
Friday, August 01, 2008, 14:42
For 30 years or more now, John has occupied a certain amount of his time metal detecting and although he's seldom unearthed anything more interesting than an army badge or button, he did find this 'coin'.
The wording is quite clear on both sides and reads: 'Good For One Pennyworth of Refreshment At' on one side and 'Plymouth Coffee House Limited' on the other.
The questions that John was left pondering over were where was the Plymouth Coffee House, why would they have had their own 'coins' and how much would the 'coin' have been worth? The answers would appear to be as follows.
The Plymouth Coffee House Company opened for trading in the then newly-named Borough Arms in Bedford Street in October 1878. Despite the name suggesting this may have been a licensed premises it was in fact anything but, indeed the whole idea of setting it up was to counteract the attraction of the pub or tavern, rather like a temperance hotel.
The board of directors included many leading ladies and gentlemen of the town: JN Bennett was its chairman, RC Serpell (of the biscuit business) vice-chairman, EE Dawe, secretary, and Frank Short its manager.
The idea was the Borough Arms should “supply a want in our social system and as an inducement to sobriety”. It had refreshment bars on each floor, provided with urns for the supply of tea, coffee and cocoa, and 'solids of various kinds'.
The building was well furnished with handsome white marble tables and comfortable chairs in every room; in the basement there were newspaper stands to accommodate the London and local daily papers and on the ground floor was a spacious salon where meetings were held and once a week a popular entertainment was provided.
There were also club rooms, private rooms for ladies and a board room on the upper floors. The building had been known as London House prior to its conversion.
The coins, or tokens, akin to a modern voucher, were a further inducement to encourage people to avoid the vast number of alcohol outlets around at that time. They were probably worth around a pound or so in current terms.
As fate would have it, although the Borough Arms closed around 1900, the building carried on – as the Union Branch of London and Smith's Bank (later the National Provincial) – and although gutted during the Blitz, the shell of it survived … for a short while at least.
For those who want to learn how Internet can make them loads of cash.
www.junktionaffiliatesriskas.com
Specialist car insurance in Herts Get a free quote.
Voted Britain’s Favourite DIY store Free delivery on orders over £45.
Be the first to comment