The tradition of coffee houses

Coffee houses in Victorian England increasingly became popular in the XVIIth century, since they were not just where people would meet to serve a coffee together. They were places in which different gentlemen with similar interests, going to themed coffee houses (for example The Grecian Coffee House was specialized in philosophy and academic disciplines) used to gather in order to discuss and share important ideas and aspects of various fields of interest, ranging from the news from shipmen and merchants, to philosphy, arts and mathemathics. Furthermore, these coffee houses became spaces where planned lectures were ocasionally held, therefore they were not just an evironment for socializing, but also one for learning from the best professors in town. There were three architectural typologies these coffee houses embodied throughout their existence: the townhouse typology (‘the home away from home’); the temple typology (displaying their high social status) and the Renaissance aesthetic typology (reflecting the main civic occupation of their clients: politics).