The club at the Temple Coffee House revisited

Abstract

A club which met at the Temple Coffee House, near Fleet Street in London, during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries is now well known and is considered to be the “earliest natural history society in Britain”. Probably initiated by Hans Sloane (1660–1753) and his close friends, it is referred to in manuscripts as a botanic club, and drew together some of the most active natural historians of the day. Evidence of its business was originally found in remarks scattered through their correspondence. Errors, however, were later discovered in the way this material was interpreted, leading to the assumption that more was known about the club's activities than the facts supported: a membership of forty is an often repeated mistake. This reappraisal of the documentation is made in the light of further research. Some authors concluded that meetings were merely informal gatherings, but comments in The transactioneer (1700), a satirical tract against Sloane, reveal details about the organisation of these occasions. Together with additional archival references, they show that, even when the initial evidence is re-assessed to take account of earlier inaccuracies, the club was indeed a significant focal point for scientific virtuosi and for promoting botanical knowledge.