From Coffee House to Fleet Street; An Archive Evening Celebrating London’s Newspaper Legacy

A Library and Archives Committee Event

The City of London has always thrived on the exchange of information, from casual gossip to news of the politics of the day. Members of our Company have been at the heart of this exchange, from their chairs in the early coffee houses, through to the editors’ desks of Fleet Street in its prime.

Join us for a celebration of this story, and discover some of the documents which shed light on it – all of them safely stored in the climate-controlled vault in the Tokefleld Centre at Stationers’ Hall.

From the lifting of press licensing in 1695 to Elizabeth Mallet’s pioneering Daily Courant, discover how London’s first daily newspapers emerged from the culture of argument and debate which had long characterised London’s coffee houses.

Trace the fascinating journey of London’s printing culture across the Atlantic – from Benjamin’s Franklin’s apprenticeship in Bartholemew Close, near the Hall, to the revolutionary presses of Philadelphia. Discover how adventures in book publishing extended the newspapers’ business model.

Hear of the formation of the Newspaper Makers in 1931, with the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VIII, attending an early dinner. Explore the story behind the merger of the Stationers and the Newspaper Makers in 1932 – a move which led to women being admitted to the Company for the first time.

Reflect on how the move from solid Fleet Street premises to a born-digital world has changed the world of newspapers forever.

Speakers

Jonathan Grun is a former editor of the Press Association, and President of the Society of Editors. He is a Westminster Guide.

Dr Margarette Lincoln is a Curator Emerita at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, where she was Deputy Director until 2015. She has been a Visiting Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Visiting Researcher at the University of Portsmouth.

Ross Hamilton is a former teacher in China and the UK, and author of the book Cycling in Surrey (published by Bradt). He is an experienced tour guide in the City of London.

The panel will be chaired by Court Assistant Oliver Gadsby, Chair of the Library and Archives Committee and President of the Independent Publishers Guild.

Tickets:

£30 attendance at the Archive Evening, with wine, soft drinks and sandwiches

£10 online / virtual only

Schedule:

6.00 Exhibition opens

6.30 PM Drinks reception

7.00 PM Presentation and discussion

7.45 PM Q&A

8.00 PM Drinks and sandwiches

8.45 PM Event Ends

Dress code: Smart Casual