“Crown and Anchor Society” rings a bell. This was not just any pub. The Crown and Anchor, once located off the Strand in London, held a significant place in history. Though it’s no longer standing its legacy echoes through time.
The Crown and Anchor started as a tavern before 1710. It quickly became a hub for music and intellectual gatherings. The Academy of Vocal Music later known as the Academy of Ancient Music found a home here.
In 1732 George Frideric Handel premiered his first oratorio Esther here. This was a groundbreaking moment. It was the first oratorio in English rather than Italian. Imagine the sounds filling the tavern that day.
Samuel Johnson and James Boswell frequented The Crown and Anchor in the 18th century. They likely engaged in lively discussions over drinks. The tavern was rebuilt in 1790. It became even larger able to accommodate 2500 people.
The Crown and Anchor became a hotspot for political meetings especially for the Radicals. Figures like John Cam Hobhouse and Charles James Fox addressed gatherings here. Daniel O’Connell an Irish leader also spoke at The Crown and Anchor.
In 1823 George Birkbeck proposed the foundation of an institution for educating working-class Londoners. This took place at The Crown and Anchor. Over 2000 people attended including Jeremy Bentham and Henry Brougham. This led to the creation of London Mechanics’ Institute which later became Birkbeck University of London.
The Association for Preserving Liberty and Property against Republicans and Levellers also met here. They were known as the Crown and Anchor Society or Association.
The Crown and Anchor was not only a place for reformers. It also housed loyalist meetings. This reflects the complex political landscape of the time. Political satires frequently featured The Crown and Anchor. James Gillray often linked it to sympathizers of the French Revolution.
One of Gillray’s prints depicts a mob gathering outside The Crown and Anchor. They watch reformers assassinate the king. The queen and prime minister hang from the tavern’s lampposts.
Another satire shows Burke heading to The Crown and Anchor labeled “British Inquisition.” The tavern’s door is accurately depicted complete with royal crowns atop the lamps. The Crown and Anchor was indeed grand. One room measured 84ft by 35ft. In 1798 two thousand reformers met here for Charles James Fox’s birthday.
Initially The Crown and Anchor seemed too grand for the London Corresponding Society. But they eventually used it for a general meeting in 1793. The master of The Crown and Anchor charged them five guineas for the great room. Around 600 to 700 members attended this meeting.
In 1794 members of the LCS attended an anniversary dinner of the Society for Constitutional Information at The Crown and Anchor. This event highlighted the strong alliance between the two groups. Horwood’s map shows The Crown and Anchor a bit down from the Strand on Arundel Street. An office building with an HSBC bank branch later occupied the site. Today a residential development called 190 Strand stands there.
Though The Crown and Anchor is gone its history remains. It was a place of music politics and radical ideas. It played a crucial role in shaping London’s cultural and political landscape. Remember its name when you walk along the Strand.