Freeth’s Coffee House

Freeth’s Coffee House was the popular name for the Leicester Arms, on the corner of Bell Street and Lease Lane in Birmingham, England, a tavern and coffee house that operated from 1736 until 1832.^[1]

Freeth’s became one of the most celebrated taverns of Georgian England;^[2] the premises were already known during the early 18th century as a respectable place for small businessmen and lawyers to conduct business.^[3] During the second half of the century, when its landlord was the topical ballad-writer John Freeth, it was at the forefront of the emergence of popular political consciousness in Birmingham, as the host of radical groups such as the Birmingham Book ClubBook club and debating society known for its support of political radicalism, active from the 18th to the 20th century., and the focus for local opposition to the governments of Lord North.^[4]

John Freeth had become landlord of the Leicester Arms by 1768, and remained there until his death in 1808. The work of running the tavern and its kitchen was undertaken by his wife and seven daughters, once they were old enough. Following Freeth’s death, the remaining five unmarried daughters took over the tavern’s licence and continued to trade until 1832, when the surviving four sisters retired.^[2]