Chapter Coffee House

The 'Chapter Coffee House' (on Paternoster Row - behind St. Paul's Cathedral), where Charlotte, Emily and Patrick stayed en route to Brussels in February 1842. The lodgings had been known to Patrick since 1806 when he stayed there while visiting London for his ordination. In this picture, the 'Coffee House' is the building on the left, being viewed from Paul's Alley; Paternoster Row runs across the picture (behind the lady), and St. Paul's Cathedral is situated behind the artist. The narrow Paul's Alley, as observed here, can be seen in the map below (direction of this view on the map: bottom to top).

In her biography, The Life of Charlotte Brontë, Elizabeth Gaskell gave a graphic description of the Chapter Coffee House. She had visited the building the previous June, but by this time it had become vacant:

'Paternoster Row was for many years sacred to publishers. It is a narrow flagged street, lying under the shadow of St. Paul's; at each end there are posts placed, so as to prevent the passage of carriages, and thus preserve a solemn silence . . . The dull warehouses on each side are mostly occupied at present by wholesale stationers; if they be publishers' shops, they show no attractive front to the dark and narrow street. Half-way up, on the left-hand side, is the Chapter Coffee-house. I visited it last June. . . It had the appearance of a dwelling-house, two hundred years old or so, such as one sometimes sees in ancient country towns; the ceilings of the small rooms were low, and had heavy beams running across them; the walls were wainscoted breast high; the staircase was shallow, broad, and dark, taking up much space in the centre of the house. This then was the Chapter Coffee-house, which, a century ago, was the resort of all the booksellers and publishers; and where the literary hacks, the critics, and even the wits, used to go in search of ideas or employment. . .' 66

The map was drawn by Patrick Brontë to indicate the location of the Chapter Coffee House on Paternoster Row.67n Paternoster Row is the one shown running horizontally central through the picture, and the small square in the map-centre represents the 'Coffee House'