Priestley's Associations with London

JOSEPH PRIESTLEY knew London well. Although he officiated for several years as a Dissenting minister at Nantwich and at Leeds, before coming to reside in London as Lord Shelburne's librarian, yet he generally managed to spend a month every year in the metropolis. His friendship with men like Benjamin Franklin, Dr. Richard Price, John Canton and Andrew Kippis encouraged him, while still a provincial pastor, to study natural philosophy earnestly. He speaks of the happy hours spent in their company at the London Coffee House on Ludgate Hill, the back premises of which abutted on to the Old Sessions House in Newgate. Over their cups, these philosophical enthusiasts discussed topical ques tions and laid plans for prospective publications.