In 1686, the coffee house was opened by
Edward Lloyd (c. 1648 – 15 February 1713) on
Tower Street. It was a popular place for
sailors,
merchants and
shipowners, and Lloyd catered to them by providing reliable shipping news. The shipping industry community frequented Lloyd's to discuss maritime
insurance,
shipbroking and foreign trade. In December 1691, the coffee shop relocated to
Lombard Street. Lloyd had a
pulpit installed in the new premises, from which maritime auction prices and shipping news were announced. In 1713, the year of Edward Lloyd's death, he modified his will to assign the lease of the coffee house to his head waiter, William Newton, who then married one of Lloyd's daughters, Handy. Newton died the following year and Handy married Samuel Sheppard. She died in 1720. Sheppard died in 1727, leaving the coffee house to his sister Elizabeth and her husband, Thomas Jemson. Between 1640 and the early 19th century, British traders transported approximately 3.2 million African slaves to the Americas, with Lloyd's being "the global centre for insuring that industry". Following the 2020
George Floyd protests in the United Kingdom, Lloyd's has stated that it is "deeply sorry for the Lloyd’s market’s participation in the transatlantic slave trade. It is part of our shared history that caused enormous suffering and continues to have a negative impact on Black and ethnically diverse communities today." ==Traces of the coffee house==