Partisan Coffee House

Partisan Coffee House was a radical coffeehouse at 7 Carlisle Street in Soho, London, that operated from 1958 until 1962. It was established by historian Raphael Samuel and associates connected with the Universities & Left Review, a periodical that later merged with The New Reasoner to help create New Left Review. The venue emerged in the political atmosphere following the Suez Crisis and the Soviet invasion of Hungary, when sections of the British left were reassessing both domestic politics and the international communist movement. The coffeehouse was conceived as more than a commercial café. It was intended partly to raise money for Universities & Left Review and partly to provide a public setting for the exchange of political, cultural and intellectual ideas. Its backers included prominent figures from literature, theatre, publishing and the arts, among them Michael Redgrave, Ken Tynan, John Calder, Lewis Casson, Wolf Mankowitz, Naomi Mitchison and Doris Lessing. Funds for acquiring the Carlisle Street property were collected through donations and loans from political sympathisers. Partisan combined the characteristics of a café, club, reading room and informal cultural centre. The ground floor served coffee and food, with communal tables at the rear and a smaller number of armchairs near the front. The basement offered additional tables and chess sets and hosted talks, poetry readings, film screenings and informal concerts. Offices and a library connected with Universities & Left Review occupied rooms above the café. The venue generally opened from 10:30 a.m. until midnight and did not sell alcohol, although nearby pubs served as convenient alternatives. Its menu reflected the modest café culture of the period. Cappuccino and croissants were generally sold for nine pence each, while other offerings included farmhouse soup, borscht, mutton stew, liver dumplings and Whitechapel cheesecake. Graphic designer Desmond Jeffery designed menus and some of the venue’s posters. The coffeehouse attracted students, writers, artists, actors, musicians, journalists and political activists, many of them sympathetic to left-wing ideas. Associated visitors included Doris Lessing, Marghanita Laski, Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson, Arnold Wesker, Peggy Seeger, Raymond Williams, John Berger, Richard Hoggart, Christopher Logue, Quentin Crisp, John Hurt, Rod Stewart and others. Partisan also functioned as a setting for political organisation. Early Aldermaston Marches between 1958 and 1960 were partly planned in its basement, and membership of the Committee of 100 was drawn up there. Its political character attracted the attention of Special Branch officers, who monitored conversations at the venue. The coffeehouse was also featured in an episode of the BBC current-affairs programme Panorama presented by Christopher Chataway. The business ultimately failed because its hospitable approach was commercially unsustainable. Customers were allowed to occupy tables for long periods without buying anything, making the venue attractive to penniless intellectuals but undermining its finances. Partisan closed in 1962. The former building is now used as office space. Its surviving documents, menus, posters and film footage later became the subject of a 2017 exhibition at Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green, which renewed attention to the coffeehouse’s role in London’s postwar political and cultural history.

Partisan Coffee House was founded in 1958 at 7 Carlisle Street in Soho, London, during a period of political and intellectual realignment on the British left. The immediate background included the Suez Crisis and the Soviet invasion of Hungary. These events contributed to a wider debate among socialists, communists and independent left-wing intellectuals about imperialism, democracy and the authority of established political organisations. The initiative came from a group associated with Universities & Left Review. The group had initially formed in Oxford and included historian Raphael Samuel, Stuart Hall and Eric Hobsbawm among its editors and contributors. Universities & Left Review would later merge with The New Reasoner, contributing to the formation of New Left Review. Partisan was partly established as a fundraising venture for the magazine and partly as a London alternative to the Italian-style coffee bars that had become increasingly visible in the capital during the 1950s. The property was acquired through donations and loans solicited from political sympathisers. Its supporters came from several cultural fields. Actors Michael Redgrave and Lewis Casson, theatre critic Ken Tynan, publisher John Calder, screenwriter Wolf Mankowitz, novelist Naomi Mitchison and author Doris Lessing were among the better-known investors. Their support reflected the coffeehouse’s intended position at the intersection of political publishing, theatre, literature, activism and café culture. The building was arranged to support both commercial and intellectual activity. The main coffeehouse occupied the ground floor and served food and non-alcoholic drinks. Communal tables dominated the rear, while armchairs were positioned toward the front. A basement contained further seating and chess sets and became an important venue for talks, poetry readings, film shows and informal musical performances. The upper floors housed a library and private offices associated with Universities & Left Review. The establishment was open daily from 10:30 a.m. until midnight. Partisan’s food service was simple and relatively inexpensive. Cappuccino and croissants were commonly priced at nine pence each. The menu also included farmhouse soup, borscht, mutton stew, liver dumplings and Whitechapel cheesecake. Desmond Jeffery produced the menus and some of the posters, giving the venue a recognisable graphic identity. Alcohol was not sold, though several nearby pubs, including the Highlander, were close by. The clientele included students, writers, musicians, actors, filmmakers, journalists and political organisers. Figures associated with the venue included Doris Lessing, Marghanita Laski, Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson, Arnold Wesker and activists connected with Centre 42. Other visitors included Peggy Seeger, Raymond Williams, Derek Marlowe, Quentin Crisp, John Hurt, John Malcolm, John Berger, Richard Hoggart, Christopher Logue and Rod Stewart. The venue’s political reputation was sufficiently strong that Special Branch officers reportedly attended to monitor conversations. The coffeehouse was not merely a place where political opinions were exchanged. Its basement was used for practical organising. Early Aldermaston Marches between 1958 and 1960 were partly planned there, and the membership of the Committee of 100 was drawn up at the venue. Its public profile was further increased when it became the subject of an edition of the BBC current-affairs programme Panorama, presented by Christopher Chataway. The same openness that made Partisan valuable to its community contributed to its failure as a business. Patrons could occupy tables for extended periods without buying anything, and the coffeehouse became especially hospitable to intellectuals with little money. This social model encouraged discussion and community but did not generate sufficient revenue. Partisan closed in 1962, after approximately four years. The building later became office space. In 2017, Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green presented an exhibition of memorabilia, documents and film, preserving and reinterpreting the coffeehouse’s place in postwar London’s political and cultural history.

1. 2017Four Corners Gallery exhibition revisits Partisan

   An exhibition in Bethnal Green presented memorabilia, documents and film connected with the former coffeehouse.

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2. 1962Coffeehouse closes

   Partisan shut after its policy of allowing customers to remain for long periods without purchasing proved commercially unsustainable.

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3. 1960Committee of 100 membership is drawn up at Partisan

   The coffeehouse served as a setting for compiling membership of the Committee of 100, a prominent direct-action organisation associated with the British peace movement.

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4. 1958Partisan Coffee House opens in Soho

   Raphael Samuel and associates established the coffeehouse at 7 Carlisle Street in London’s Soho district against the political backdrop of the Suez Crisis and the Soviet invasion of Hungary.

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5. 1958The venue begins supporting Universities & Left Review

   Partisan was partly intended to raise funds for Universities & Left Review, whose Oxford-based circle of editors and contributors helped shape the venue.

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6. 1958Early Aldermaston March planning takes place at the coffeehouse

   The basement was used in part for planning the early Aldermaston Marches, which took place between 1958 and 1960.

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A radical, low-cost London coffeehouse and cultural forum for New Left intellectuals, artists, students and political activists.

• CappuccinoCoffee beverage1958

  Cappuccino was one of Partisan’s characteristic offerings and was commonly sold with croissants at nine pence each for much of the coffeehouse’s operating life. Its presence reflected the venue’s relationship to the Italian-style coffee-bar culture that expanded in London during the 1950s.

• CroissantsBakery food1958

  Croissants were a standard accompaniment to the coffee service and were commonly paired with cappuccino. They formed part of the inexpensive café menu that helped establish Partisan as a social meeting place rather than a formal restaurant.

• House food menuCafé food1958

  The food menu included farmhouse soup, borscht, mutton stew, liver dumplings and Whitechapel cheesecake. The selection combined simple hot meals with distinctive items and supported the coffeehouse’s role as an affordable place where customers could eat, read and engage in conversation.

• 1962Close the coffeehouseOther

  Customers were permitted to occupy tables for extended periods without making purchases, creating a welcoming environment for penniless intellectuals but undermining revenue.

  What changed. The operators closed Partisan after approximately four years of activity.

  Aftermath. The building was subsequently used as office space, while the coffeehouse remained remembered as a New Left cultural and organising venue.

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• 1958Operate as a political and cultural coffeehouseStrategy

  The founders wanted a venue that could support Universities & Left Review financially while providing an alternative to conventional cafés and Italian-style coffee bars.

  What changed. Partisan combined food and coffee service with a basement for talks, poetry, films, concerts, chess and political organising.

  Aftermath. The model attracted a wide community of left-wing intellectuals, artists and activists, but its emphasis on hospitality made the business financially fragile.

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• 2017Four Corners Gallery presents exhibition on the Partisan Coffee House

  Four Corners Gallery in Bethnal Green displayed memorabilia, documents and film relating to the former coffeehouse and its role in London’s New Left culture.

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• 1962Partisan Coffee House closes after four years of operation

  The Soho coffeehouse closed after its financially unsustainable operating model failed to support the long periods customers spent at tables without making purchases.

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1. Partisan Coffee House