E. Kent Coffee Taverns - 2d token

I found a number of these tokens some time ago and have been trying to find out more ever since.  Coffee Taverns appear to have been part of the British Temperance Movement started in the 1700/1800s as part of a Quaker led protest over alcohol consumption and the rising popularity of the Gin Palace.  Well known British temperance orientated businesses included Cadbury's and Bournville, who both took a market leading role in the production of chocolate.   

Coffee offered people an opportunity to drink a non-alcoholic beverage at a similar cost to beer and was truly embraced by the newly formed cycling clubs at the time.  From the article below you can see that the Coffee Tavern was often designed to resemble a pub, thereby offering an alternative to beer that even looked like the real thing outwardly.  

Coffee Taverns in East Kent were to be found in Faversham, Margate and Sandwich, as well as in Westerham, Cranbrook and Seal in West Kent.

I know it's West Kent, but I've just found this…  https://www.archiseek.com/2011/1880-coffee-tavern-cranbrook-kent/ 

NOTE:  Copied from a previous post under ‘Free Discussion’

I also found this Temperance Medal from the Band of Hope a couple of years back:

The Christian charity, Band of Hope, was formed in Leeds in 1845 and encouraged people to sign 'the pledge' to abstain from alcohol. It was particularly concerned about the number of children frequenting alehouses, with many young people taking part in processions such as the one in Manachester in 1901 (see link below).

https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-manchester-band-of-hope-procession-1901-1901-online#:~:text=Christian%20charity%20the%20Band%20of,taking%20part%20in%20this%20procession. 

The ‘Temperance Movement’ of the late 1800s seems to have begun with ‘Moderationism’ in the 1830s, moving towards a fully Tea Total approach in the 1840s.  This quest for individual moral reform of the lower classes rapidly moved towards a widespread view that a deeper social approach was required if the goal of a drink free society and a more stable working class was to be achieved (see Brian Harrison's Drink and the Victorians and Victorian Studies -  https://www.jstor.org).

I'm not by any means Tea Total, but it is interesting to find out more about the tokens and medals I find on my travels.  My first contact with this subject was through the history of Britain's Parks & Open Spaces, many of which were commissioned and designed by prominent Victorian's with strong Christian beliefs.  City Parks, like those in London, were seen as places where people could exercise and enjoy fresh air.  They encouraged the lower classes to break the cycle of alcohol consumption by escaping the overcrowding and slums if only for a short time each day, a central focus of Quaker beliefs.   

I just hope this is of interest to other collectors.

LDC