Noble Patrons

---

Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson (1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté) came to Harwich in his ship Medusa in 1801 to assist in the formation of Sea Fencibles, a naval local defense force.

'While every possible effort was making to prepare for a most vigorous attempt on the flotilla at Boulogne, his lordship, by visiting Harwich for a few days, endeavoured to divert the attention of the enemy, and induce them to suppose that he was now going against Flushing, really meant to be the next object of attack. By this stratagem, both services were actually, at the same time, in a state of constant preparation. Having arranged matters at Harwich, his lordship returned to the Downs; from whence, on 15th, he again stood over Boulogne’ (Harrison, James The Life of the right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Vol.II, London, 1806, p.354). 

Lord Nelson visited the Three Cups in 1801, as did the Prince Regent in 1813, and the Duke of Wellington in 1823. (fn.3) (Institute of Historical Research, History on Line,  A History of the County of Essex: Volume 9, the Borough of Colchester. Originally published by Victoria County History, London, 1994, p.169-175) 

"Of the many great men that patronized the Three Cups, perhaps the greatest was Nelson. Until the "improvements" to the inn were carried out, the Nelson room was a place of pilgrimage for all admirers of the great admiral." (Morgan, Glyn The Romance of Essex Inns, Letchworth, 1983, p.47) 

During this visit, Nelson is said to have slipped off the Medusa to meet his lover Lady Hamilton at the Three Cups. Some insist that Nelson stayed aboard the Medusa which was moored in the harbor. However, others have pointed out that if he was to come ashore for a tryst it would not have be recorded.

In her 1913 book Nelson in England, Esther Meynell states that Nelson often visited Harwich and stayed at the inn.

In the same year the Great Eastern Railway Magazine informs readers that Nelson and Emma stayed in the inn when he returned home after the Battle of the Nile.

Queen Elizabeth I... stayed at the Three Cups Hotel, which was also used by Nelson on two or three occasions. (Puck, Alexander Historical Harwich, Essex Countryside, Autumn 1954, vol.5, no17, p.16)

In fact the story and the 'Nelson Room' at the Three Cups, may have originated from a Nelson visit or visits which are now  lost to history (Cooper, Winifed The Three Cups, Essex Countryside, vol.17, no.151, August 1969, p.32-35). 

One of the oldest purpose-built cinemas to survive is situated only a few meters away from the Three Cups. It opened its door for the first time on 29 November 1911. The first film screened being The Battle of Trafalgar and The Death of Nelson, to commemorate Nelson's visits to the town. 

A Cutter, The Lord Nelson of Harwich, was commissioned on Nelson's death in 1805. The ship, built to commemorate Nelson's visits to Harwich, was constructed by J. L. Douglas of Yarmouth. It was launched the year after Nelson's death in 1806, being acquired by Captain George Deane of Harwich, from the executors of Daniel Stewart of Harwich, on 23 February 1810 for £2,700. (Essex Records Office, D/DU 220/5, D/DU 220/6 & D/DU 220/7)

There were scenes of great excitement in the town when Nelson, the hero of the battle of Copenhagen, landed at Harwich, and from the balcony of the Three Cups he addressed his admirers. (Mander, R. P. An Old Gateway of England, Essex Countryside?, p.93)

When you come to Harwich you must not fail to go aboard the "Ganges." It will carry you back to the days of the wooden walls of England, and when you step ashore again you can make your way to the "Three Cups," and drink a health to His Majesty, just like Nelson did no doubt many a time in the days when he stayed there. You can see his room still, a little one at the back of the hotel. The window looks out on that picturesque courtyard, with its wonderful canopy of clematis. (Carnie, T. West Happy-Go-Lucky Harwich, 1920?, George Pulman & Sons Ltd, p.16)

The public House, 'The Three Cups' is facing you, and it is recorded that Nelson once stayed there with Lady Hamilton. (Tendring District Council, Walking for Pleasure 1, Walk 1, p.2)

 The letter next in date is marked "off Harwich," and so are several others ; while in a letter to Lady Hamilton,... of that interesting old inn at Harwich, the Three Cups, to be the place where Nelson always stayed when at or off Harwich. It is true that Nelson was on the east coat from July to October of 1801, and that his letters do not always bear the place as well as the date, therefore he may have been at Harwich at some time later than his statement to Lady Hamilton. The tradition that he stayed at the Three Cups is at least worth something, even if it cannot definately be proved, and adds interest to the quaint low room with its uneaven floor, great beams, and dark walls panelled to the low ceiling, that Nelson is said to have used. (Nelson in England: A Domestic Chronicle, by Esther Meynell, 1913, p.166)

Colchester's importance as a garrison town during the French Wars (1793-1815) and its situation on the London to Harwich road saw a number of distinguished travelers stopping there when visiting or returning from Harwich. On 2nd June 1801 (Ipswich Journal, 4 June 1801; Jephcott, Inns: 125) it was reported that Lord Nelson stopped for refreshment at a Colchester inn on his way from Harwich at 2 o'clock in the morning. However dispatch letters seem to disprove this, so that date must be inaccurate.

At the beginning of 1679 Samuel Pepys was elected MP for Harwich in Charles II's third parliament. He was elected along with Sir Anthony Deane, a Harwich alderman and leading naval architect, to whom Pepys had been patron since 1662. Pepys was often in Harwich on naval business and is said to have frequented the Three Cups in Church Street.

When Samuel Pepys visited his friend and fellow M.P. Sir Anthony Deane , the famous Harwich shipbuilder in 1678 he would have been received at the guildhall by members of the council, after which all would adjoin to the Three Cups opposite to partake of refreshment. At that time the proprietor, Samuel Newton, was a Burgess of the borough and had been mayor in 1677, following Sir Anthony Deane. During his year of office wine seems to have flowed freely and he appears to have been bothguest and host in his own house, for which the council seems to have paid.  (The Three Cups by Winifed Cooper, Essex Countryside, vol.17, no.151, August 1969, p.32-35) 

'The oldest on the heritage trail is the Three Cups on Church Street, which goes back to the 13th century. Formerly a mansion house, it was where Samuel Pepys used to work.' (Mitz Macaulay, Harwich's Place in History, Essex Countryside, February 1996, p.49)

Captain Christopher Jones, master of the Mayflower, whose name will be forever connected with the new world, was a capital burgess of the borough and attended many meetings at the Three Cups. (Cooper, Winifred The Three Cups, Essex Countryside, vol.17, no.151, August 1969, p.32-35)

Records including documents signed by Christopher Jones are held in the Guildhall, directly opposite the Three Cups.

On 5th April, Colonel Suckling initiated a search for arsonists who had tried to set fire to the dwelling house of Henry Pilham Davies, Esq. The owner of the Three Cups, Mr Abraham Hinde, having disturbed the perpetrators, had been brutally cut him down with cutlasses, and remained very ill. Colonel Suckling’s militia started their search at the Three Cups, where they found several bunches of matches and bottles with gunpowder. (The Country News Monthly Chronologer, 1780, p.237)   

'Next door to the church is that famous old hostelry "The Three Cups" Hotel, said to take its name from the Cavendish family arms. One of the Elizabethan seamen whose fame has been somewhat obscured by that of Drake, Frobisher, and the rest, was Sir thomas Cavendish (1557-1592), who, in his short life, accomplished much. He was one of the terrors of the Spaniards, and in his little ship, the "Desire" of Harwich he made a successful voyage round the world - a superb feat of courage, skill, and endurance in those days. (Harwich & Dovercourt Official Guide, The New Centurion Publishing Co., Ltd., St. James's Chambers, Derby, 1930s?, p.18)

Sir James Thornhill, the eminent baroque artist responsible for the paintings on the inside of the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, was a regular visitor to the Three Cups. His diary entry for 25th May 1711 states his acquisition of: "Best French Clarret in flat flasks containing a qrt. & a little over is 4s. att the 3 Cupps, Mr. Edy's... Best New French in Bottles at the - 3 Cup - 3s. 6d.". He also starts his diary entry for Sunday 3rd June 1711: 

"Dined at ye 3 Cupps". (Fremantle, Katharine Sir James Thornhill's Sketch-Book Travel Journal of 1711, vols.I & II, Utrecht, 1975, p.12,21,24) 

N.B. The import of French wines had been discouraged by duties, and at times forbidden, since the beginning of the reighn of William III, because they came from an enemy country. They were hard to obtain for this reason, and their use was considerred unpatriotic. Commoisseurs nevertheless preferred them to the more readily obtainable Spanish wines. 

 In June 1718 King George I made Thornhill court painter, and in March 1720 Serjeant Painter, succeeding his former master Highmore in the latter role. On 2 May 1720, the king knighted him, the first native artist to be knighted. In the same year, he was master of the Painters' Company and in 1723 fellow of the Royal Society. 

James Spittal was a Scottish silk merchant who was Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1833 to 1837. In September and October 1815 Sir James took a tour of Europe, which he documented in a diary; Harwich 27 September 1815: Arrived here this day a 10 o'clock at the Three Cups, kept by Mr. Bull. Breakfasted then went to the Packet office and presented our passports when we obtained ticket on paying £2..14..6 for our passage to Hlvoetsluiss [Port in Holland now spelt Hellevoetsluis] - with these tickets went along with our luggage to the Customhouse where it was examined and passed and from thence conveyed onboard. We afterwards dined and embarked on board the Henry Freeling packet. Captain Mason - about  o'clock set sail for Holland on the coast of which we arrived early next morning, but owing to contrary wind, we did not reach Helveotsluiss till 9 o'clock. P.M. Slept on board that night and next morning about seven, went n shore paying one guilder for our passage to the harbour, off which our packet was then lying.

HARWICH, July 10

Saturday morning Mr. Fitzherbert, with his suite, arrived at the Three Cups in this place, and the same day set off for Helvoetsluys in the Dolphin packet, on his way to the Hague to take upon him his new embassy. The celebrated Mr Howard also went over passenger in the Dolphin, on a three years tour in India. (The Ipswich Journal, 11th July 1789)

Alleyne FitzHerbert was Minister Plenipotentiary to Russia from 1783 to 1788, appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland and a member of the Privy Council in 1787, serving in the position until 1789. ... then to the Hague as envoy extraordinary, with the pay of ambassador in ordinary.

HARWICH, August 16

Saturday last the Lord Bishop of Bangor, and Lord Chief Baron Eyre with their ladies, came to the Three Cups in this place, and after visiting the encampment, expressed themselves highly gratified with the beuty of its location. (The Ipswich Journal, Saturday 17th August, 1793)

Extract of a letter from HARWICH, May 30. "This day Sir James Harris, attended only by one servant, arrived at the Three Cups in this town, and in a few hurs afterwards embarked for Holland. (The Chelmsford Chronicle, Friday 3rd November 1786). One historian called James Harris "the greatest English diplomat of the eighteenth century"

In many cases the landlord himself would meet the boats, and persuade the foreign travellers to follow him. At Harwich, we are told, an enterprising landlord seized a passenger's overcoat and hurrying in front of him, led him triumphantly to the Three Cups, where, the passenger, Count Kielmansegg tells us,

"we found everything we could wish for, a good cup of tea, bread and butter and well-aired, clean beds".  (Inns, Lodgings, Coffee-Houses and Clubs f​rom 18th Century Travellers by Rosamond Bayne-Powell, 1951) 

'They went to adopt Sir Dudley Hill, who arrived in Harwich a few days before the election. Headed by a band and colours, he was drawn in his carriage from Dovercourt to the Three Cups, where he made a speech from an upper window, set up his Committee Rooms, and began to canvass the voters. When Attwood arrived he also made his headquarters at the Three Cups, and shared Hill's Committee Rooms. Haste drew up a list of voters which he presented to Attwood with the threat that they would not give him one of their two votes unless he "made them a good offer." "You arrange with us, and we can carry the election which way we like." (Weaver, Leonard T. Harwich Papers, 1994, p.105)