250 years of London's oldest free-speech & debating forum

As the oldest survivor of a noble tradition of coffee and ale-house debating societies, the Cogers (from Descartes: Cogito, ergo sum) are inviting representatives of less venerable institutions to celebrate this impressive anniversary with a reception and debate at 6:30pm on 14th March 2005 at the St Bride’s Institute, Bride Lane, Fleet Street, London EC4Y 8EQ, opposite the site of the original White Bear Tavern where the first Cogers debate was held in 1755.

Dickens wrote about the Cogers in All the Year Round and is generally believed to have used it as the basis for the debating society described in ‘Sketches by Boz’. Other notable members and guests have included King George the IV (as Prince Regent, King Edward VII (as Prince of Wales), King Louis Philippe and Emperor Napoleon III of France, Edmund Burke, Oliver Goldsmith, Daniel O’Connell (often thought to have honed his oratorical skills with the Cogers) and several Lord Mayors, Chief Justices, members of both houses of parliament and other luminaries of state and society.

Further information from www.cogers.org

For a Press Invite/Press Pack, contact:
Caroline Sinclair (Press & PR), 2 Russell Place, Haverstock Hill, London NW3 2BY
Tel: 020 7435 2761 / 07816 494 705 email: carosinclair@yahoo.co.uk

For Invitations and tickets (£10), contact:
Magnus Nielsen (Cogers Trust), 9 Fairfax Mansions, Finchley Rd, London NW3 6JY
Tel: 020 7625 9632 email: magnus_nielsen@hotmail.com