Notable players included Abraham de Moivre, Benjamin Franklin and Philidor.

One evening, at Old Slaughter's Coffee-house, when a number of them were talking loud about little matters, he said 'Does not this confirm old Meynell's observation, For any thing I see, foreigners are fools?

Sock was said to be the out-of-wedlock son of a popular comedian, James Spiller, and had a similar talent for droll wit.

The meeting was organised by the Reverend Arthur Broome and chaired by Sir Fowell Buxton.

There were eight other gentlemen attending, including "Humanity Dick" – aka Colonel Richard Martin – who had successfully campaigned for the Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act in 1822 but whose latest bill for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had been defeated in the Lords that day.