Tea Gardens

2017 | History & Politics

A sunlit lawn, blossom-laden trees, rustic chairs grouped around tables laden with teapots, and burdened with scones, the tinkle of teacups and the murmur of conversation, what could be more English than a Tea Garden? Famous equally as a nation of tea drinkers and a nation of gardeners, the opportunity to combine the two took hold in London by the 18th century, and spread throughout England during the Victorian and Edwardian era, as suburban family parties joined cycling clubs and charabanc outings to sample tea gardens far and wide. Triumphing over the equally famous English weather, tea gardens thrived for over two hundred years creating a unique style until their decline in the mid-twentieth century. Wonderfully illustrated with contemporary evocative images, this book charts the rise of English tea gardens, their origins in earlier spa gardens, their distinctive style, their furnishings and accoutrements, the spread to America, their sad decline and their triumphant return in the twenty-first century. It also includes a short guide to historic gardens in each county as well as a list of Tea Gardens that may be visited today.

Twigs Way (Author)