A BRIEF
HISTORY

Tea drinking is a pastime closely associated with the English. Tea, first arrived in England during Cromwell's protectorate. Soon tea became the national drink and with it, tea drinking a national pastime for the English. As early as 1784, La Rochefoucauld noted that "throughout the whole of England the drinking of tea is general". Nevertheless, Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford, is credited with the invention of afternoon tea. By 1840, it had spread to other parts of English society with the female manager of London's Aerated Bread Company attributed with innovating the first commercial public tearoom.

      The popularity of the tea room rose as an alternative to the pub in the UK and US during the temperance movement in the 1830s. The form developed in the late 19th century, as Catherine Cranston opened the first of what became a chain of Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms in Glasgow, Scotland. Similar establishments became popular throughout Scotland. In the 1880s, fine hotels in both the United States and England began to offer tea service in tea rooms and tea courts. By 1910, they had begun to host afternoon tea dances as dance crazes swept both the U.S. and the UK. Tea rooms of all kinds were widespread in Britain by the 1950s. Cauley Square's Tea Room was established in 1974. It was preserved after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 with the same character and charm. Join us for a day in history over a cup of tea.