What was Tea ?

It was pointed out that it might be quite revealing to research our past dependence upon cups of tea.  This website offered a useful starting point and a search through Google indexes yielded over 30 references to tea.  An account of them follows here.

One general point is that it has often been the task of the Church and the 'Chapel' to organise tea at any special event in the village.  These institutions have vacant rooms which are ideal for such pursuits and their advantage has been evident in recent times too; the Baptist Church now runs a small cafe on Tuesday mornings using the 'Baptist school room' but, although they offer tea, coffee, chocolate and cakes, the venue is named 'The Coffee Shop' consistent with a modern idiom.

The Baptists, in their early years, received two sermons on the Sunday in the morning followed by two in the evening, with tea in between.  This may not be to the modern taste but it reflects the Dissenters enthusiasm for preaching and teas.  They also held a public tea meeting at each Sabbath School Festival.   Right from the start the Baptists excelled with tea at any major event.  In 1825 when the Baptist Chapel was first opened, there were between 300 and 400 people sitting down in the open air in front of the Chapel.  Exactly who attended this tea is unclear, but it would certainly have included the pastor, guests, deacons, committee and Church members and their families. The labouring folk and the “poorer classes” were largely excluded from this – presumably not because of social status alone, though this was probably part of the reason – and a separate sixpenny tea was provided for them subsequently. There were 160 at this event, held in the Vestry and Schoolroom. It was described as an acknowledgement of their generous assistance.  Later on, throughout the eighteen fifties and sixties and onwards, these teas were frequent. For example at a new pastor's ordination tea, which had to be held indoors because of the time of year, 230 people took tea in the vestry and the schoolroom.  On the same day at the service, several people were unable get in because of the crowd.  Later in the same year (1859) some 450 took tea in the Chapel and in front of it.  Special services and teas were also the focus of the major celebrations in 1865 when the work to extend the chapel and associated buildings was completed.  By the end of the 19th century the attendance at the major teas was not quite so enthusiastic for reasons that are difficult to identify.  Teas were not uniquely Baptist, however, and there were a number of events at which the Anglican Church organised teas, both as dispensed cups of tea and sit-down tea parties for villagers.  There were a string of Royal celebrations such as coronations and jubillees as well as the occasional war celebrations (Napoleonic, WWI and WWII).

Fund raising tea parties were common enough too, for example the Red Cross party held at The Loundes to support our soldiers in 1916.  Others extended into more modern times.  A leaflet from 1950 indicates "4.00pm Tea for children - please bring your own spoon, 4.30pm Tea for Old Age Pensioners, 5.00pm Tea for Adults (presumed not OAPs!) and will grown-ups please bring your own knives, forks, teaspoons, cups and saucers"

In a simpler social context, away from any religious circle or any need for fund raising, tea drinking has clearly been an established part of our culture for many years.  Young's grocer shop in the High Street sold loose tea from the day they opened in 1875 and by 1936, Oliver Young, was well known for the prize-winning special blends of tea that he created at 4s. 8d. per lb for his GOLD MEDAL tea in 1937 (affordable only for the few?) whilst regular tea was about 1s. 6d. per lb.  He won what were known as 'trader's throphies'.  A lad who grew up in Blisworth in the 1940s and 1950s has penned this poetic account of the shop.

"It is Saturday morning and the time was then, and the boy opens the big grey doors and scurries in to the smell of hardware and paraffin, paint and bristle brushes.  Tea, bacon, cheese and coffee aromas fill his nostrils, draw him in and make him feel at home. And many homes are here - all represented and shared over the counter stretching long and vast before him.  For the heart of Blisworth beats here, where buckets hang from their ceiling hooks with pots, pans and cheese graters, sweets chocolates and cakes.  What wonders lie among those shelves! He asks for his Mum's bread and a quarter of dividend tea and, with his errand complete, he disappears out through those big grey doors.  In the still air his feet clipper-clap round the corner and out of sight."

A girl who was a senior school monitor at the village school remembers being regularly sent to Abbott's shop in the Stoke Road because there the tea was cheaper and, anyway, the teachers couldn't abide the taste of "Young's fancy blends."

Returning to the Victorian era for moment, it is recalled that a number of tea-rooms were set up in Blisworth, at least two in Bridge Street (High Street), lower down than Young's shop, and boys at the railway station touted with reminders that tea was cheaper there than at the hotel gardens.   For a while Blisworth was as a resort - not only the hotel gardens but also the village itself.  The Northampton Mercury & Herald in 1863 stated, “Blisworth is irregular and straggling but is a pleasant and picturesque village. Gardens and trees intervene between the houses; there’s high elms and elders, roses in masses, brilliant tiger lilies, profuse wallflowers, dazzling geraniums and petunias to delight the eye and fill the air”.

Here's some miscellaneous memories from the past, collected from a variety of documents: "...then the foursome withdrew to the neighbour's house where they partook of strong hot tea liberally laced with precious war time Scotch........one would play in the sun, and we sometimes would have tea with the table cloth playing in the wind, and wasps trespassing in the jam and cream........tea was very expensive - one family of twelve had two ounces of tea a week which was made to go round and reached the children in a very attenuated form........ I well remember having our last tea in the small room that was facing the station - then my mother collected the cups and saucers together to go to Birmingham.  So we left with the furniture to be followed on behind us........ I went up to “Stone Steps” for tea ........our 'temperance union' (the Oddfellows?) held their grand fetes enlivened by their own brass bands and a large quantity of tea ........ women were provided with cake and tea for their families and respectable inhabitants met for a dinner in the Grafton Arms Inn"

And during the WWII years, when the old mill on the canal was being used for emergency storage of food, there must have been some black or grey market going on with the goods - "I do remember when a couple of friends sent a couple of tons of tea to the Arm. My father felt that it was illegal. He wanted to protect his buddies and during one night poured out the tea, dumping it all in the canal. The problem was it wouldn't sink and next morning the sun came up to a couple of miles of tea on the surface of the canal."

With thanks for the contributions of M C Clinch, J Payler (photograph), Andy Newbery, John Dale, George Freeston, Percy Whitlock, Brenda Broom and Stephen Dyster.