Misplaced Pages

#781218

58-510: The Willow Tearooms are tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street , Glasgow , Scotland, designed by internationally renowned architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh , which opened for business in October 1903. They quickly gained enormous popularity, and are the most famous of the many Glasgow tearooms that opened in the late 19th and early 20th century. The building was fully restored, largely to Mackintosh's original designs, between 2014 and 2018. It

116-497: A scone with jam and clotted cream ; to an elaborate afternoon tea featuring tea sandwiches and small cakes; to a high tea , a savoury meal. In Scotland , teas are usually served with a variety of scones, pancakes , crumpets , and other cakes. There is a long tradition of tea rooms within London hotels, for example, at Brown's Hotel at 33 Albemarle Street , which has been serving tea in its tea room for over 170 years. In

174-547: A tea lady , although this position is now almost defunct. Tea is a prominent feature of British culture and society. For centuries, Britain has been one of the world's greatest tea consumers, and now consumes an average per capita of 1.9 kg (4.18 lbs) per year. Blythswood Square Blythswood Square is the Georgian square on Blythswood Hill in the heart of the City of Glasgow , Scotland . The square

232-480: A willow tree, and "haugh", meadow . This provided the starting point for Mackintosh and Macdonald's ideas for the design theme. Within the existing structure, Mackintosh designed a range of spaces with different functions and décor for the Glasgow patrons to enjoy. There was a ladies' tearoom to the front of the ground floor, with a general lunch room to the back and a tea gallery above it. The first floor contained

290-480: A commonplace beverage, replacing the previously consumed milk- and water-based beverages and Chinese teahouses provided a new kind of social life for the Chinese during the 8th-9th centuries C.E. According to Japanese cultural tradition, a teahouse ordinarily refers to a private structure designed for holding Japanese tea ceremonies . This structure and specifically the room in it where the tea ceremony takes place

348-414: A full width bay window , projecting the façade outwards with a gentle curve. The two storeys above this featured a more regular pattern of fenestration with three individual windows per floor, recessed to different degrees. The asymmetry of the composition was continued by widening the left side windows and creating another gentle curve in this part of the façade, extending through both storeys. This repeated

406-610: A related usage, a tea room may be a room set aside in a workplace for relaxation and eating during tea breaks . Traditionally this was served by a tea lady , not to be confused with a dinner lady . Tea rooms are popular in Commonwealth countries, particularly Canada , with its harsh winters when afternoon tea is popular. The menu will generally have similar foods to the UK, but with the addition sometimes of butter tarts or other small desserts like nanaimo bars or pets de sœurs . Tea

464-487: A staple of urban centers throughout the country. These teahouses, which first emerged during the British colonial era, serve milk tea and a variety of delicacies ranging from native dishes like mohinga to Indian fritters (such as paratha and puri ) or Chinese pastries (such as baozi and youtiao ). Tea shops have traditionally served as venues akin to conversational salons . In Pakistan ,

522-623: A teahouse ( Chinese : 茶館 , cháguăn or 茶屋 , cháwū ; Japanese : chaya ( 茶屋 ) ; Standard Nepali : chiya ghar ( चिया घर )) is traditionally a place which offers tea to its customers. People gather at teahouses to chat, socialize and enjoy tea, and young people often meet at teahouses for dates. The Guangdong (Cantonese) style teahouse is particularly famous outside of China, especially in Nepal's Himalayas. These teahouses, called chálou ( 茶樓 ) serve dim sum ( 點心 ), and these small plates of food are enjoyed alongside tea. Before tea

580-481: A venue in Glasgow where women first began to socialise outside the home, this room is once again used for its original purpose. The Tearooms were operated under the governance of the Trust as a social enterprise , with the objectives of creating training, learning, employment and other opportunities and support for young people and communities. The Prince's Trust and Dumfries House are partners in providing training for

638-583: A visit by Erchie MacPherson and his friend Duffy to the Willow Tearooms first published in his 'The Looker-On' column in The Glasgow Evening News in 1904. Tea room Some cultures have a variety of distinct tea-centered establishments of different types, depending on the national tea culture . For example, the British or American tearoom serves afternoon tea with a variety of small snacks. Throughout China and Japan ,

SECTION 10

#1732779523782

696-545: Is called chashitsu ( 茶室 , literally "tea room") . The architectural space called chashitsu was created for aesthetic and intellectual fulfillment. During the Edo period , the term "teahouse" came to refer to the place where geisha would entertain their clients or as a place where couples seeking privacy could go. In this case, the establishment was referred to as an ochaya , literally meaning "tea house"; however, these establishments only served tea incidentally. Though

754-545: Is commonly consumed in other Commonwealth countries alone or in the British fashion. In France, a tea room is called Salon de thé , and pastries and cakes are served. It seems that having a separate teahouse was a tradition in many European countries. In the Czech Republic, the tea room culture has been spreading since the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and today, there are nearly 400 tea rooms (čajovny) in

812-475: Is credited with creating the bakery's first public tearoom in 1864, which became a thriving chain. Tea rooms were part of the growing opportunities for women in the Victorian era . In the UK today, a tea room is a small room or restaurant where beverages and light meals are served, often having a sedate or subdued atmosphere. The food served can range from a cream tea (also known as Devonshire tea), i.e.,

870-534: Is one of the largest residential developments on Blythswood Hill on over 35 acres (14 ha) of ground. The square's land is part of 10 acres purchased from the Campbells of Blythswood in the 1790s by a calico-printer in Anderston who developed them as Willow Bank. In 1802 the land and mansion of Willow Bank were bought by "The Great Improver", William Harley , a Glasgow textile manufacturer and merchant. On

928-582: Is part of the 'Magnificent New Town of Blythswood' built in the 1800s on the rising empty ground west of a very new Buchanan Street . These open grounds were part of the vast Lands of Blythswood stretching to the River Kelvin acquired by the Douglas-Campbell family in the 17th century. The Blythswood district, and its grid of streets, became a Conservation Area in 1970, because of its important architectural and historic buildings. The square

986-577: The House for an Art Lover culminated in the Room de Luxe interior as a commercial vision of the European idea of the room as a work of art. Mackintosh's redesigned external façade was a carefully considered asymmetric , abstractly modelled composition with shallow curves on some areas of the surface, and varying depths of recesses to windows and the main entrance. The composition respected the urban context of

1044-479: The National Trust for Scotland . Early in his career, in 1896, Mackintosh met Catherine Cranston (widely known as Kate Cranston or simply Miss Cranston), an entrepreneurial local businesswoman who was the daughter of a Glasgow tea merchant and a strong believer in temperance . The temperance movement was becoming increasingly popular in Glasgow at the turn of the century and Miss Cranston had conceived

1102-562: The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland , Simpson & Brown were appointed as conservation architects and lead design consultants. The restoration project is complemented by the creation of a retail outlet, education, conferencing and visitor centre in the adjoining 215 Sauchiehall Street premises. The restoration of no 217 included extensive re-creation of Mackintosh's interior schemes and decorative elements lost over

1160-449: The "Room de Luxe", a more exclusive ladies' room overlooking Sauchiehall Street. The second floor contained a timber-panelled billiards room and smoking rooms for the men. The design concept foresaw a place for the ladies to meet their friends, and for the men to use on their breaks from office work – an oasis in the city centre. The decoration of the different rooms was themed: light for feminine, dark for masculine. The ladies' tearoom at

1218-496: The "house of tea". These teahouses usually serve several beverages in addition to tea. In Arab countries such as Egypt , establishments that serve tea, coffee and herbal teas like hibiscus tea are referred to as ahwa or maqha ( مقهى ) and are more commonly translated into English as " coffeehouse ". Tea drinking is a pastime closely associated with the English. A female manager of London's Aerated Bread Company

SECTION 20

#1732779523782

1276-522: The 10 acres Harley created and opened his Willowbank/Blythswood Pleasure Gardens with views over the Clyde and miles around. He also owned some of the hill to its north which he named as Garnethill . In 1804 Harley purchased directly from the Campbells 35 acres of Blythswood land immediately west of the new Buchanan Street, and became the prime developer of the New Town of Blythswood connecting to his land at

1334-492: The 1900s the houses increasingly became offices and clubs, including on the eastern side the Royal Scottish Automobile Club, which was restyled by architect James Miller in 1923. In 2009 the Royal Scottish Automobile Club's premises opened as the 5 star Blythswood Square Hotel. The Blythswood Square Proprietors association own and maintain the square's gardens in the central area. In past decades

1392-441: The 1950s. In the following decades, cafés became more fashionable, and tea rooms became less common. The term "tea shop" may also refer to a retail shop selling dry tea to take home. Dry tea (first, as loose leaves, and then in teabags ) used to be sold at grocers' shops , and now mainly at supermarkets. One of the oldest shops that still specialises in selling tea for consumption at home is Twinings , which has been operating from

1450-552: The Sauchiehall Street building was bought by Glasgow businesswoman, Celia Sinclair in order to prevent the forced sale of the building, closure of the Tearooms and loss of its contents to collectors as the landlord had gone into receivership. The building was subsequently in the ownership of 'The Willow Tea Rooms Trust', a registered charity. The aims and objectives of the Trust included the restoration and preservation of

1508-496: The Tearooms as part of Scotland's heritage and for the benefit of the general public. The restoration of the building during 2014–2018 was budgeted at £10 million and was funded through a mixture of private and grant money including almost £4 million from The Heritage Lottery Fund , The Monument Trust, Historic Environment Scotland , Glasgow City Heritage Trust, Glasgow City Council , Dunard Fund and Architectural Heritage Fund . Following an international competition run by

1566-479: The building. The ground floor was occupied by Hendersons, a jewellery business until 2013 when the whole building was taken over by Mulhern to operate as "The Willow Tearooms". This business continued in its Buchanan Street premises and also operated within the Watts Brothers department store between 2016 and 2019. After being sold on in 2019, it still operates at Buchanan Street under new ownership. In 2014,

1624-454: The country (more than 50 just in Prague), which is according to some sources Europe's largest concentration of tea rooms per capita. In Kosovo, there are teahouses known as "çajtore". 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 nineteenth century, as Catherine Cranston opened

1682-493: The creation of the White Dining Room. Patrons entering the dining room from Ingram Street had to pass through a hallway separated from the room by a wooden screen with leaded glass inserts, offering tantalising glimpses of the experience to come. This led to the commission to completely design the proposed new tearooms in Sauchiehall Street in 1903. For the first time, Mackintosh was given responsibility for not only

1740-495: The curved form of the first floor and emphasised the heavily recessed entrance to the building below. Mackintosh chose to finish the façade in a white-painted smooth render , in contrast to the natural stone finish of nearby buildings. This decision, plus the use of small paned windows and ornamental tile inserts forming a chequered border around the perimeter of the façade, gave it an elegance and lightness of touch appropriate for its purpose. The domestic-style leaded glass announced

1798-677: The east end of Bath Street, supplying piped water for Glasgow's citizens, creating the first indoor public baths in Scotland, and pioneering the largest and first hygienic milk dairy in Europe. In 1895 the townhouse at no 5 became the home of the Lady Artists' Club, formed by the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists in 1882, being the first lady artists' club in Britain and the first residential club for women in Britain . The clubhouse

Willow Tearooms - Misplaced Pages Continue

1856-738: The fireplace and, opposite, the other wall featured one of Margaret MacDonald's most famous works, the gesso panel inspired by Rossetti 's sonnet O Ye, all ye that walk in Willow Wood . This was all complemented by crisp, white tablecloths and blue willow-pattern crockery. The luxurious decoration of the room can be understood as a logical extension of the Mackintoshes' stylistic development from 1900, where they would develop all-encompassing interior designs for domestic commissions, and then transfer these to their designs for commercial projects and exhibitions. Their colourful interior designs in

1914-590: The first of what became a chain of Miss Cranston's Tea Rooms in Glasgow , Scotland, and 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, and by 1910 they had begun to host afternoon tea dances as dance crazes swept both the US and the UK. Tea rooms of all kinds were widespread in Britain by

1972-420: The front of the building, slightly above the level of the tea gallery at the rear, and featured a vaulted ceiling with a full-width, slightly curved bay window looking out to Sauchiehall Street. Entrance to the room was by way of a magnificent set of double doors which featured leaded glass decoration, hinting at the colours and motifs to be found beyond. Described at the time as "a fantasy for afternoon tea",

2030-435: The front was white, silver, and rose; the general lunch room at the back was panelled in oak and grey canvas, and the top-lit tea gallery above was pink, white, and grey. In addition to designing the internal architectural alterations and a new external façade, in collaboration with his wife Margaret, Mackintosh designed almost every other aspect of the tearooms, including the interior design , furniture, cutlery, menus, and even

2088-452: The idea of a series of "art tearooms", venues where people could meet to relax and enjoy non-alcoholic refreshments in a variety of different "rooms" within the same building. This proved to be the start of a long working relationship between Miss Cranston and Mackintosh. Between 1896 and 1917, he designed and re-styled interiors in all four of her Glasgow tearooms, often in collaboration with his wife Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh . Mackintosh

2146-438: The interior design and furniture, but also for the full detail of the internal layout and exterior architectural treatment. The resultant building came to be known as the Willow Tearooms, and is the best known and most important work that Mackintosh undertook for Miss Cranston. The location selected by Miss Cranston for the new tearooms was a four-storey former warehouse building in a row of similar buildings erected around 1870 on

2204-413: The intimacy of the interior and hinted at the luxurious willow theme to be found inside. Following the death of her husband in 1917, Miss Cranston sold her businesses. The Willow Tearooms continued in use under a new name until they were incorporated into Daly's department store in 1928. By 1938, the others had passed into the hands of Cranston's Tearooms Ltd. When this company went into liquidation in 1954

2262-834: The largest teahouses are the Orient Teahouse, Chinese Teahouse, and Orom Teahouse in the city of Isfara . On the 15th anniversary of the independence of Tajikistan, the people of Isfara presented the Isfara Teahouse to the city of Kulyab for its 2700th anniversary in September 2006. Teahouses are present in other parts of West Asia, notably in Iran and also Turkey . Such teahouses may be referred to, in Persian , as chai-khaneh , or in Turkish , çayhane - literally,

2320-425: The neighbouring buildings, matching the major cornice lines and heights of adjoining buildings, whilst still exploring emerging ideas of Art Nouveau and the modern movement . The ground floor entrance door is placed far to the left of a wide band of fenestration , both of which are recessed below the first-floor level, the location of the Room de Luxe. To emphasise the importance of this room, Mackintosh designed

2378-412: The only surviving tearooms designed by Mackintosh for local entrepreneur and patron Miss Catherine Cranston. Over the years and through various changes of ownership and use, the building had deteriorated until it was purchased in 2014 by The Willow Tea Rooms Trust in order to prevent the forced sale of the building, closure of the Tearooms and loss of its contents to collectors. The Tearooms are now owned by

Willow Tearooms - Misplaced Pages Continue

2436-643: The prominent Pak Tea House is an intellectual tea – café located in Lahore known as the hub of Progressive Writers' Movement . In Central Asia, the term "teahouse" refers to several variations on teahouses found in different countries; these include the shayhana in Kazakhstan , chaykhana in Kyrgyzstan and choyxona in Uzbekistan , all of which translate as "a tea room". In Tajikistan ,

2494-409: The room was intimate and richly decorated. It featured a sumptuous colour scheme of grey, purple and white, featuring a soft grey carpet, a silk upholstered dado , chairs and settees upholstered in a rich rose-purple, and silver painted tables with high-backed chairs. The walls were painted a simple white, with a high level frieze of coloured, mirrored and leaded glass panels. One side wall contained

2552-467: The same premises in central London since it opened in 1706. In South African English, "tearoom" is a synonym for "café" or small local grocer's shop. In the workplace, the term tea room ("break room" in North America) is a room set aside for employees to relax, specifically a work break refreshment. Traditionally, a staff member serving hot drinks and snacks at a factory or office was called

2610-402: The same time, the Room de Luxe was refurbished to recreate the original colour scheme, and furnished with reproductions of the high back chairs, though originally there were only eight of these chairs at formal central tables while chairs around the perimeter had lower backs. It was reopened in 1983 by Anne Mulhern, a Glasgow businesswoman, and in 1996 she also leased the tea gallery at the rear of

2668-425: The smokers' gallery. In 1898, his next commission for the existing Argyle Street tearooms saw the design roles reversed, with Mackintosh designing the furniture and interiors, and Walton designing the wall murals. This was to see the first appearance of Mackintosh's trademark high-backed chair design. In 1900, Miss Cranston commissioned him to redesign an entire room in her Ingram Street tearooms, which resulted in

2726-467: The south side of Sauchiehall Street, between Wellington Street and Blythswood Street. These replaced original townhouses named Kensington Place, one of three such terraces built by William Harley . The street and surrounding area are part of the New Town of Blythswood created largely by William Harley of Blythswood Square in the early 1800s. The name "Sauchiehall" is derived from "saugh", the Scots word for

2784-469: The start of the 1980s. Extensive restoration work was carried out under the architect Geoffrey Wimpenny of Keppie Henderson, successors of the Honeyman, Keppie and Mackintosh partnership of almost a century earlier. The Willow Tearooms reopened in 1983 with the restored ground floor façade forming the shop front to Henderson the jewellers which occupied the ground floor and the reconstructed gallery. At

2842-439: The tearooms were sold and subsequently put to a number of different uses over the years. Though Daly's adapted the Willow Tearooms building as part of their department store, the façade was unchanged above their ground floor plate glass shop window and fascia, the moulded plaster frieze could still be seen above the ground floor shopfittings, and the Room de Luxe remained in use as the department store tearoom until they closed around

2900-460: The top of Blythswood Hill. A street plan for the square was drawn up for William Harley by James Gillespie Graham , who was also architect for the Campbells, but it is thought the facades were ultimately designed by John Brash . The four Georgian terraces forming the square are Category A listed buildings and were completed in the 1820s by the trustees and successors of William Harley. Harley also developed his new business establishments at

2958-475: The usage of the term chaya for teahouses in the modern sense is now considered archaic - with modern tearooms known as kissaten , serving tea as well as coffee - the term ochaya is still used in Kyoto to refer to the establishments where geisha perform and entertain clients. In Myanmar, teahouses known as laphetyay saing ( လက်ဖက်ရည်ဆိုင် ), formerly known as kaka saing ( ကာကာဆိုင် ), are

SECTION 50

#1732779523782

3016-415: The waitress uniforms. Willow was the basis for the name of the tearooms, but it also formed an integral part of the decorative motifs employed in the interior design, and much of the timberwork used in the building fabric and furniture. The Room de Luxe was the most extravagant of the rooms that Mackintosh created, and proved to be the tearooms' main attraction. The room was positioned on the first floor at

3074-448: The years. Large quantities of furniture to Mackintosh's designs have also been reproduced for use in the various parts of the Tearooms (the originals being lost or in private and museum collections throughout the world). One of the most celebrated spaces in the building, the Room de Luxe, has been fully restored and includes a suite of specially commissioned furniture, re-created chandeliers, gesso panels and carpets. Culturally significant as

3132-516: The young people who work at the Tearooms and receive training and career-building experience. In January 2024, it was announced that the National Trust for Scotland had acquired ownership of the Tearooms from the Willow Tea Rooms Trust. Long term survival of the venue following external financial pressures during the immediate preceding years was cited as the key factor in the change of ownership. Neil Munro provided an account of

3190-414: Was engaged to design the wall murals of Miss Cranston's new Buchanan Street tearooms in 1896. The tearooms had been designed and built by George Washington Browne of Edinburgh , with interiors and furnishings being designed by George Walton . Mackintosh designed stencilled friezes depicting opposing pairs of elongated female figures surrounded by roses for the ladies' tearoom, the luncheon room and

3248-674: Was re-opened as working tearooms in July 2018 and trades under the name "Mackintosh at The Willow". This follows a trademark dispute with the former operator of The Willow Tearooms which was resolved in 2017. That name is now used at tearoom premises in Buchanan Street and was additionally used at the Watt Brothers Department Store in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow between 2016 and its closure in 2019. The Tearooms at 217 Sauchiehall Street first opened in 1903 and are

3306-551: Was sold in 1971 to the Scottish Arts Council but the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists continues today. The neighbouring house at the corner of Blythswood Street was the home of 21-year old Miss Madeleine Smith who was tried in the High Court in 1857 of poisoning her lover with arsenic. The trial was reported around the world; the jury reaching their conclusion that the charge against her was Not Proven. From

3364-406: Was used as a social drink, Buddhist monks drank it to aid their meditation. During the Chinese adaptation of Buddhism between 200 C.E. and 850 C.E., tea was introduced as a medicinal herb. It was then evolved to assist Buddhist monks in their meditation by providing the energy needed to stay awake (likely via the effects of caffeine as a stimulant on the brain). Soon after that, tea was popularized as

#781218