Afternoon tea, the great British tradition, was introduced in 1840 by Anna Maria Russell, the 7th Duchess of Bedford. The Duchess would become hungry at around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and with her household evening meal served fashionably late at 8 o’clock, she needed something to fill the long gap between lunch and dinner. She requested that a tray of tea, bread and butter and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon.

And that’s where the quintessential British custom began, an event with years of history behind it – making our afternoon tea quite fitting as it takes place next to one of the country’s most historic buildings, St Mary’s Guildhall.