Afternoon Tea Time

“There are very few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea”

Henry James

Although drinking tea dates back to third millennium BC in China, then popularised in England during the 1660s, it was not until the mid-19th Century that the concept of “afternoon tea” first appeared. In 1840, Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, England introduced the concept. In those days the gap between meals was rather lengthy, which meant by 4pm Anna would become hungry and often request tea, bread and butter and cake around this time. Naturally, this became a habit of hers and eventually she started to invite friends. Thus, born the ceremony of “Afternoon Tea”.

The array of afternoon tea choices in and around Lincoln is superb! But of course, some are much better than others.

Luxe Lincolnshire had the chance to experience four unique afternoon teas. They are all very different, continue reading and we will review in detail each experience for you and hopefully encourage you to visit yourself. Overall, the standard was great and to see that all four places we visited offer a gluten-free option for those with gluten allergies and intolerance was an excellent start!

Let’s begin at Doddington Hall. Doddington Hall with its beautiful gardens, in a countryside setting in Doddington, a small village just outside Lincoln has a quaint restaurant located adjacent to the farm shop (which is also a great stop to check out or purchase some farm produce). Here you can choose between the traditional afternoon tea or the savoury afternoon tea (gluten free option only comes in traditional afternoon tea). The savoury option replaces the sweet scone with a cheese scone and includes pork pie and a scotch egg, among other things. Now this is a great addition; if you are with friends, you can order one of each and share everything! Tea and coffee are unlimited, and the quality is great. Also, a really refreshing alternative is sparkling elderflower, which is also unlimited. At Doddington they truly have everything covered. Sandwiches are nice with three different fillings (covering all the most popular fillings) and the scones and sweets are exceptional. This place is very popular, is always busy, and you must book a table a few days in advance. The only negative thing we experienced was upon arriving 15 minutes early, we got told to walk around the shop or the gardens for 10 minutes, which would be fine on any other day, except it was pouring with rain.

Moving into Lincoln City Centre with Stokes Coffee Shop on the high street. Known for their excellent coffee, afternoon tea was a must. Here you choose your sandwich filling which is great if you dislike any of the popular fillings. However, it came down to one of the most important items in an afternoon tea ceremony, the scone. Stokes afternoon tea disappointed because of their scone size on offer, yet their gluten free option had a very adequately sized scone. Overall a fair experience, with the enjoyable setting and people watching but with some disappointment.

A suburb 15 minutes or so drive South West of Lincoln City is North Hykeham. Within the village, behind the Co-op and Harrows Inn, there is a small flower shop. Towards the back of the flower shop you will find a quaint garden tea-room; with inside and outside seating, this makes it particularly glorious in the summer. If you are hungry their afternoon tea is the one for you. The sandwiches are packed full of goodness with cheese and pickle and egg mayonnaise, although we did encounter very slightly dry and hard bread on one of the sandwiches, which I expect was a one off. These were also accompanied by wrap sandwiches, which is a nice addition. There are no choices of filling for the sandwiches, but they certainly cover all the popular fillings for an afternoon tea. Moving on to the sweets, which were very substantial and adequate quantity. An overall great spot and quality of afternoon tea for the price and again the gluten-free option did not disappoint.

And finally, on the outskirts of the city of Lincoln towards the A46 bypass to Newark you will find Pennells Garden Centre. Established in 1780, a family business and one of the oldest garden centres providing plants to the nation. Not a place one would expect to venture for afternoon tea and certainly not very glamourous. However, their afternoon tea is pretty great. They provide an excellent gluten free option, if necessary, and both the sandwiches and sweets are plentiful and great quality. You have the option to choose one filling for the sandwiches, which are of great quality, and the cake and scone selection exceeds expectations.

On conclusion, our favourite here at Luxe Lincolnshire has to be Afternoon Tea at Doddington Hall. After all it is an occasion, a ceremony. It is a great atmosphere to enjoy an afternoon at this magnificent hall and its surrounding gardens, the choices of savoury or traditional, combined with the quality of food and drinks just exceed any other spot. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!