Jane Austen Tea “Lovely”!

Unlocking Warwick has received many very nice messages from those who came to the Jane Austen Tea in the Ballroom on the final day of the Warwick Words History Festival on 8th October. The main word used was “lovely”. 

The event marked the bicentenary of Jane Austen’s death at the early age of 41. It featured presentations about the author’s local connections and the significance of the ball in Regency high society, some re-enactments of ball scenes in the novels,  dance demonstrations by the renowned Jane Austen Dancers from Bath, and an authentic Regency tea.

According to our research, the afternoon tea served on fine bone china was typical of the teas enjoyed in big houses in the early 18th century – with hot toasted crumpets and home-made madeira cake. 

One of the guests wrote afterwards: “Just wanted to say what a great time I had at this afternoon’s Jane Austen afternoon tea. Informative, entertaining and quite charming. A very different way to spend a Sunday afternoon and great value for money. Well done to everyone, especially the volunteers for putting it together. I hope to join many more of your events in the future so will check out your website. Well done”. 

That’s nice isn’t it? The Unlocking Warwick volunteers are staging a range of community events in the the ballroom in the Jury Street Court House.  Refurbished and reopened in 2014, it is also a lovely central venue for private functions.