Cranston Tea Rooms Glasgow

The willow tearooms opened at 217 sauchiehall in october 1903.

Cranston tea rooms glasgow.

With a selection of loose teas and freshly ground coffees freshly made cakes scones soups and sandwiches there s plenty to choose from all enjoyed in the stunning historic surroundings designed by charles rennie mackintosh for miss kate cranston. Located at 215 217 sauchiehall street the original willow tearooms building has undergone a sensitive and authentic restoration in a bid to return the building to its 1903 glory. Mackintosh at the willow operates as a not for profit social enterprise creating training learning employment and other opportunities and support for young people and communities. Catherine cranston 27 may 1849 18 april 1934 widely known as kate cranston or miss cranston was a leading figure in the development of tea rooms she is nowadays chiefly remembered as a major patron of charles rennie mackintosh and margaret macdonald in glasgow scotland the name of miss cranston s tea rooms lives on in reminiscences of glasgow in its heyday.

The name sauchiehall is derived from saugh the scots word for a willow. Now that the trust have succeeded in restoring the building to its former glory it continues to focus its effort on the advancement of the arts heritage and culture by. 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. Before the building was demolished in 1971 the rooms were thoroughly documented and catalogued.

Wikipedia an astute businesswoman with a soft heart. Our tea rooms are open daily monday to saturday 9am to 5pm and sundays 10am 5pm. Charles rennie mackintosh had been born in glasgow in 1868 and when kate cranston first commissioned him to design the wall murals of her buchanan tearooms he was only 28. Her older brother stuart became a tea dealer when glasgow s temperance movement was in full swing and tea previously a luxury was being seen as a desirable alternative to alcohol for the working classes.

Created in 1886 miss cranston s ingram street tea rooms continued in the food catering tradition for over sixty years. Born on 27 may 1849 kate s father was a baker and pastry. The willow tea rooms trust was established in 2014 as a charity with the aim of acquiring miss cranston s tea rooms at 217 sauchiehall street glasgow the building is now in ownership of the trust. The location selected by miss cranston for the new tearooms was a four storey former warehouse building on a narrow infill urban site on the south side of sauchiehall street.

In 1950 glasgow corporation acquired the ingram street building and the tea rooms were used for storage. 1 kate cranston one of scotland s earliest female entrepreneurs was born in glasgow in 1849.