Wenham Tea House

Gathering around with friends and loved ones to drink tea, gossip, or just be with each other, has been a beloved activiety throughout history. With a tea house being built in Wenham in 1910, the The Wenham Village Improvement Society knew that it would be loved. The Wenham Village Improvement Society was formed in 1893, to improve the town as they saw fit. In 1910, one of those improvements was to create a Tea House, that would go on to be called “the best in New England” by some. The shop would sell needlework, jams and jellies by women in the society. In 1916, they completed construction on this larger Tea House and continued to sell homemade goods like baby clothes, books, international gifts and homemade treats. Thriving well into the 1920s and 30s, the tea house would serve afternoon tea and luncheon. There were typically expensive cars with chauffeurs waiting out in the parking lot for the woman inside of the tea shop. The society continued to give back to the community in monthly programs, gatherings and tennis lessons on the tennis court that they had built. Today, the WVIS owns and maintains the Tea House Campus, comprising the Monument Street Courts, Tea House Playground and the Tea House which is home to Irrestibles and Plat du Jour at the Wenham Tea House. Plat du Jour is open for lunch, tea and dinner several days a week. The Wenham Village Improvement Society is still a woman run organization who has donated to countless projects throughout the town, continues a scholarship program they have fostered since 1951, and in partnership with the Wenham Museum, host Camp Whirlygig during the summer.  

Want to stop for a meal or tea time? Check out the Tea House website!

Learn more about The Wenham Village Improvement Society and how they are helping the community around them. Learn more about the history of the Tea House here! 

Images: The first location of the Wenham Tea House, image of the new Tea House building from 1921, photo of a group of women who were likely a part of the Wenham Village Improvement Society doing needlework.