Downton Abbey inspired tea room to open in Lincoln

A tea room inspired by Downton Abbey is set to open in Lincoln this weekend.

Steampunks Chris and Nikki Fairey will serve their first customers at Lady Rose’s Edwardian Tea Room on Free School Lane on Saturday, July 16.

The pair formerly traded from the Assembly Rooms in the Bailgate after first launching a pop-up tea room in 2014.

Lady Rose’s will open from Mondays to Saturdays between 10am and 5pm and on Sundays from 12 noon to 4pm, serving favourites such as a cherry and almond bake, and West Indian sticky ginger cake filled with Chantilly cream.

A neighbouring part of the building has been leased out to Hidden Hearing, who have relocated from Cornhill Pavement.

The historic building, opposite the city library, once formed part of a Lincolnshire Co-op department store and has since housed businesses including a photography studio and a dentists.

Chris Fairey said: “We were at The Assembly Rooms for 10 months and, despite some incompatibility with the venue’s own activities, we got to be the number two tearoom in Lincoln on TripAdvisor and also received a Quality Certificate of Excellence.

“We saw our Free School Lane premises last year but we were initially unsure about basing ourselves in the area. Then we decided that being slightly away from the High Street and right opposite the beautiful library building, would work really well for us.

“We are also delighted about the fact that we will be able to seat 30 people in our new tearoom, because there is more space than we had previously.”

Banks Long & Co Surveyor Harriet Hatcher said: “We were delighted to assist Chris and Nikki with their search for the ideal premises for their exciting period tearoom.

“We are sure it will prove to be a popular attraction with locals and visitors to Lincoln alike.”