Plaque

Tea industry - Shoreditch

Erection date: /7/2017

Inscription

The Tea Building

This plaque commemorates 350 years of the tea industry in the City of London. The industry was spread over Plantation House (now Plantation Place), Mincing Lane, Fenchurch Street, Great Tower Street, Leadenhall Street, St. Katharine Docks and Commodity Quay. It all began with the British East Indian Company who had a monopoly over tea from China & India and at one point, the City of London controlled over 85% of the World’s tea trade.

{The central section of text gives a good history of this trade and we have put our transcription on our Tea Trade in London page.}

The Tea Building was built in 1931-33 for the iconic Lipton brand of Allied Foods Ltd. Originally the building was built as a bacon factory but was then used to pack tea for much of its life. The building had offices on the ground floor along with the checking and despatch department. On the top floor was Lipton’s Tasting and Blending Room. Several buildings were merged together and, from the late 1930s, it was used to pack tea. Today Lipton is a household name across the world. Sir Thomas Lipton, who entered the tea trade in 1889, coined the globally recognised slogan “Direct from the Tea Gardens to the Teapot”.

This plaque has been installed by The London Tea History Association, www.londonteahistory.co.uk.

{Either side of the text: captioned images of: Tea Taster, Tea Plucker, Rolling Table Tea Machine, Tea Chests, Tea Plants, Tea Clipper.}

Now, where's the best place to attach this plaque? Oh, there's a lamppost close up to the building - let's put it behind that. Sigh.

Site: Tea industry - Shoreditch (1 memorial)

E1, Shoreditch High Street, Tea Building, an eight-story building, 56

London Tea History's website adds some information about this building:

"The Tea Building was originally built as a bacon factory for Allied Foods' Lipton brand in the early 1930s, and is full of original features that make it a unique place to work.

It's owned by Derwent London and is home to a busy community of marketing agencies, media companies, fashion brands, retailers, artists and designers, as well as the Pizza East restaurant, and the Shoreditch House private members club across the top two floors. 

It's joined internally to the Biscuit Building next door, a slightly older but equally impressive warehouse which was principally used as a tea packing warehouse for most of its life.

In the Second World War an air raid shelter was added to the building, but despite the Luftwaffe's best efforts, Tea survived the blitz with little damage. In 1947 part of the sixth floor was converted into a self-service staff canteen catering for over 500 staff and a passenger lift was added in 1950."

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Tea industry - Shoreditch

Subjects commemorated i

Tea Trade in London

The following text is taken from the Shoreditch plaque: This plaque commemor...

Read More

Sir Thomas Lipton

A self-made man, company founder, merchant, philanthropist and yachtsman. Bo...

Read More

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Tea industry - Shoreditch

Created by i

London Tea History Association

Founded to record and commemorate over 335 years of the World’s tea trade in ...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

Henrietta & Samuel Barnett

Henrietta & Samuel Barnett

NW3, Spaniards Road, Heath End House

While they lived there they called this "St Jude's Cottage". Initially it was a weekend retreat from Whitechapel, where Samuel was the v...

3 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Karl Marx - NW3

Karl Marx - NW3

NW3, Maitland Park Road

Marx lived at no 41 but this whole area has been redeveloped since Marx's time. And no, we have no idea what the strange pillar object is...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Julius Benedict

Julius Benedict

W1, Manchester Square, 2

LCC Sir Julius Benedict (1804 - 1885), musical composer, lived and died here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
John Keats birthplace

John Keats birthplace

EC2, Moorgate, 85

In a house on this site, the "Swan & Hoop", John Keats, poet, was born, 1795. The Corporation of the City of London

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
Sir Ernest George - SW1

Sir Ernest George - SW1

SW1, Cadogan Square, 50

The plaque can just be seen inside the porch. 'Scheduled Building of Historic & Architectural Interest' - in modern parlance this is...

2 subjects commemorated

Previously viewed

King Henry VIII

King Henry VIII

Son of Henry VII. Born Born Greenwich Palace, as the spare, not the heir but his brother Arthur predeceased him and their father, aged 15, but not before marrying Catherine of Aragon, who later in ...

Person, Royalty, Seriously Famous

23 memorials
Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Author and poet. Born Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts, he added Allan to his name in honour of the family who took him in after his father absconded and his mother died.  Lived in London from 18...

Person, Literature, Seriously Famous, USA

3 memorials
Bedford Institute / Quaker Social Action

Bedford Institute / Quaker Social Action

Established in the East End as the Bedford Institute Association to act on Education, Religious Effort, Moral Training, and Relief of the sick and destitute. Named for the Quaker silk merchant and ...

Group, Education, Religion, Social Welfare

2 memorials
Martin van Buren

Martin van Buren

Eighth US President. Born in Kinderhook, N.Y., USA. For a list of all the US presidents that appear on London Remembers see John F. Kennedy.

Person, Politics & Administration, USA

1 memorial
William Rankine

William Rankine

Born Edinburgh. Physicist. Worked in thermodynamics. Never married but was musical and wrote humorous songs. Died Glasgow.

Person, Engineering, Scotland

2 memorials