Twinings Museum

The Twinings Museum sits beside the Twinings shop at 216 Strand in the City of Westminster. The building has housed the tea firm since 1717, when Thomas Twining moved the business to the Golden Lyon sign. A classical door case with a pediment shows a golden lion and two Chinese figures. The museum occupies historic rooms next to the shop, where tea has been sold for more than three centuries. Thomas Twining began trading in Devereux Court off the Strand in 1706, selling dry tea to coffee houses. Tea was then a luxury, but his business grew quickly and he expanded along the Strand. The museum holds artefacts that tell the story of the Twinings company and family. Visitors see vintage tea caddies, old packaging, advertisements and other tea memorabilia. A copy of the royal warrant granted by Queen Victoria in 1837 is on display. The exhibits explain how the firm supplied the British royal household for generations. Documents and images trace the firm’s growth from a single shop to a nationwide business. The museum also recognises the part played by the East India Company in bringing tea to London. Inside, the museum occupies rooms that have served the business since the early 18th century. The classical entrance with its pediment and lion statue remains unchanged. Glass cases hold silver caddies, printed tins and framed advertisements from past decades. Panels describe how Twinings became a household name across Britain. The shop next door still sells tea under the original Golden Lyon sign. The quiet museum offers a glimpse of London’s tea trade as it developed over three hundred years.