Looking Back
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Tea mystery solved
IT seems we have a conclusive answer to the mysterious location of the Edwin Seaward tea rooms sent in by Andy Hutchings.
Anthea Denton said: "When I first saw the pictures of the tea rooms, some weeks ago, I thought it had to be the place that Edwin Denton used to run, with the help of his cousin Helen Wilson, in Old Castle Road, Weymouth, all those years ago.
"Helen, affectionately known to us as Auntie Nellie', used to talk about these tea rooms often and loved working there; I think it most likely that the lady on the right hand side of the picture, is most probably her.
"Edwin (Uncle Edwin) built most of the houses from the castle down to the beach at the bottom of the road, if not all of them, and he lived in a large house right opposite the gardens, sadly now gone. Nellie, his cousin came down from Scotland, to live here and help run the tea rooms."
Later on, the two were joined by another cousin and his wife, Cecil and Ethel Denton. "In the 1950s, they ran the small kiosk opposite the gardens, which sold ice cream, drinks and sweets," said Anthea. "That later went and they then built a house with an adjoining shop on the site - the house is still there - but the shop was demolished to make way for two houses."
Cecil and Ethel Denton became Anthea's in-laws when she married their eldest son the late Michael Denton in 1959. The couple lived in New Zealand for 14 years and returned to the area in 1972 after which point they saw a lot of Helen.
Anthea explained: "The reason for it being very much a family affair, was that, sadly, Edwin in later life had to have both legs amputated, but he still managed to keep his garden flourishing with the help of a little trolley that he used to push himself along. By all accounts he was a great character, although I can't remember ever having met him. I do remember the cafe, with the flat above being built, I think in the 1950s."
Anthea concluded: "I still don't know if it is definitely the Old Castle site or not. It may however jog some more memories, somewhere."
Luckily it did. Brian Wilkins of Old Castle Road, Weymouth, said: "The tea rooms shown in Edwin Seaward's photograph were in Old Castle Road. I remember being taken there for strawberry teas and ice cream before the Second World War. My wife Joan has a photograph of her mother and three of her grandparents sat outside. We think her picture was taken in about 1938, but it only shows the lower part of the tea rooms' window. However, some of the rustic furniture shown in the Echo picture is very similar."
He continued: "When the original photograph was shown, I knew where it was, but was sure lots of folks would tell you. But it seems I should have supported Maureen Tizard."
9:15am Tuesday 10th June 2008
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