Last Updated on October 16, 2023

Royal Afternoon Tea celebrates the Queen’s platinum jubilee

Across the UK there is the sound of teapots filling and the aroma of freshly baked scones. As the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend draws closer, hotels and tearooms are rolling out both the bunting and their special menus to celebrate. Bedford Lodge Hotel in Newmarket, Suffolk, is showcasing its celebratory Royal Afternoon Tea which will be available throughout June in the Squires Restaurant or on the terrace overlooking the rose garden.

Invited to preview this special Afternoon Tea, I drove through verdant countryside to Bedford Lodge which is surrounded by racecourses, stables and rolling green fields as far as the eye can see. Built in 1820 as a hunting lodge for John Russell, Duke of Bedford, this Georgian home has been operating as an hotel since the 1940s, with the addition of a Spa that opened in 2012. It offers a very warm welcome and stylish elegance. There are many ways to relax into an afternoon at Bedford Lodge – a Spa experience with Espa products, a swim in the hotel’s indoor pool, or a stroll in the gardens. Or do as I did, and head straight for the plum-coloured armchairs in the Roxana bar to read a book while awaiting a sumptuous Afternoon Tea.

Bedford Lodge is the perfect place to indulge in this wonderful ritual as the hotel has a personal connection to its history. Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford, the wife of the 7^th Duke of Bedford and a friend of Queen Victoria, is thought to have first introduced the afternoon tea into the entertaining rituals of the upper classes. Around the 1840s the custom was to eat two meals a day. The Duchess found herself peckish around the middle of the day and took to ordering tea with a light snack. Visiting friends began to adopt this idea and soon it spread amongst the upper classes as a fashionable social event. Fortunately, nowadays, we are all able to enjoy this very British tradition and I can think of no more appropriate way to celebrate the forthcoming Platinum Jubilee.

While I waited for teatime, I perused Bedford Lodge’s pamphlet entitled Afternoon Tea Etiquette Guide. The usual debates are commented upon – whether tea or milk should be poured first and the order of cream and jam on a scone. The one item with which I have no argument is how to break open your scone. The answer does not involve a knife. The perfect scone should break apart with a simple twist.

While Afternoon Tea might be an age-old British tradition, so is the unpredictable weather. Thus, Royal Afternoon Tea on The Lawn, as my menu declared it to be, had to be served indoors while watching the rain fall on the lawn. A white tablecloth, pretty crockery and good quality cutlery all set the tone for a lovely treat. The Royal Afternoon Tea will be served with the option of a glass of Pimms which is a lovely summery touch of which the Queen would no doubt approve. We went straight onto the tea menu which presented a choice of eleven teas as well as coffee if preferred. I chose a silver tip white tea which is one of my favourites.

I can quite believe that the Duchess of Bedford became hungry between the morning and evening meals. However, it must be acknowledged that the Afternoon Tea has grown from a light snack into a meal too large for most people to finish. Bedford Lodge provides a very generous set of plates and we tried to do it justice.

First up were the sandwiches, five plump fingers with the traditional fillings. My favourite is always smoked salmon and cream cheese and these were particularly good, using Chapel and Swan smoked salmon which has an excellent flavour. The breads each had unique flavourings such as flecks of tarragon in the one containing the egg mayonnaise and watercress. Coronation chicken was a lovely nod to the Jubilee and very tasty too as was the roast beef sirloin with horseradish.

The baked savoury section was another generous serving, this time a cheddar cheese scone filled with a sweet onion jam and a large slice of mustard and Newmarket sausage roll which was sufficient in itself for a light lunch.

By the time I got to the huge scone – yes it twisted open with ease – I was beginning to flag. The scones were served with bowls of strawberry jam, clotted cream and homemade lemon curd. Smaller fruit scones were also served but I could not manage these as I knew there was still a sizeable platter of cakes to address next.

The selection of freshly baked cakes and pastries looked beautiful, and we enjoyed thinking about each one’s connection to the Royal theme. Victoria sponge looked very festive, the green tea and raspberry Battenberg cake a clever name game (and looked pretty with its squares of green and pink), the Elizabeth royal fruit cake was moist and delicious and a nod to the huge fruit cake served at the Queen’s wedding. The crème diplomat and strawberry cake was crown-shaped with petals of strawberry and given the royal treatment with a sprinkling of gold leaf while the bombe glacée royale was a flourish of a dark chocolate carapace encasing a ball of green mint ice cream. This dessert is said to be such a favourite of the Queen that it was served at her wedding.

The waiter who came to clear the plates was impressed with how much headway we had made and kindly boxed up the uneaten cakes. Two portions of each cake had floored us and we had taken to sharing by this stage.  My only complaint about an Afternoon Tea is the overconsumption thereof, but it must be said that Bedford Lodge offers a veritable feast of goodies as part of its Royal Afternoon Tea which will cost £36 (Pimms included).

The rest of the afternoon was given over to a lie down which is about all I could manage – a walk in the grounds was a far damper option due to the inclement weather. With a large and comfortable bed overlooking the Godolphin stables, I needed no persuading to a few hours of repose. Our room was decorated with dark wooden furniture offset with plush headboard and curtains and soft furnishings. It was on a long corridor that runs off the impressive Reception area below which is the hotel’s Health and Fitness Club which boasts an impressive array of equipment plus a lovely pool, sauna and steam room. The Spa is in a separate building a short walk from the main hotel. Other rooms are situated in the beautiful Georgian section of the hotel and are tastefully decorated with period furniture paired with modern bathrooms, rain showers and Molton Brown products. They are perfectly suited for bridal parties – Bedford Lodge is a beautiful wedding venue – as there are interleading rooms which would also be perfect for families. A mews house alongside is the sort of place I would love to hire for a Christmas break – three stylish bedrooms, large public areas, self-catering if desired, but who would with a 2 AA rosette Squires restaurant a few steps away?

Dinner on a Sunday evening in the Squires Restaurant was a relaxed meal with jazz on the sound system and two very friendly waiters on duty, smartly dressed in tweed waistcoats. The menu covers all bases well and as my husband and I divide neatly into carnivore and pescatarian, both our needs were creatively catered for. We began with starters of lime cured seabass and venison tartare with egg yolk puree. The seabass was beautifully presented in a gorgeous ceramic bowl and was accompanied by sea crackers, wasabi yoghurt, peas and yuzu pearls. It was as pretty and light as a Spring day. The venison looked suitably meaty – portions are very generous here – and was redolent with paprika.

Well-timed service soon brought out our main courses – halibut and an aged sirloin. The halibut with grilled red prawn with smoked mash and caviar sauce was one of the finest fish dishes I have eaten in a while. Since I almost always order fish when eating out, this dish really impressed me, The halibut was beautifully cooked and the smoked mash was served on top rather than underneath which worked well. On top of the mash nestled pieces of chargrilled, sweet prawn. The caviar sauce was one of those finger-licking sauces – if only no one was watching.

Dessert had to be a selection of artisanal cheese because a few hours after the Afternoon Tea I couldn’t look sugar in the eye. A lovely selection of cheese was sourced from a Cambridge based cheesemonger along with a pamphlet suggesting the order in which to enjoy them. Truffle honey and onion chutney accompanied the crackers. My husband managed an assortment of homemade ice cream and sorbet – chocolate, lemon and passion fruit which were very good. We took a cup of mint tea and an espresso in the lounge along with a plate of petit fours.

After an excellent day’s worth of eating, we managed a good night’s sleep before breakfast. I noticed that the music in the Squire’s Restaurant had been changed to classical which was perfect for easing into the morning.  There was a wide selection on offer – buffet style for the Continental – and a menu packed with hot dishes if a cooked breakfast was desired. My husband enjoyed his eggs Florentine while I simply had to have some of that delicious Chapel and Swan Smoked salmon, served with scrambled egg and a toasted bagel. Several cups of tea and coffee later we were properly set up for the day and bade farewell to this lovely hotel – the staff are delightful – and drove out of the impressive drive to watch horses out for training and enjoy a peek around nearby Newmarket where there is much to see such as the National Horse Racing Museum. Bedford Lodge is also well situated for visits to Ely, Bury St Edmunds and Cambridge.

Bedford Lodge Hotel and Spa
Bury Road,
Newmarket,
Suffolk,
CB8 7BX

Looking for something different in Suffolk?  We also recommend The Swan at Lavenham