Never refuse a tea chest …… you may not have them for long

I grew up with tea chests.  

In south east London and I guess pretty much everywhere they were what passed for storage.

Often used during house moves, and in some cases never quite emptied and always smelling of tea.

My Wikipedia tells me that they were “a type of wooden case originally produced and used to ship tea to the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The conventional tea chest is a case with riveted metal edges”*

They were only ever used the once and then passed on to general use, and tended to be handed on to family and friends.

And in the 1950s began to be used as basic basses in skiffle groups.

I had quite forgotten about them until I came across three on offer outside Ken Foster’s Cycle shop on Barlow Moor Road.**

They were selling for a tenner each which is cheap.  A quick trawl of the internet came up with prices ranging from £30 up to £80.

I was tempted to do the aroma test, but that might have seemed a tad odd, so I took the picture instead.

Leaving me to reflect that l will await their reappearance in the new themed bar specialising in tea, tea infused gin, whisky and Guinness and  tea posters soon to open in Chorlton.

In the great sweep of history the story ain’t worth much, but with modern container ships and new methods of storage in transit, I suspect the tea chest will become a little bit of history along with the picture cards which were given away by Horniman and J Lyons.

Location; Barlow Moor Road

Picture; tea chests on Barlow Moor Road, 2025, from the collection of Andrew Simpson and Cetlon, 1944, from the collection of Bob Ward

*Tea Chest, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_chest#

**Ken Fosters Cycles, https://www.kenfosterscyclelogic.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOoqBNA7vgLA0y8JTEXkgfX1QAp1NS3Be_n3PJ4vBQf_CSvsx5a4x