A FORMER tea-room in the heart of Clifton Village which is believed to be the ‘birthplace’ of Winnie the Pooh has been put up for sale.
The tea-room is thought to have last brewed up a cuppa towards the end of the 1940s and was then converted into the house which stands at the junction of Wellington Terrace and Royal York Crescent.
“There are houses that have an interesting tale to tell, and this adorable Grade 2 Listed building is most definitely in that category!” said Martin Haigh of Haighs estate agency which is handling the sale.
“We think the property was built about 1790. With its charming curved frontage it served as a tea shop for several decades,” said Martin.
It is believed that the tea room was frequented by the Author A. A. Milne (who was creating stories inspired by his son Christopher’s teddy bear) and a well-known cartoonist and artist, Ernest H. Shepard.
It is thought it was during one of these visits to the tea room that the first sketched ideas of a “silly old bear” were drawn and discussed by the author and illustrator, and Winnie the Pooh was born, said Martin Haigh.
Later on Ernest Shepard created an oil painting of Winnie (the only one he ever painted) and donated it to the tea shop, where it was on proud display for many years.
The painting, oval in shape, three feet tall and just over two feet wide, was sold around twenty-five years ago. It is now in a museum in Winnipeg, Canada.
The four-storey building, which is affectionately known by local people as “Pooh Corner”, is on the market for £675,000.