West Midlands railway station tearoom set for refurb three years after closure

A railway station tearoom is set to be refurbished three years after it closed down.

Lady Foley’s Tearoom at Great Malvern Railway Station closed in October 2023 after serving customers on Platform 1 for over 35 years.

Now plans have been put forward to renovate the historic space by Centenary Lounge, which already runs a number of railway station tearooms including at Moor Street in Birmingham.

Centenary Lounge also has an art deco-themed cafe at The Cross in Worcester.

Its plans for the tearoom at Great Malvern station include replacing the existing counters and furniture, as well as ripping out the carpet to expose and restore the original limestone paving that’s underneath.

The company says it plans to refurbish and reuse the existing tables and chairs.

“The proposals have been designed to retain the principal architectural and historic features of the accommodation while allowing the room to function effectively as a contemporary café,” plans submitted to Malvern Hills District Council state.

“The proposed works seek to continue this established use of this area as a café, and allow it to continue to make a positive contribution to the active use of the listed station.”

Great Malvern Station is Grade II listed and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Victorian railway architecture.

The tearoom is named after Lady Emily Foley, a prominent landowner and benefactor who lived at Stoke Edith in the 19th century.

She regularly travelled by train and a private waiting room was provided for her at the station so she could wait for her train separately from the general public.

It is her former private accommodation, designed as part of the original station, that eventually became a cafe.

Stained glass windows and timber panelling are still in place in the room, although many internal finishes had to be replaced following a fire in 1986.

Work could also soon be taking place at the station to repair a king’s head sculpture at the entrance to The Worm, a now-closed walkway connecting the station to the former Imperial Hotel (now Malvern St James school).