Blogger’s Note: When I was in London serving as a volunteer Gamesmaker for the 2012 Olympic Games, I had the opportunity to write for one of my favorite blogs about the UK, Anglotopia. Here’s a look back at one of my adventures.
You know a place is an institution when it has an archivist. There’s a lot of history at Fortnum and Mason and Andrea Tanner, the lucky woman who serves as the department store’s archivist, knows just about every detail. For 308 years, F&M has been the go-to place for the aristocracy. Today, its clientele still caters to the well-to-do and the Royal Family (the store is a Royal warrant holder), but has a wide variety of items to meet every budget.
My behind-the-scenes tour with Andrea began on the 5th floor, home to some of F&M’s offices. Along the walls of the administration offices and throughout the store, there are some magnificent works of art. In fact, F&M played a pivotal role in the careers of some exceptional British artists and illustrators such as John Banting, Edward Bawden and Ronald Ferns. A huge mural of green and white leaves by Banting hangs at the entrance to Fortnum’s Interior Design Department, and Bawden and Ferns were responsible for some of F&M’s most memorable catalogs.
Andrea explained how the store was founded in 1707 in a small doorway on Duke Street. Owners William Fortnum & Hugh Mason sold candles and tea, which at the time came from China and were heavily taxed. Since a tin of tea cost about two-month’s salary, F&M customers were aristocrats, politicians and estate owners who clamored to have items that were imported from other parts England and the world. From the very beginning, customers could pick out items from the F&M catalog and have their items put onto personal payment accounts for which they were billed monthly. In fact, F&M didn’t have cash registers at the store until the 1950s.
The first place Andrea took me was the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon, which Queen Elizabeth opened in March, 2012 with Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. According to Andrea, Elizabeth visited F&M often when she was a young princess, but those trips became impossible once she took the throne as Queen. In fact, until the visit, Her Majesty hadn’t been inside F&M in 60 years.
Fortnum and Mason has several restaurants, and ice cream shop and it’s always been a wonderful place to enjoy afternoon tea. But this new salon is really something special. The interior is a soft green and there are rows of large tea canisters along the wall behind the front hostess stand along with an ornamental clock covered in 24 carat gold and a Steinway piano. The queen didn’t actually sit down for tea during her visit, but staff sent her home with a basket filled with some of the 60 products that were created specifically for the Jubilee, such as tea, biscuits and jams that. With its royal warrant, F&M provides items to the royal family regularly, and although the store can’t say exactly what products they supply, Andrea told me there is one full-time F&M staff member assigned solely to the royals.
Even though F&M is known for its amazing selection of items, the department store has had to reinvent itself over the years. Gone are the clothing department and the large selection of hats. Instead, F&M tries to specialize in one-of-a-kind gifts with preference given to British designers and companies, especially up-and-coming ones. Men can still buy fountain pens and cashmere socks, women can have a personalized fragrance created just for them and the store’s housewares department can’t be beat. F&M is known for the distinctive wicker hampers (or baskets) it sells and ships just about anywhere in the world. For £50 (about $78), you can purchase a basket with a canister of F&M tea, strainer and mug, but baskets can be custom-made for any price range. During the Christmas season, the store will ship about 50,000 baskets all over the world. (Santa, if you want to get me a great gift, one of those baskets would be appreciated!)
Although you can get just about anything at Fortnum and Mason, the store hasn’t strayed too far from its roots. You can still purchase one of the 160 types of teas that are offered, including ones developed exclusively for Fortnum’s and the Prince of Wales’ Highgrove Estate. There’s a wall of 300 jams and marmalades to choose from and the store makes it own brand of honey from rooftop beehives. Candy lovers have amazing homemade fudge to enjoy – it’s a lot more crumbly than the American kind- and old favorites like Turkish delights and marzipan fruit. Another specialty is the Knickerbocker Glory, a concoction of ice cream, fruit, whipped cream and raspberry syrup. And if you love food as much as I do, the first floor of Fortnum and Mason is not to be missed. As Andrea put it, it’s for “people who are serious about preparing food.” There are high end wines, traditional meat pies, vinegar and cheeses. There are also scotch eggs, a concoction of hard boiled eggs covered with a crust, breaded and deep fried that was first invented by Mr. Fortum and his staff. It’s a British delicacy that has clearly caught on! And on the first floor, visitors can also find more unusual items, like lollipops and vodka with scorpions in them. Andrea assured me they’re popular sellers, especially for Christmas stockings.
The best part of the tour was visiting The Crypt, a section of Fortnum and Mason the public doesn’t get to see often and might not even know exists. The Crypt is where personalized tastings take place and it gives you a flavor of what F&M must have looked like 300-plus years ago. The fireplace was built in 1750, old, carved Navy shelves line the walls filled with bottles of whisky, scotch and other liquors.
It was nice to see that although so much has changed in our world since 1707, the tradition of Fortnum and Mason has remained a constant. A stop at Fortnum and Mason is a must, and while you’re at it, get some tea to take home.