Tea company Whittard is on the move in Oxford city centre.

The company, founded in London in 1886, is best known for tea but also sells coffee, hot chocolate and other gifts.

It has been located in Oxford High Street close to one of the entrances of the Covered Market.

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But its High Street store is to close in January and a new Whittard shop is to open in Queen Street instead. 

A member of staff said: "The new shop in Queen Street will open early in December.

"The High Street store will close in January, so both will be open over the Christmas period.

(Image: Andy Ffrench) "We are closing in the High Street while this building is being redeveloped and we could return here at some point.

"The shop unit in Queen Street is a former bubble tea shop."

It comes as earlier this year The Crafters Emporium in High Street moved to Cornmarket.

All Souls College has put forward a planning application with Oxford City Council to upgrade 10-15 High Street.

Whittard has been trading for well over a century.

Walter Whittard took a job with a tea trader in London and then eight years later – aged just 25 – he opened his own shop in Fleet Street.

The company website says: "In those early days the walls would have been lined with huge tea caddies, and filled with the scent of roasting coffee.

"Walter insisted on blending his tea and roasting his coffee on site. He also had a keen eye for a marketing opportunity, and targeted the nearby law courts by describing his tea as The Barrister’s Refresher."

(Image: Andy Ffrench) The website adds: "In 1935 Walter died, and the business fell to his sons Dick and Hugh.

"After Whittard lost its warehouse to the Blitz, Dick and Hugh quickly set about finding a new warehouse nearby. It wasn’t long before they decided to up sticks and move their entire business – the shop, headquarters, warehouse and coffee roastery – to Chelsea, settling on a rather grand-looking building at 111 Fulham Road."

Tragedy struck the company in 1967.

In 1967, Walter's son Hugh Whittard was one of 49 people killed when a train came off the rails at Hither Green, a district of southeast London. 

This was described as a "serious blow" to the business as his brother Dick ran the business alone for another five years. 

Dick died on July 20, 1985, nearly 100 years after his father first set up the shop.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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