Ravenscourt Park Tea House nominated for a 2024 Tom Ryland Award for Conservation

The restoration of the Ravenscourt Park Tea House in Hammersmith has been nominated for a 2024 Tom Ryland Award for Conservation, presented by the Hammersmith Society. Two centuries old and Grade ll-listed, the building, which was on Historic England’s Buildings at Risk Register, has gained a new roof as well as modern, fully accessible public toilets as part of a top-to-bottom restoration and refurbishment.

The Tea House at Ravenscourt Park was formerly the eastern wing of the original stable block that formed part of the overall Ravenscourt Park Estate and dates from the eighteenth century with various later extensions. The building was converted to a refreshment room in the late nineteenth century and the ground floor has been running as a well-loved and popular café. The building provides a focus for Ravenscourt Park and much needed amenities in the form of the café and public conveniences.

The building had endured a long period of deterioration, resulting in damage to the roof and external fabric in many areas both externally and internally. As well as a new roof in the main building, and new loos, many of the roof timbers and joists have been restored or replaced, together with repairs to the drainage, guttering, windows and doors.

The much-needed programme of improvements has secured the building’s future and ensured it provides many more years of service where patrons can visit and use the building as a quality tearoom. The Friends of Ravenscourt Park have welcomed the restoration of the tea house.

The building has been reopened as The Paddenswick Tea Gardens Café, serving artisan coffee and hot drinks, bakery, ice cream and a delicious hot food brunch and lunch dishes. Its heritage significance is very much appreciated by local people and, following these restoration works, it is once again a popular place of attraction for people to visit and cherish.