Tearoom at Victorian Great Malvern station to close

Margaret Baddeley said she would try not to show it, but was sure a few tears would be shed

A railway station tearoom in Worcestershire is to close after more than 35 years.

Train strikes, the Covid pandemic and the impact of restoration work at Great Malvern station were among the challenges for Lady Foley's Tearoom, owner Margaret Baddeley said.

The 163-year-old station was awarded Grade II listed status in 1969 and has a host of Victorian details.

Ms Baddeley said there would be tears when the tearoom shuts on 31 October.

The cafe includes vintage decor

Ms Baddeley said of renovations to the station: "It was boarded up for well over a year, so that really knocked it on the head for us.

"It was really difficult. We stayed open, but it was very, very quiet."

Of train strikes, she added: "It wasn't just the days off. It was the trains weren't running properly prior to it and after.

"People were very reluctant to go on the trains."

Explaining she was also conscious that more people were working from home, she said takings had gone down, stating: "We don't see a lot of the people that we used to see."

The 163-year-old station was awarded Grade II listed status

One tea room customer, freelance technical writer Nick Weller, from Horsham, West Sussex, said he thought the closure was "a very great shame".

He said: "I mean it's one of the most distinctive refreshment rooms anywhere in England. It's got so much atmosphere."

Nicholas Wheeler, professor of international relations at the University of Birmingham, said he had been coming to the tea room to work when not at the university.

"It's such a welcoming, warm environment," he said. "So relaxed and people feel very comfortable."

Margaret Baddeley (right), pictured with daughter and cafe worker Melissa Baddeley, said people had made the job

Ms Baddeley said she was "really proud" to have won the "best cafe on the station award" in 2020, but would miss customers.

She added: "I think it's people that make any job, isn't it?"

Lady Foley's Tearoom will shut on 31 October