The Queen Mary, Spindler Studio and Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms

Bettys Café Tea Rooms, York 

Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms, York

My recent post about the David Linley marquetry art panel for the Queen Elizabeth reminded me of Paul Spindler's marquetry panels for the Queen Mary and the Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms story...

In 1919, Frederick Belmont, a confectioner by trade, opened the first of his Bettys tea rooms in Harrogate. The blend of Yorkshire hospitality with Swiss culinary precision was a hit and royal patronage soon followed. The tea rooms remain popular today yet have retained the elegance and style of the past. You can still view the Art Nouveau marquetry designs of Yorkshire scenes on the walls in the basement, known as the Spindler Gallery that Belmont commissioned from Paul Spindler of the Spindler studio in Alsace [Charles Spindler (1865-1938); Paul Spindler (1906-1980); Jean-Charles Spindler, Paul’s son, took over the day-to-day operation of the workshop in 1975]. 

Interior design inspired by the Queen Mary cruise liner

 In 1936 Belmont traveled on the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary. He was so enthralled by the splendor of the ship that he commissioned the Queen Marys’ designers and craftsmen to turn a furniture store into his most sophisticated branch yet – an elegant café right in the heart of York, Bettys' York branch.

 

The Art Deco Elegance of the Belmont Room

The art deco elegance of the Queen Mary is particularly evident in the first floor Belmont Room which was based on one of the cruise liner’s state rooms. Today, as you sit in Bettys surrounded by huge curved windows, elegant wood panelling and ornate mirrors, you can almost imagine yourself aboard the historic ocean liner.

 Photos and portions of text courtesy of Bettys Cafe Tea Rooms