Northumberland afternoon tea at St Mary’s Inn

Stuart Forster heads to St Mary’s Inn at Stannington, near Morpeth to sample sandwiches, scones and cakes during a delicious Northumberland afternoon tea.

Disclosure: Stuart was invited to experience a rustic afternoon tea at St Mary’s Inn, which has not reviewed or approved this article. Some of the links below and banners are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Northumberland afternoon tea

St Mary’s Inn, near Morpeth in Northumberland, serves afternoon tea six days a week. I popped by with my partner to sample the afternoon tea on a sunny summer’s day.

Afternoon tea at St Mary’s Inn is served on a two-tier stand featuring wooden boards and a curved metal handle.

Looking around the airy dining room in which the teas are served, I noticed I was the only man present. That surprised me. The portions served at St Mary’s Inn are by no means dainty and this is the kind of afternoon tea that I think many of my mates would enjoy.

I’m sure a few of them would also enjoy staying on to sample a few of the local craft brews served in the bar.

From tables where teas had already been served, I gleaned that the lower of the two boards was loaded with savouries while the upper lever carried sweeter stuff.

Ham sandwiches served in brown, wholemeal bread, served during an English afternoon tea.
Ham sandwiches served in brown, wholemeal bread.



Afternoon tea in Northumberland

Our drinks order was taken as soon as we were seated. Earl Grey was blended for the former British prime minister whose family estate, Howick Hall, was in Northumberland. That got my nod from the list of Rington’s teas served at St Mary’s.

Normally I serve Earl Grey with a slice of lemon but that wasn’t an option. Milk with Earl Grey? Goodness, no! Not for me, thank you.

For a fiver, we could have added a glass of Prosecco to our afternoon tea.

Cup of Earl Grey tea by a tea pot with a colourful knitted tea cosy served during a Northumberland afternoon tea.
Cup of Earl Grey by a cosy-covered teapot.

Afternoon tea at St Mary’s Inn

The sandwiches at St Mary’s are served on bread cut from brown bloomers or white stotties. If you’re a visitor to the region, stottie cake is a type of round flat bread that has long been baked in North East England.

I didn’t get past the first item on the menu — ham and pease pudding with mustard and gem lettuce — before deciding that appealed as my choice of sandwich. Smoked salmon, cheese and crushed avocado sandwiches were also available.

Normally a couple of those succulent sandwiches would do me for lunch. Additionally, the afternoon tea menu also allowed us to choose either a slice of cheese and onion quiche or minced beef and onion pie.

The pie won. The pastry was soft and golden. Its flavour was rich and satisfying.

Sandwiches and cakes served on a two-tier wooden cake stand at St Mary's Inn, a purveyor of Northumberland afternoon tea
Rustic afternoon tea served on a wooden cake stand.



How to pronounce scone?

Whenever my partner and I are in a place that serves scones we revive our long-running discussion about how ‘scone’ should be pronounced.

I’m a firm believer that scone rhymes with ‘cone’. Just look at the similarities in how they are spelt. She is adamant that rhymes with ‘con’. That was also how the server who took our orders said it.

Cheese scone served with butter during rustic afternoon tea in Northumberland at St Mary's Inn at Stannington.
A cheese scone served with butter.

I opted for the fruit scone served with clotted cream and strawberry jam while Helen ordered a cheese ‘s-con’. The homestyle scones impressed. They were served warm and both had pleasantly soft centres.

The final choice we had to make was between a warm chocolate brownie or carrot cake with cream cheese icing. One of the great things about going out as a couple is being able to order one of each and share.

Cakes served during afternoon tea at St Mary’s Inn in Northumberland.
Crumbs, we had a lovely time. We found the cakes were packed with flavour and, to our liking, not overly sweet.

There’s certainly lots of food served during the afternoon tea at St Mary’s Inn. I noticed one guest ask for what was left to be boxed up so that she could take it home. Priced at £15 per person, I think the rustic afternoon tea represents good value.

We sat there for a couple of hours, chatting (mainly about scones and how to pronounce their name) and gradually nibbling way through both boards. Thank goodness, then, that the teapots were covered with colourful knitted cosies.

Teapot with a colourful wool tea cosy and salt and pepper pots with the St Mary's Inn logo
A teapot covered by a colourful wool tea cosy and salt and pepper pots with the St Mary’s Inn logo.



National Cream Tea Day

Did you know that Britain has a Cream Tea Society? The last Friday in June is the UK’s National Cream Tea Day.

A woman puts clotted cream on a fruit scone during afternoon tea at St Mary's Inn
A woman puts clotted cream on a scone during an afternoon tea. The scone is pitted with currants.

Travel to St Mary’s Inn

Stannington is about 15 miles north of Newcastle. The Visit Northumberland website has information about things to do in the surrounding countryside.

Zoom out of the map below to see the location of St Mary’s Inn west of the A1.

Google Map of St Mary’s Inn at Stannington, Northumberland.
 

Hotels in Northumberland

Search for accommodation in Northumberland via Booking.com:



Booking.com

Further information

St Mary’s Inn (tel. 01670 293293) is at St Mary’s Park at Stannington, near Morpeth, in Northumberland. The pub has 11 guestrooms for overnight stays on a bed-and-breakfast basis. See the St Mary’s Inn website for further information about Northumberland afternoon tea, served from noon until 4.00 pm from Monday to Saturday.

Occupying a neo-Gothic building with a clock tower, St Mary’s Inn was previously the administrative building for Gateshead’s county asylum, which operated until 1996. As many as 2,000 patients were once cared for at the hospital. The hospital building was recently demolished and housing has been constructed on its site.

Stuart Forster, the author of this post, is a travel and food writer from northeast England. His work on the region has been published by The Independent and Love Exploring, and he has talked about it on Travel FM.

The photographs illustrating this post are by Why Eye Photography, which is based in North East England and specialises in food, travel and portraiture. Call 07947 587136 to discuss your needs and to commission a shoot.

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Teapot covered in a tea cosy on a blog post about rustic afternoon tea st St Mary's Inn
A teapot covered by a colourful wool tea cosy. The tea cosy keeps the tea inside the pot warm.

6 Comments

  • Kacie Morgan

    June 28, 2019 at 16:32 Reply

    How did I not know it was Afternoon Tea Day today?! I love the look of this afternoon tea – the teapot covers are especially cute! I agree that scone rhymes with cone and I am a cream first kinda gal!

    • Stuart Forster

      July 2, 2019 at 19:58 Reply

      It sounds as if a lot more people in the North East pronounce it the other way.

  • Suzanne Jones

    June 30, 2019 at 09:57 Reply

    What a cute little place – I’d be hard pushed to choose between the scone and the brownie!

    • Stuart Forster

      July 2, 2019 at 19:56 Reply

      The good news is you can have both! You have to choose between a brownie and a carrot cake though.

  • Nell (Pigeon Pair and Me)

    July 1, 2019 at 09:41 Reply

    What I like about afternoon tea is how diverse it can be. This one sounds very hearty indeed! (btw, your wife is definitely right!)

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