Sheilagh Matheson discovers a tiny tearoom tucked away in rural Northumberland, and finds a hamper business with worldwide reach going on behind it
Ann Maddison was only seven when she set up her first business, selling her homemade toffee cakes and scones to her classmates and teachers at Fulwell Primary School in Seaham, Co Durham.
More than 50 years later, she left a high flying city career to return to selling cakes and afternoon tea at her teashop in Simonburn, Northumberland – and shipping local produce all over the world.
Nothing could be more traditionally English than her tearoom in the old stone-built Post Office on the edge of this tiny village, the customers soaking up the last of summer in the garden enjoying sandwiches, scones and cakes watched patiently by Dexter, Ann’s West Highland white terrier, who greets guests.
But behind the scenes, Ann is a human dynamo running three businesses – the teashop and gift shop downstairs, B&B upstairs, and in a back room the Northumberland Hamper Emporium, which sends North East produce all over the world.
Years ago, she studied hotel and catering management and then worked her way up at Vaux Brewery for nearly 30 years, studying along the way for an MBA.
“My job took me all over the country, and I was sick of motorways, staying in soulless hotels and not seeing friends or family,” she says. “So in 2004 I took a year off to have a rest and think. I came here, saw the building and fell in love with it and the scenery.”
Now this is a vintage English tearoom, with lace tablecloths and Wedgwood china. Old people love it because it reminds them of their childhood and young people because to them it’s something new. “This is our heritage, and I’m trying to keep a vestige of true English country culture alive,” says Ann, who cooks nearly everything herself using local suppliers. Lunch dishes include quiche, steak and ale pie, and pork loin, followed by desserts like rice pudding, meringues, and banana split.
For afternoon tea, traditional three-tiered china stands display sandwiches, scones and cakes, while on Sundays there is roast beef, pork or lamb. No wonder there is a constant stream of walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists and passing tourists on her doorstep.
Sourcing local suppliers led to an appreciation of the quality produce available and led Ann to set up The Northumberland Hamper Emporium.
Now, its wines, jams, biscuits and sweets are packed in hampers priced £35-£100 and sent as far afield as New Zealand, the USA, Europe and the Far East. Its suppliers include Dillies Wines in Hexham, Northumberland Tea based in Corbridge, Border biscuits, and Kenspeckle, an independent artisan band of confectioners based in Lynemouth, Northumberland, which Ann says is “massive” in Australia.
Ann’s success is thanks to her indefatigable energy and business expertise. “I was a city girl in suits and high heels until I came here,” she says. “I didn’t know anyone and I had to learn the rural way of life.
“Now I’m always in my wellies. I’m very lucky to be nearly 60, running these businesses. I don’t stop to breathe very often, but when I sit in the garden with a glass of wine, listening to the bird song, I’m in a little piece of heaven.”
