Iconic tearoom visited by Princess of Wales as a schoolgirl blasts 'impossible' costs and 'relentless tax rises' as it is forced to close after 114 years

Résumé détaillé

The Polly Tea Rooms in affluent Marlborough in Wiltshire - which has frequently been voted one of the best places to live in the UK - has been a much loved fixture of its historic High Street.

Published: 15:15 GMT, 10 November 2026 | Updated: 15:40 GMT, 10 November 2026

A famous tearoom where the Princess of Wales was a regular in her schooldays has closed its doors after 114 years claiming it is 'simply impossible' for any High Street business to succeed due to punishing tax rises.

The Polly Tearooms in affluent Marlborough in Wiltshire - which has frequently been voted one of the best places to live in the UK - has been a much loved fixture of its historic High Street since 1912.

Its devastated owner David Clarke MBE said today that he struggled with mounting economic pressures and could no longer make ends meet when the Budget failed to throw businesses like his a lifeline.

When Kate Middleton was at school in the late 1990s at nearby Marlborough College, she was said to visit the then bustling tearoom every week with her friends for her favourite blueberry muffins.

But the future queen was not the only famous face to frequent the quaint eatery, whose top floors burnt down in a fire in the 1960s.

Set up by suffragette Janet McCloud and her partner Jean Leith Hay, it has been a favourite of celebrities including Hollywood legend Cary Grant, who regularly used to have breakfast there in his heyday, Robbie Williams, when he lived nearby, actor Rupert Everett and even the Bee Gees.

It was also a favourite of the late Sir Patrick Stewart, who died last month.

All of them have been among the hordes of customers - including generations of pupils from Marlborough College and busloads of tourists - who have often queued up patiently to sample The Polly's renowned cream teas, cakes and knickerbocker glories.

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