Bygone Beautys Treasured Teapot Museum & Tearooms

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Bygone Beautys Treasured Teapot Museum and Tearooms is nestled in the scenic mountain village of Leura in the spectacular Blue Mountains region.

The Museum houses over 5,500 teapots (most were collected within Australia), making it the world's most extensive private collection of tea wares.



The collection spans five centuries and reflects and preserves the diversity of Australian tea-drinking culture. It showcases an array of teapots ranging from the old to the new, elegant to hilariously outrageous, rare and unusual, miniature to large, and from around the world.

The collection also includes iconic designs from several eras and teapots made from different materials, including china, silver, silver plate, pottery, fine porcelain, cast iron, bakelite, decoupage, and textiles.

Bygone Beautys Treasured Teapot Museum and Tearooms also house a wide range of tea-related items, jewellery, antiques, and collectables for sale. There are more than one hundred varieties of teas and infusions.



The Museum is also home to the Tearooms. The Tearooms serve a selection of teas, light refreshments or lunch with an old-world charm on fine bone china. Devonshire Tea, Traditional High Tea and Traditional Supreme High Tea are also served here.

Each week there is a different treasured teapot from the collection that is featured. The teapots are often selected based on their rarity, collectability, unique features or interesting history. The Teapot of the Week can be found at the front counter with a description.



History:

In 1974, Ronald Hooper (previous joint owner of the Museum) came across a geisha girl teapot that was made in England in the 19th century. The teapot, just like all the other decorative art pieces, sat proudly on Ronald's dresser and was then accompanied by many more teapots.

In 1992, Ronald and Maurice Cooper OAM (the current proprietor) joined forces to create Bygone Beautys, and Maurice quickly matched Ronald's collection to give equal partnership.
Between 2014 and August 2015, the Museum undertook a major renovation and extensions, which included a new museum space, function room, formal tearoom and a retail area specialising in all things tea-related.

Today, the Museum is often referred to as an emporium or "Aladdin's Cave" as it is jam-packed from floor to ceiling with more than 5,500 teapots from Australia, America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as antiques and collectables.



Getting Here:

Bygone Beautys is a 6-minute walk from Leura Train Station or approx. 1 ½ from Sydney City.

If driving from Sydney, turn left off the Great Western Highway into Leura Mall, pass the train station and turn left into Railway Parade at the roundabout. Then turn right into Grose Street and continue straight to the end of the street. On the left is Bygone Beautys.



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