Former Somersville B&B Transformed Into Elegant English Tea Room

SOMERSVILLE, CT — After a year of renovation, a former bed and breakfast has been transformed into an elegant English tea room, with visitors able to have their photo taken with Queen Elizabeth, or a reasonable facsimile thereof.

The Greek Revival-style structure at 63 Maple Street, built in 1860, is included on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Somersville Historic District. After a dozen years of operation as the Old Mill Inn B&B under the ownership of Francesca and Dennis Bogoslofski, the property was placed on the market in 2018, and near the end of 2019, was purchased by First Selectman Bud Knorr for $375,000, according to town land records.

Knorr and his wife Nancy enlisted the aid of primary contractor Larry Jones; a year later, the overhaul has been completed, and the exquisite Old Mill English Tea Room is ready for its doors to be opened - when it is feasible to do so in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

"I don't mind waiting - I've waited this long to do it," Nancy Knorr said in a recent interview with Patch. "We're still waiting for everybody to be healthy and well. It's a small, intimate setting, so we can't do social distancing per se. I want the ladies to be able to come in, put on a hat, put their lipstick on and dress up a little bit. That's what it's all about."

Nancy said she thought about the idea of opening a tea room "for a year and a half or so. I'm a musician, I've traveled all around the country and looked at quite a few houses, but this was THE house. Not only is it close to where I live, but this house had all the potential needed for it. It has the historic value to it, it has the space to it, and it gave me a chance to show all the ambience and treasures I have from my family. My grandmother was from London, so I grew up on tea!"

At a recent open house, Nancy said she was able to furnish the various rooms with treasures her grandmother had stashed away for years in England.

"The neat thing is I am able to display a lot of things my grandmother had in boxes for decades - things I had never seen even in my childhood," she said. "After my aunt - her daughter - passed, we discovered all these treasures, and everything pointed to a tea room."

Among the items displayed in different rooms are a wooden horse and a life-size cutout of the Queen. The property is not licensed for a full kitchen, but the menu for events will likely include finger sandwiches, scones and baked goods, as well as an assortment of teas.

At the open house, Trish Thomas of Enfield told Patch, "It's beautiful, it's so well set up and the decorating is phenomenal. I think it's something that will go over really well, especially with the younger generation. I think the tea room will be a good place for little ones to come."

With the official opening delayed, contractors were brought in to shore up the grounds, which consists of 1.15 acres abutting the Scantic River and Mill Pond.

"We thought we would be open in May, but when things got so bad, we went from inside to outside," Knorr said. "We redid the gardens and rose bushes, so it would be more conducive for a tea room. It gives people a chance to sit outside with a few tables and a patio. The yard goes down to the Scantic, just before the waterfall. It's a beautiful setting."

More information about the Old Mill English Tea Room may be obtained by calling Nancy Knorr at 860-999-1399.

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