Tiptree Tea Room & Café at Barleylands

The Tiptree Tea Room at Barleylands is located at the popular Barleylands site which incorporates Barleylands Farm Park, The Village at Barleylands, Barleylands Equestrian Centre and Barleylands Campsite.

The Philpot family business started in 1936 and quickly developed into a large arable farming business. The family; three brothers - Chris, Andrew, Stuart and their father Peter work together under the wider company 'HR Philpot and Son (Barleylands) LTD'

The diversification of Barleylands Farm began in 1984 when Peter Philpot's collection of vintage farm machinery became so large that he decided to open an agricultural themed museum to both be enjoyed by, and to educate the local community. Originally a dairy farm, Peter was able to utilise the old farm buildings that were no longer in use. In 1991 the family made the decision they would like to support local crafts people and the first craft unit opened the same year at The Village.

The next phase of development came in 1996 when eldest son Chris finished college and was given responsibility for the Farm Museum. Chris's passion for education encouraged by his Father saw the number of school children visiting the museum steadily increase. Until the late 1990's, Chris led the visits and began to shape them into what we see today.

Chris further developed the farm to enhance the learning experience. Several farm animals were introduced to help children understand where our food comes from. This investment gave Chris the idea of opening a Farm Park for the local community. Sadly the museum had to be closed during the Foot and Mouth outbreak. This however, gave Chris time to plan further how the museum could be developed.

Chris later introduced new craft workshops, in 2002, so the rental income would cover the operating costs of opening and running the Farm Museum in the future. Tiptree at Barleylands is split across two different units that sit next to each other and is located in The Village amongst the craft shops.

The Tiptree “Pantry”, or now known as the Tiptree at Barleylands café, is a child-friendly café which offers a quick self-service menu and space for visitors to meet their friends and family. This building is located to the right of the entrance and opened first to visitors in February 2016. As well as excellent food and friendly service you will find a large range of Tiptree conserves and merchandise in this entrance. Following on shortly in March 2016 the stylish Tiptree Tea Room at Barleylands first opened to visitors. Tiptree at Barleylands Tea Room offers the traditional Tiptree Tea Rooms menu and tempting cakes from the Tiptree Patisserie.