Sir Joseph Lyons, the man who brought high tea to the high street as a forerunner of popular modern chains such as Starbucks and Pret A Manger, has been honoured with a blue plaque. The plaque marks the imposing late-Victorian mansion block in Hammersmith where Lyons lived in the 1890s, close to the now-demolished headquarters of his catering empire in Cadby Hall.

SETTING THE TREND

Founding his company in 1887, Joseph Lyons changed the face of British dining more than 100 years before the arrival of the countless chains to line the UK's high streets today. Lyons understood the need for mass catering, and started by providing fresh affordable food and tea to large public exhibitions and theatrical events. Later in his career, he developed Lyons tea shops and the famed 'Corner Houses' of London, among England's first chain restaurants. The Lyons name dominated the high street for decades. At its peak, the chain boasted more than 250 tea shops across the country and employed over 12,000 staff by 1913.

Howard Spencer, an English Heritage Blue Plaques Historian, said:

Joseph Lyons was a true pioneer of modern casual dining. Providing the average shopper or worker with an affordable, good-quality meal in an attractive environment, he revolutionised what people came to expect from high street eateries and provided a little bit of luxury to the everyman.

A SOCIAL PHENOMENON

J. Lyons and Company opened the doors of their very first teashop at 213 Piccadilly in 1894. The establishment was an instant hit, brewing fresh tea for every customer at an affordable price, and in more refined surroundings than its competitors. The success saw Lyons open shops at Queen Victoria Street, Chancery Lane and a dozen other locations, going from strength to strength. The company also went on to establish the Trocadero restaurant in 1896, the frontage and name of which can be seen today on the corner of Shaftesbury Avenue. The boom of the luxurious 'Corner Houses' continued until the post-war era, and the last of them closed in the 1970s.

Lyons was knighted by King George V in 1911, for public services, and awarded the Coronation Medal for his work on the organisation committee for the Children's Coronation Fête at Crystal Palace, providing entertainment and refreshments to 100,000 children. His legacy lives on today, in the wealth of teashops and coffee houses found on the modern British high street.