Since I was a small child I loved baking and when I had the opportunity to set up a café here at Garden Sage there was never any doubt that I would call the café the Mayblossom Café. It’s a name that I have grown up with as my Nan’s great Aunt Eveleana and Great Uncle George set up the original Mayblossom Café in Coulsdon, Surrey in the late 1920’s. It was a family run business that served breakfast, lunch and dinners as well as afternoon teas, open daily from 8am to 10pm.

The café also sold boxes of high quality chocolates from Cadbury’s Rowntree, Fry, Terry & Nestle.

In 1939 was once war was declared an Anderson shelter was built in the garden of the Mayblossom, and the family endured many unpleasant, anxious nights there hearing bombs drop all around them. It was business as usual in the day however, until one unfortunate night in August the Mayblossom took a hit.

The family, luckily, were not at home at the time but on holiday in Northampton. They saw a headline ‘Bomb damage in yesterdays raids in the London area’ and realised that their beloved shop had been destroyed. Fortunately nobody was hurt, however it was to be the end of the chapter for the Mayblossom. The family moved to a safer area and the shop was turned into a bank.