Introducing Wyndham House
As The Emporium celebrates fifteen years in the heart of Yeovil, we’re taking the opportunity to look beyond our own story and explore the remarkable building that has been our home since 2011.
Many people know us as an independent lifestyle store, café and events venue. Fewer realise that our home on Princes Street has a history stretching back more than two centuries.
The building is Wyndham House, an eighteenth-century Georgian town house recognised by the Blue Plaque beside our entrance. For generations it has overlooked Princes Street, witnessing Yeovil evolve from a thriving market town into the community we know today.
Our interest in the building isn’t new.
Several years ago, while researching the origins of afternoon tea, we began to wonder what life might have been like within these elegant rooms. How would a Georgian family have entertained guests? Where would tea have been served? What conversations might have taken place beneath the high ceilings and tall sash windows?
Those questions inspired one of our earliest journal articles, exploring the history of afternoon tea through the story of Wyndham House. Read our earlier Journal article, The History of Afternoon Tea, to discover how our fascination with Wyndham House first began.
https://www.theemporiumyeovil.co.uk/blogs/news/afternoon-tea-at-the-emporium-cafe
Since then, The Emporium has continued to evolve. We’ve restored rooms, introduced new experiences, celebrated countless milestones and welcomed thousands of visitors through our doors. Yet the story of Wyndham House has quietly remained in the background, waiting to be explored in greater depth.
That journey has now begun again.
We’re researching the history of Wyndham House, studying historic photographs, local archives and surviving records to better understand the people who lived here, the changes the building has witnessed and the role it has played in Yeovil’s history. Wherever possible we’ll separate documented fact from informed interpretation, allowing the story to grow as new evidence comes to light.
Through this Journal we’ll share what we discover.
Some articles will focus on the documented history of Wyndham House. Others will explore Georgian life, British traditions, architecture, craftsmanship and the inspiration these have provided for The Emporium today. Together, they form part of the wider Wyndham House Project—an ongoing commitment to researching, preserving and sharing the history of this remarkable building.
We also hope the project becomes a collaborative one.
If you have photographs, postcards, documents or family memories connected with Wyndham House, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Every contribution helps us build a richer understanding of one of Yeovil’s historic buildings, ensuring its story can be enjoyed by future generations.
After fifteen years, we’re still discovering the place we call home.
Written by Dawn Woodward
Founder of The Emporium and curator of the Wyndham House Projecton
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