Woburn Abbey

The Blue Drawing Room

In the nineteenth century afternoon tea was served in this room and the Duchess Anna Maria is credited with the 'invention' of this meal. She had found the time between luncheon and dinner too long so a light tea was served mid-afternoon. The sofas on either side of the fireplace were made especially for this room and have only recently been returned. The placing of furniture in an eighteenth-century room was entirely different from the way we arrange our rooms today.Similar eighteenth century styles of furniture can be found in The State Saloon. Then, all the chairs would be placed round the walls. Often the wall and chair coverings would be in the same material so the effect on entering a room could have been quite staggering. It was only in the early nineteenth century that it became fashionable to group furniture together in a room.