Brew-tea-ful! Teapot fanatics put their whacky £250,000 collection of 8,500 pots up for sale – and they include quirky designs of Diana and Churchill
- Teapot Island has hosted royalty and made it into Guinness World Records book
It all started with a gift and grew into a 40-year passion which some cynics may call a teeny bit – well – potty.
Sue Blazye was given two teapots which set her on the collecting trail. Her family joined in, and they have since spent an astonishing £250,000 amassing 8,500 of them.
They are on display at Teapot Island, their cafe in Yalding, Kent, which has hosted royalty and twice made it into the book of Guinness World Records.
But, after 21 years of running the quirky venture, Mrs Blazye, 73, and husband Keith, 69, are retiring and the future is uncertain.
Their son Luke, 42, was overseeing the business but now needs to care for his children, aged 12 and ten, after his wife became ill.
Teapot Island with owners Sue and Keith Blayze, and Son Luke (pictured with some of the teapots)
President Bill Clinton figures feature among the ceramics that line the shelves of the shop in Kent
The novelty ceramics include the late Queen, politicians, Daleks, Betty Boop, Mr Blobby, animals, cars, food and a prized teepee-shaped design by artist Clarice Cliff
A Winston Churchill teapot features in the extensive collection which is now on sale
Del Boy’s van and various other ceramic vehicles are among the ceramics. The novelty objects attract teapot-lovers from as far as Japan and New Zealand
Mrs Blazye wants to keep all the teapots together, saying: ‘It’s taken me too long [to build this] and I want everybody to be able to see them as a collection.’
The novelty ceramics include the late Queen, politicians, Daleks, Betty Boop, Mr Blobby, animals, cars, food and a prized teepee-shaped design by artist Clarice Cliff.
There are also more risque designs including a series inspired by the Kama Sutra.
Mrs Blazye’s favourite is a depiction of Princess Diana entitled Pipe Dream made by Richard Parrington in 1981 to mark her wedding to Charles.
King Charles being shown a teapot of 20th Century Queens by Keith Blayze in 2014
Laurel and Hardy in ceramic form feature in Sue and Keith Blayze’s museum in Kent
This one, however, was discreetly kept out of sight when Charles and his wife Camilla went to Teapot Island in 2014 while visiting Yalding after it was hit by floods.
The family is hoping an enthusiast, museum or country home will buy or lease the collection which attracts teapot-lovers from as far as Japan and New Zealand.
Separately, the cafe and a self-contained four-bedroom property with a swimming pool and views of the River Medway are going on sale for £950,000.
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