The Chocolate House exhibition will open at the venue from the 9th March until the 3rd November.
Calling all chocolate lovers and just in time for Easter, the Old Royal Naval College has announced a new exhibition Chocolate House Greenwich, which will explore the key role chocolate played in the revival of Greenwich.
The exhibition will take visitors back in time to the 18th century ( hot chocolate’s heyday) and to experience experience a recreation of Grace and Thomas Tosier’s famous ‘royal’ Chocolate House.
Starting with its origins Central America to becoming the mark of sophistication for London’s Enlightenment-era movers and shakers, the journey of chocolate and its impact on Georgian Greenwich society is traced in this new exhibition. Chocolate House Greenwich will explore the complex history of chocolate, and its surprising role at the heart of new cultural and scientific conversations at the time.
In the early 18th Century, Greenwich became a popular destination for those in search of elegant surroundings, and was a hub for astronomy, science and culture, with Sir Christopher Wren’s iconic architectural project (now the Old Royal Naval College) at its centre. The Tosier Chocolate House, located in what became known as Chocolate Row, became a social space for the leading figures of the day, run by Grace Tosier – which is recreated in the exhibition. Chocolate House Greenwich will reveal the architects, astronomers, scientists – and chocolate makers – that made Greenwich a centre of innovation in Georgian Britian.
During the course of the exhibition, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in this historic Chocolate House, favoured by courtiers and ambassadors of the time. The audio and visual experience, created by Unusual Expo and actor- writer Jonathan Coote, presents the flamboyant proprieter of the original Greenwich Chocolate House Grace Tosier – who ran this social hub while her husband Thomas ran the chocolate kitchen at Hampton Court for King George I. Those visiting will be able to listen to several minds of the day including architect and astronomer Sir Christopher Wren, writer and diarist John Evelyn and playwright and architect John Vanbrugh.
To find out more and to book tickets visit: https://ornc.org/whats-on/chocolate-house-greenwich/