THE ORIGINAL MAIDS OF HONOUR LTD Surrey TW9 3DU

Certainly by the early l8th Century the recipe had been disclosed to a bakery in Richmond and they became one of the features of fashionable Richmond throughout that century and beyond.

The first Original Maids of Honour shop was on the corner of Hill Street in Richmond under the ownership of Mr. John Billet and can be traced back to the early 18th Century. It was here that Robert Newens served his apprenticeship. In 1850 he opened premises in King Street, later moving to No.3 George Street, and continued the tradition of selling and making 'Maids of Honour' in Richmond.

 Alfred Newens and his family and staff posed infront of the Kew shop. Mrs Newens stands to the left of Alfred. On his right is his son Frank, who distinguished himself as a photographer and his daughter Kathleen who with John, (holding the pony) continued in business all her life.
Robert Newens left his son Alfred Nashbar Newens to start a new establishment on the Kew Road in 1887, passing on the now family secret recipe of the 'Maids of Honour'.

 Alfred Newens died in 1927 leaving his business to be carried on by his son John and daughter Kathleen. During the Second World War the bakery suffered severe bomb damage and the future looked bleak.

 Mr. Peter Newens, John's son, left the army and set to work to get the business back on its feet again by rebuilding the bakehouse and installing new gas ovens and also remodelling the shop front. Since which time the shop has gone from strength to strength and the bakery still provides a mouth watering experience for any visitor in its huge variety of high quality home made iced and plain cakes, meat pies, cream teas and traditional English luncheons.
Some stories go even further and claim that in order to protect the secret the unfortunate 'Maid' who invented the cake was imprisoned within the palace grounds and ordered to produce the pastries solely for, King Henry and the Royal Household!

It is still owned and run by the Newens family and they continue to serve their long standing speciality 'Maids of Honour' which remain a closely kept family secret recipe to this day.