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The current proprietor of Bygone Beautys is Mr Maurice Cooper OAM, often referred to as "The Teapot Man" or "Mr Teapot". A previous joint owner, Ronald Hooper, began the teapot collection in 1974 and he and Maurice joined forces in 1992 to create Bygone Beautys. Both directors decided for impact and ambience to display the teapots within the tearoom area of the complex. Mr Cooper quickly matched Mr Hooper’s collection to give equality to the partnership and since then the collection has grown to more than 4,000 teapots, with 3,000 on display. |
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As Bygone Beautys is located close to the famous Leura Village Mall, the teapot collection serves as a major drawcard, attracting customers both to the retail shop and tearoom. In response to demand, the business is open seven days a week, excluding Good Friday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Recently negotiations evolved to declare the collection as The Treasured Teapot Museum. This enabled permission to be given to place an official brown tourist sign on the Great Western Highway. Customers and patrons are able to view the collection at no cost whilst browsing the antiques and collectables or partaking in a selection of teas, Devonshire Tea, Traditional Tea, light lunches or snacks. Bygone Beautys also serves a great cup of coffee. |
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Located in the picturesque Blue Mountains at 20–22 Grose Street in the village of Leura, the original circa 1917 building presents well, especially the grounds facing the street that have recently been extensively landscaped. The most common statements from visitors to Bygone Beautys, after experiencing the rooms filled from floor to ceiling with antiques, collectables, jewellery, gifts, teapots and much more are: "It’s a treasure trove"; "It’s like stepping back in time"; "It’s like Aladdin’s Cave"; and "What an unexpected surprise!" |