Chocolate House Greenwich – Old Royal Naval College, London

This interesting exhibition on a lost Greenwich chocolate house includes both an atmospheric recreation and some cold, hard facts.

Chocolate House Greenwich

On a recent trip to Greenwich, I included my first ever stop at the Old Royal Naval College’s Visitor Centre. I’ve been to the Old Royal Naval College a few times: to outdoor events, the Painted Hall, and even behind the scenes for a unique theatrical experience. But the Visitor Centre had eluded me. Dare I suggest it might be because you have to walk past/near a tempting pub with plentiful outdoor seating to get to it? That would be painting my impulse control in a bad light.

But visit it I did. My aim was their current temporary exhibition: Chocolate House Greenwich. Chocolate houses, like coffee houses, popularised fashionable new drinks emanating from South America. They were places to see and be seen, to catch up on the news and hold erudite conversations. And Greenwich, frequented by important people in government, the arts, science and other fields, was not a bad place to set one up.

Enter Grace Tosier. She and her husband Thomas, who was chocolate maker to George I, ran a chocolate house on Blackheath. The building doesn’t exist any more, and a lot of conjecture went into what it may have looked like. But the Old Royal Naval College have created a small yet interesting exhibition which gives a social history of chocolate and chocolate houses, before whisking visitors back in time to Blackheath in 1705.

The methods are very simple. The exhibition uses reproduction images with text, and covers chocolate’s ‘discovery’, introduction to Europe, and connections to enslaved labour. There is also information on Greenwich and Blackheath around 1700 and some of the intellectuals and others who frequented it and would have constituted Tosier’s clientele. There’s information on Grace herself, and the development and reception of chocolate and coffee houses.

From Chocolate House to Painted Hall

I really enjoyed the recreated chocolate house when I reached it. It creates an immersive experience through its sights, sounds and props. It actually gave me a completely different perspective on what Blackheath had once been: not just a way to walk to Greenwich and a convenient spot for fun fairs, as it turns out. I think the exhibition is best combined with another activity in Greenwich because it is small, but definitely worthwhile for history lovers.

There are various ticket options if you do visit. We had tickets which combined the exhibition with the Painted Hall. They also give access to the rest of the Visitor Centre museum, which I also recommend. But back to the Painted Hall: my first visit here in some time! They’ve added a room on Horatio Nelson’s death and lying in state since I was last here. Again, just like I was able to reimagine Blackheath in the chocolate house, it finally clicked for me what a big cultural moment Nelson’s death was. Like the death of Lady Diana was for us, really. It’s worth watching the video through to take it all in. Including the rather unique way Nelson’s body was preserved on its sea voyage, if you weren’t already aware of that.

So I think what I’m saying is that, depending on your ticket option, you already have enough activities to make a day of it in Greenwich. Visitor Centre, Chocolate House, Painted Hall. Maybe a cheeky visit to that pub to discuss what you’ve seen? Or you could have a hot chocolate in the Painted Hall cafe, or go all out and head to nearby Dark Sugars, surely Mrs. Tosier’s hipper but less genteel modern equivalent?

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

Chocolate House Greenwich on until 3 November 2024.