RICHARD Twining, the head of Twining's Tea, promised Oxford a new tea shop which would be 'unlike any other' in 1967.

Mr Twining's forebears founded the company, which was and still is famous for its tea.

In 1967, he his cousin John took over a division of the business from his great grandfather Francis, who had been Lord Mayor of Oxford in 1904.

It was called Twining Brothers – a chain of grocers specialising in tea with eight shops in Oxford at the time.

Aged 60, he was opening another in Summertown, and promised: "There won't be another like it."

He explained: "It is the first shop I have ever had to be designed to my very own ideas, my own requirements."

The Oxford Mail of the day described the new store as 'modern – but not brashly so'.

The shelving and counters were oak or teak surfaced. There was no plastic to be seen and had the look of 'quality'.

He added: "We shall stock all the lines that it has become so difficult for the public to get – the lines of tea that were consistently stocked by the Twining Shop in North Oxford and George Street.

"We will have 32 different kinds of tea and coffee on sale."

He also went on: "And those special tins of biscuits that shops have at Christmas time, they will be on our shelves all year round.