The Polly Tea Rooms in Marlborough, Wiltshire, has closed after 114 years in business. A notice placed on the door of the High Street cafe blamed "relentless tax rises", rising overheads and another minimum wage increase, saying it was simply impossible to keep trading. The closure was announced this week, and the news has been met with sadness in the town, where the tea rooms had been a familiar presence since 1912. ## A fixture on the High Street since 1912 The business was founded in 1912 by Jean Leith Hay and Janet McCloud, one of the original suffragettes, and it went on to survive two world wars. It occupied a Georgian building on Marlborough High Street, reputedly the widest High Street in England, and the premises had previously been a public house, with the upper floors destroyed by fire in the 1960s. Over the decades the tea rooms became a popular stop for Marlborough College pupils, tourists and local residents, known for cream teas, cakes and knickerbocker glories, with waiting staff in formal lace dresses, hats and frilly aprons. The Princess of Wales is said to have visited regularly while attending nearby Marlborough College in the late 1990s, often with friends for blueberry muffins, and other well-known customers over the years included Cary Grant, Robbie Williams and Rupert Everett. ## Owner says his savings ran out Owner David Clarke MBE said he had used his own savings to keep the tea rooms going while hoping the Budget would bring help for businesses like his. "There was no help at all for us just increases in our costs - yet another minimum wage increase and 'help' for small businesses on business rates which only applies to much smaller businesses than ours," he said. He added that, along with hundreds of other businesses, he had no option but to give up trying to make it work. The notice on the door said the cost of living crisis was also affecting customers' ability to eat out. ## Reaction in Marlborough Danny Kruger, the Reform UK MP for East Wiltshire, said he was "appalled" by the news, describing the tea rooms as a Marlborough institution which had survived two world wars. He called for cuts to VAT on hospitality and employer National Insurance contributions, as well as the scrapping of the Employment Rights Act. A government spokesperson responded that the Budget, announced last month, would give high street firms "breathing space" by freezing or reducing business rates. Residents reacting online were divided: some called the closure a tragedy for the town, while others said they were not surprised and pointed to queues at other independent cafes in the area.