Courtesy Miro Dvorsak, Galveston Historical Foundation
A true Galveston Victorian experience comes alive once more as the island’s spacious and grand Bishop’s Palace rolls out yesteryear’s lifestyle with three Victorian Tea Tours, taking place on Sunday, January 20th, February 17th and March 24th. Tours begin at 4 p.m. and end with tea served in the dining room.
“The Victorian Tea at Bishop’s Palace gives participants a new and enjoyable way to experience this Galveston Island treasure,” says Will Wright, the Galveston Historical Foundation’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations. “We’re always looking for opportunities to open our properties to visitors in new and unique ways.”
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Bishop’s Palace is part of Galveston’s East End Historic District. Formerly the Gresham House, it’s considered by architectural historians to be one of the most significant Victorian residences in the nation.
The tour will include highlights such as the home’s silver-lined fireplace, 1918 baby grand piano and its glassware mantelpiece from 1588, all on the first floor under 14-foot-high ceilings. The front parlor fireplace is made of Santo Domingo mahogany. Particularly impressive is the stained glass windows partially encircling a 40-foot high mahogany stairwell with an octagonal skylight.
“This tour is a wonderful way for people to enjoy Bishop’s Palace in a truly unique setting and learn about Victorian culture,” says Denise Alexander, Director of Museums and Museum Programs. “We have some great examples of daily Victorian life that people will love to hear about. For example, women wore ‘Tussie-Mussies’ which were wrist bouquets that showed their mood that day, and men would dance with gloves on as to not have their bare hand touch a ladies wrist.”
Courtesy Galveston Historical Foundation
Photo by Richard Varr
“The focus is on how Victorians operated on a daily basis, including that you never visited on a rainy day and never brought children,” continues Alexander. “We will also go over the language of the fan and how Tussie-Mussie flower arrangements have certain meanings.”
The Bishop’s Palace was built between 1887 and 1892 with a grand sandstone façade and designed in Tudor, Renaissance and Gothic architectural styles. Its sturdy stone and steel construction survived the Great Storm of 1900.
Designed by Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton, the house was built for Colonel Walter Gresham and his wife Josephine. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston acquired the house in 1923 and served as the bishop’s residence – thus the name. The home was opened to the public in 1963 after the Diocese moved its offices to Houston.
Photo by Richard Varr
Upstairs, the Colonel’s bedroom is trimmed in mahogany, and an original cast iron bathtub covered with porcelain sits outside Josephine’s bedroom. There’s also a small chapel with an alter including six prie dieus or kneelers, and a gold-lacquered brass and onyx crucifix. A mural and frescoes with cherubs adorn different rooms in the house.
The tours’ tea service will be catered by Butter & Company. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for ages 18 and under and are available by calling Bishop’s Palace at 409-762-2475 or emailing info@galvestonhistory.org or denise.alexander@galvestonhistory.org. Space is limited.
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