A COFFEE shop chain that has been in Swindon's town centre for more than four decades celebrated a special occasion this month.

Customers joined the bosses of Boswells in the Brunel Shopping Centre for a tea party held to mark the 50th anniversary of the small chain.

Four of the staff in the Swindon cafe - Ben Perry, Lynne Tomasik, Beryl Bullock, and Maggie Sherman - have been working there for 20 years.

Back in 1972, Peter Burn bought the Livings bakery in Didcot and, with the help of his son Jeremy, turned it into the first branch of a new family business, then opened a bakery called Swiss Chalet in Reading in 1973.

In 1978, Jeremy trialled the company's first 'coffee lounge' in the Brunel Shopping Centre, which Princess Anne visited in 1979, and then rebranded as Boswells in 1996.

The chain went on to open 16 more shops around the country and hosted a tea party with Prosecco and cakes in each one to mark its 50th anniversary.

Jeremy's children now manage the business and are thrilled to have reached this half-century milestone.

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Charlotte Jones said: "It's really exciting. Thank you to all our customers, we would not be here without them, their loyalty means so much.

"Thank you to our team, who all have a good relationship with the customers and give it a unique feel compared to the bigger chains, which people really like.

"The Swindon coffee shop has become a hub for the community, where people can meet up with friends regularly. We're glad to have made it through Covid and are so happy people have stuck with us."

The first branch of what is now Boswells opened just one year after Starbucks set up shop in America. Over the years, the range of hot and cold drinks available at coffee shops has changed, but some old favourites still prove popular.

Charlotte added: "There's now a real mix of different lattes, there's a bigger market for colder drinks, and a large variety of different coffees.

"But people still like to come in for a cup of tea and a toasted teacake, or an all-day breakfast, they're still our big sellers, that has not changed.

"Like all businesses, we are feeling the rise in costs of energy and materials, so things will be tight, but if customers keep coming, we will keep going.

"I hope the next generation will take over and we'll celebrate another 50 years."