1892 Bishop’s Palace To Offer Special "Victorian Tea" Tours

The 1892 Bishop’s Palace will celebrate its Victorian heritage with special Victorian Tea tours on Sunday, February 17th (SOLD OUT) and March 24th. The tour will begin at 4 p.m. and culminate in the dining room with tea being served. 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 denise.alexander@galvestonhistory.org. Space is limited.

“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. It promises to be a great tour.”

The Bishop's Palace (a.k.a. Gresham House) is a contributing building in the East End Historic District, a National Historic Landmark. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places at the national level of significance in the area of architecture. Architectural historians list the Bishop's Palace (Gresham House) as one of the most significant of Victorian residences in the country.

The house was designed by famed Galveston architect Nicholas Clayton and was built from 1887 to 1892 for Colonel Walter Gresham and his wife Josephine, with whom he had nine children. The interior spaces are grand with exotic materials such as a pair of Sienna marble columns flanking the entrance hall. The first floor rooms have fourteen foot ceilings that are coved and coffered. An octagonal mahogany stairwell is forty feet tall with stained glass on five sides. The stair is lit by a large octagonal skylight. A massive fireplace in the front parlor is made of Santo Domingo mahogany. The house includes abundant stained glass, wood carvings, and decorative plaster ceilings and walls.

For more information, contact Bishop’s Palace at
409-762-2475 or info@galvestonhistory.org.