After Sue Blayze acquired her first teapot in 1983 - a terracotta clay teapot with painted flowers, her collection has grown and this eventually led to her needing a larger space to house it.[2] She established Teapot Island in Yalding, in November 2002.[1] The building used for the collection used to be a cafe called the Riverside Diner, which had been in operation since the 1950s.[3][4] The collection stood at over 8,500 teapots in 2024, and has been valued at around £250,000.[2]
Teapot Island was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2004, for being the largest collection of teapots.[1] The museum lost this title in 2011, when it was awarded to a man in China with a collection of 30,000.[5] In 2011, the museum was featured in the book Crap Days Out, in which the authors stated: "It's awful if you don't like teapots. But it's probably all right if you do."[6]
In 2014, King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the museum, with Camilla purchasing a novelty camel teapot as a souvenir.[7]
In 2023 the couple put the property up for sale, stating they wished to retire. The property was initially listed for £950,000, with the price later being reduced to £875,000. The teapot collection was not included in the property sale, however the couple stated they were willing to sell this separately.[7][8]
