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The Three Cups

One of Harwich's Most Famous Buildings

Occupying a prominent position next to the church, the Three Cups is an ancient hostelry with a rich history that opened in the 16th century. The building was frequently called an ‘Elizabethan mansion’ in the seventeenth century, and was regularly used as an interim council chamber during the late eighteenth and early ninteenth centuries.

It is a late medieval house of some quality with seventeenth and eighteenth century improvement including a Georgian facade and an archway at the rear. The structure was remodeled in 1949, when the top story and archway were removed. The Three Cups Inn closed in 1995 and is now a private dwelling.

After Nelson's visits, including his famous visit to Harwich by sea in 1801, the room where he stayed with Emma Hamilton was turned into a museum. This postcard is one of five different postcards known to feature "The Nelson Room". This one is entitled "Nelson Room, Three Cups Hotel, Harwich" and is from the Harwich and Dovercourt set of six chromette cards first issued 27th October 1906. They were distributed for sale throughout England.

Years ago patrons of the inn were shown, for a small fee, the wood-panelled room where they stayed. Till they were removed in 1913 the room allegedly housed several relics of the great man. (Julian Foynes, The Harwich Society Highlight Magazine, no.187, Spring 2017, p.20.) 

(In the Night In the Dark: Tales of Ghosts and Less Welcome Visitors​, b​y Roger Johnson, 2011)

 (Essex Survivals with Special Attention to Essex Smugglers, by Fred Roe, R.I., R.B.C., London, 1929, p.50)

(The Victoria History of Essex, Harwich, Dovercourt and Parkeston in the 19th Century, by Andrew Senter, University of London, 2019)

(Peter R. Goodwin, Harwich and Dovercourt Pubs, 2004, p.33)