Oh, dear. Please forgive my pontificating, but it bothers me to hear/read the phrase "High tea" used in reference to what is historically, correctly (okay, pedantically, in my case) called "Afternoon tea." High tea is not the same thing as afternoon tea.
High tea was/is the evening meal served at home (usually, but not exclusively), after 5 PM (sundown in farming communities), while Afternoon Tea was/is the more elaborate affair served in the afternoon, anywhere from noon until around 5 PM. (Some tea rooms I've visited offer afternoon tea service as early as 11:30 in the morning. Go figure.)
High tea (supper) has always been the evening meal, the last full meal served in a day. Every home, regardless of class, served a "high" tea. Afternoon tea service, on the other hand, started in the homes of the English aristocracy (look up Anna, Duchess of Bedford), spread to the other classes, then moved to hotels and tea rooms.
Afternoon tea is sometimes called low tea, to distinguish it from the coarser, more homely (there's ~that~ word again) meal called high tea. I think those names--low versus high--for the different services were probably derisive distinctions used by the lower classes to make fun of the upperclass tendency toward snobbery and fussiness. Truth is, evening meals aren't often called high tea anymore. Consequently, that term has been highjacked and applied to what is rightfully and correctly Afternoon Tea.
Low (Afternoon) tea was served on low short-legged tea tables (in the States those are called coffee tables) or chair-side, elbow-high tables, first in the lady's boudoir, later in the parlor or drawing room. In the beginning, afternoon tea was nothing more than buttered toast and coddled egg, or just some cake or fruit and cheese, served with lots of tea. The more elaborate menus developed as afternoon tea became more of a social event and invitations were sent out. (This service was more of a social event than serious meal and the menu reflected that: foods were usually delicate sandwiches and pastries, in one-or-two-bite sizes.)
By the way, that might be how Afternoon tea got its name: invitations often read "Please join Lady Whomever on such-and-such date for tea in the afternoon." As more and more people took up the practice, they began referring to it as Afternoon Tea, the capital letters indicating the lofty position the simple meal had attained in upper class cirles.
High (supper/meat) tea was the meal served at the end of the work day in working class homes and in some pubs. This meal was often served at counter level or on the dining room table, sometimes from the sideboard. High tea was (in most farm homes, anyway) leftovers from earlier meals, hearty soups or stews, cheeses, meat pies, roasts and such, much more substantial fare than was served at low tea.
I read somewhere that hotels in England started calling Afternoon Tea by the misnomer High Tea because that's what misinformed American tourists insisted on calling it, so they changed the name to attract business.
Others have written about the naming of tea services better than I have. Jane Pettigrew is one who has written prolifically about tea, the beverage and the meals.
Sorry about the soap-boxing, Ripon. I just hate to see the misnaming of Afternoon Tea continue.
Martha (If this has posted twice, I apologize.) snipped-for-privacy@sun-link.com or snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com