Turkey Cafe
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The Turkey Cafe is a building with a flamboyant
Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) The Modern Style is a style of architecture, art, and design that first emerged in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom in the mid-1880s. It was the first Art Nouveau style worldwide, and it represents the evolution of ...
facade in
Granby Street U.S. Route 460 (US 460) in Virginia runs east-west through the southern part of the Commonwealth. The road has two separate pieces in Virginia, joined by a relatively short section in West Virginia. Most of US 460 is a four-lane divided h ...
,
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...
, England. It was built in 1900 and is now a
Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
, once again used as a
café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...
. The facade puns on two meanings of "turkey", with a vaguely Eastern exotic style of architecture and three large
turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
birds on the facade, one sculpted on each side of the ground floor shopfront and another forming a large coloured panel of
Royal Doulton Royal Doulton is an English ceramic and home accessories manufacturer that was founded in 1815. Operating originally in Vauxhall, London, and later moving to Lambeth, in 1882 it opened a factory in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, in the centre of Engl ...
tiles right at the top.


History

The site of the Turkey Cafe was owned by James Wesley, a grocer and confectioner, from 1877 to 1899. Wesley sold the site to architect
Arthur Wakerley Arthur Wakerley (15 May 1862 – 4 April 1931) was a British architect, businessman and politician. Life Born in Melton Mowbray, he was articled to James Bird. He was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and sometime President o ...
, a well-known Leicester architect who was also a prominent supporter of the
Temperance Movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting Temperance (virtue), temperance or total abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and ...
. Upon completion he leased it to John Winn, who owned a number of other cafes in Manchester and the Oriental Cafe in Leicester. The offices of Wakerley's architectural practice were above Winn's Oriental Cafe, making it easy to negotiate a deal regarding the construction and occupancy of a new cafe on Granby Street. Wakerley approached the Royal Doulton Company for help constructing his design for the new "Turkey Cafe". The style of the Turkey Cafe reflected what was popular at that time, which was the new trend of art nouveau. The building created a sense of stability by visually implying a pyramid structure. This was done by having seven
arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...
es on the ground floor and then decreasing the number of arches on each level. The pyramid is completed with a single turkey located at the top of the building. The building was coloured blue, green, and buff, which allowed any onlooker to fully appreciate the shapes and curves of the building's designs. The facade was constructed using tiles, hollow blocks, and a type of white
architectural terracotta Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta is an ancient building material that transla ...
called carraraware. The Doultons actually developed carraraware in 1888, which is a matt-glazed
stoneware Stoneware is a broad class of pottery fired at a relatively high temperature, to be impervious to water. A modern definition is a Vitrification#Ceramics, vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic made primarily from stoneware clay or non-refractory fire ...
. The carraware tiles of this frontage were handmade by William Neatby, a ceramic artist who worked for the Doultons. In addition to these features, art nouveau can be found in the decorations etched into the front window, as well as the red and green art nouveau designs of the rear tea room windows. The Turkey Cafe was opened in September 1901 and was later renumbered 24 Granby Street. As a tea room, the cafe was popular with women. Not only was it a respectable venue for gathering, but it provided a convenient meeting place to discuss the progress of women's rights. However, the cafe was not designed with only women in mind. Located in the back of the cafe was the Smoke Room. This room with its dark interior provided a place for men to gather and converse as well. The popularity of the cafe rose so high that in 1911 Winn expanded into the building next door, which used to be William Wheeler Kendall's " Umbrella Manufacturer and Can Stick Merchant." This change allowed Winn to expand the restaurant and storage space, and add a billiard room. Further renovations were made in 1927 when Winn decided to modernise the entrance, making the front appear more
art deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
than art nouveau. Wakerley allowed the changes, as long as Winn restored the shop to its original appearance once the lease was done. Unfortunately, when Winn's family sold the Turkey Cafe to Brucciani Bakers Ltd in 1963, no restoration actually occurred. Under the Brucciani family, the Turkey cafe became a coffee and ice-cream shop. The reputation of the cafe as a location for woman to gather continued, and in 1966, the cafe had a "Ladies Only" room. After the
Sex Discrimination Act 1975 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 (c. 65) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, ...
came into law, they could no longer prohibit men from entering. In 1968, the cafe was once again renovated. The result was a mixture of old and new. The original interior tiled walls were panelled over, a tiled mural of a turkey was added, and smaller windows were inserted. The Turkey Cafe underwent yet another renovation process after Rayner Opticians Ltd purchased the property in 1982. The interior was altered greatly to accommodate the new business that it would house, and curved windows were added to the above stories. However, the etched glass windows on the ground floor and the front arch were kept and restored to their original condition. Rayners tracked down the Hathernware Ceramics Ltd of Loughborough who was the only firm experienced in using the terra cotta material needed for restoration. The opticians were also fortunate enough to have the original architectural drawings and a 1910 photograph, which architects Sawday and Moffat had in their archives. Rayners then commissioned Deardon Briggs Designs Ltd to follow these plans for the restoration process and creation of reproductions. In the end, the restoration of the exterior cost over £30,000, with
Leicester City Council Leicester City Council is the local authority for the city of Leicester, in the ceremonial county of Leicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council ...
contributing £5,000. For two decades the building served as an optician's office, but in 2014 the building was returned to its original purpose as a cafe during the day and a cocktail bar at night. Now called 1901 – The Turkey Cafe representing the year the building was constructed and many original features have been exposed and restored. The building has also been listed as a Grade II building for its art nouveau style architecture, making it clear that the building is of architectural and historic special interest. To the people of Leicester, the building certainly is worth preserving and does have an interesting history. The building has served as a cafe, restaurant, meeting place, ice-cream parlour, and unexpectedly an office for opticians. While numerous buildings were destroyed during and after the World Wars, including all of Winn's other cafes, the Turkey Cafe has remained.Taylor 1997 Now, the building has come full circle, standing restored in its original appearance and serving as a cafe.


Gallery of details

File:The Turkey Cafe, Leicester, UK (3).jpg, Above the entrance File:The Turkey Cafe, Leicester, UK (4).jpg, Looking up from the entrance File:The Turkey Cafe, Leicester, UK (8529943697).jpg, First floor File:The Turkey Cafe, Leicester, UK (2).jpg, Top storey


Notes


References

*Farquhar, Jean, and Skinner, Joan
The history and architecture of the Turkey Café
Sedgebrook, 1987 *"Story": "The Turkey Cafe", in
The Story Of Leicester
', on Leicester City Council website *"The Turkey Cafe, Leicester,

on Midlands Heritage website, 2011


Further reading

*Taylor, M. (1997) ''The Quality of Leicester'', Leicester: Leicester City Council.


External links

{{coord, 52.63403, N, 1.13075, W, type:landmark_region:GB-LCE, display=title Art Nouveau architecture in England Buildings and structures in Leicester Coffeehouses and cafés in the United Kingdom Commercial buildings completed in 1900 Art Nouveau restaurants