The Old Thatched Cottage Restaurant
Weston-super-Mare
Blue Plaque Winning Research
Andie Jeffries runs this long-standing and much-loved family restaurant, which her grandparents bought in 1959. The restaurant is housed in one of Weston’s oldest standing buildings, which was literally built on the beach in the late 1700s.
Depiction of the Old Thatched Cottage in c1820, painted in the 1880s
Having been almost brought up in the restaurant, Andie always had a burning itch about the story of its past, and the clearly ancient appearance of the restaurant meant that customers were constantly asking her about its history, which Andie commissioned me to investigate. Andie asked me to produce enough information on the history of the cottage to create a pamphlet she could hand out to customers.
An 1888 cycling rally starting at the Old Thatched Cottage, then known as ‘The White Cross Dairy’
One striking finding had a barely believable connection to Andie and her family, who are first and second-generation Greek Cypriots. The builder of the cottage, William Leeves, was a man who had quite a remarkable story all of his own - but the life of his son Henry, particularly his time in Greece saving the lives of Greeks from the Ottomans and becoming the first person to translate the Bible into modern Greek, was simply astonishing. My research, particularly the story of the Leeves Family, was thought to be so significant that I was delighted when the property was officially awarded a prestigious blue plaque by Weston District Council.
"What Graham found out about was amazing and for it to end up with the awarding of a blue plaque is simply incredible! Graham really helped us to appreciate how the Cottage fits into the history of Weston and the local community. Whenever customers ask us about the history of the building we now have countless stories to share with them. Knowing the history in this way really helps us to provide an even better experience for our customers. We simply can't thank Graham enough for his fantastic research."
Andie Jeffries, The Old Thatched Cottage Restaurant