6 Scarborough’s Handle Emporium

Four Candles? – Scarborough’s Handle Emporium

People often ask me, ‘Kev, where would you go to buy handles in Scarborough?’

Well, I would have said ‘Try Clock Handyman on Victoria Road, or B&Q, or the special handle place on North Street,’ but that was before I discovered H E Savill on St Martin’s Place. It’s unprepossessing and their external signage is minimal.

But, when we were looking for wardrobe and drawer handles for the new furniture at popular Scarborough b&b The Waves, someone told me to try Savill’s and I discovered it was only round the corner and I’d passed it hundreds of times. It turned out they were one of the country’s leading suppliers of reproduction handles, clasps, escutcheons and pretty well every sort of brass fitting and filigree you could ever want – including replacement brass parts for military chests, doors, drawers, windows, tables… everything.

Savill’s is predominantly a wholesale business serving the antique and reproduction trade – they don’t make the handles and other items themselves, but they get them made and then distribute them on to those who need handles. And who amongst us can say that we don’t need handles? You know, without handles, life would be a series of closed doors, missed opportunities and ultimately dissatisfaction. Savill’s are working as hard as anyone to change that.

When I knocked on Savill’s door and asked if they sold direct to the public I was told they did and I was directed up a glorified ladder to the stock room lined with hundreds and hundreds of boxes full of handles. It was handle nirvana and after pulling a few cardboard boxes from the shelves to show me samples I found just what I wanted.

It’s the kind of place that I didn’t think existed any more – no frills, doing what they do and doing it well. Supplying handles.

H E Savill, for all your handle and related requirements – 01723 373032.

Kevern
2009

5. The Best Hot Chocolate in Scarborough

The Best Hot Chocolate in Scarborough – Le Chat Noir

People often ask me, ‘Kev, where will I find the best mug of hot chocolate in Scarborough?’

I always ask for clarification. ‘Are you seeking the kind of hot chocolate experience where you rush inside a steamy café to escape from the howling wind and driving rain? You sit at a formica table and warm your hands on the mug as you wipe the condensation from the window (that’s quite a tricky manoeuvre so careful you don’t spill any – especially if you’re wearing a white puffa jacket because then you might start to wish you’d just stayed outside because that’s going to take ages to wash out) and let the warm sweetness revive you as you watch the waves crashing over the sea wall. Or do you just want the best mug of hot chocolate in Scarborough?’

‘Best mug of hot chocolate in Scarborough, isn’t that what I said?’

In that case, the choice is clear. Le Chat Noir creperie on Eastborough does fantastic hot chocolate – proper continental hot chocolate, thick and chocolatey, rather than thin and sugary. It’s the real stuff – which isn’t surprising because Jann at Le Chat Noir is French and obviously they know beaucoup about le chocolat chaud. The mocha is really good too – chocolate and coffee that will pick you up and send you back out with a resolve to ignore the howling wind and the driving rain – weren’t you wearing a puffa jacket anyway, what’s all the fuss about?

If you do want the first experience, then there’s a handful of cafés from the harbour around the Marine Drive that offer the perfect seaside atmosphere – but that’s not what you asked.

Le chat noir

10 Eastborough (near indoor market), 01723 350653

www.lechatnoircreperie.co.uk

Kevern
2009

4. The Spa Cliff Lift, Scarborough

The Spa Cliff Lift – Britain’s First Funicular

People often say to me, ‘Kev, which is best, going up in the cliff lift or going down in the cliff lift?’ I smirk imperceptibly then tell them, ‘As with so many things, it depends where you’re starting from.’

What we do know is that the South Cliff Lift was Britain’s first cliff lift. It opened in 1875 having been built by the Scarborough South Cliff Tramway Company Limited to link the South Cliff, Esplanade and popular coastal B&B The Waves to the Spa – which at the time was the most popular music venue outside London (what’s changed?).

There are two lifts – as one travels up, the other travels down. Originally this was achieved by pumping water into a tank in the upper lift and letting gravity work its magic. The water pumps were replaced with an electric winding system in the 1930s. (As I write this I’m sitting in Le Chat Noir creperie in Scarborough and on the wall is a quote from Albert Einstein saying, ‘Gravity can’t be held responsible for people falling in love,’ we can only speculate whether this was the thinking behind the change to the electric winding system.)

The lift was such a success that in the 1945-46 season it carried over one million people. It also inspired the creation of four other lifts in the town although the only other lift still in operation is the town centre lift by the Grand Hotel.

The lift was taken over the Borough Council in 1993 – realising how important it is to both the Spa and hotels and guest houses on the South Cliff – which is important for people who don’t want to walk up and down the cliff paths. Sometimes people find the paths too steep, sometimes their legs are too tired after dancing into the early hours at a wedding do or Northern Soul or Rock ‘n’ Roll event at the Ocean Room. The lift does usually run until shows and events at the Spa have finished – it’s always worth checking the chalk board at the top to see when the last lift runs back. (If you’ve missed the lift, the cliff path the snakes up alongside it is lit at night.)

Back to the question we started with: the common feeling is that the best value to be had from a 70p cliff lift journey is to travel upwards. After a long hard day making sand castles, riding donkeys and eating ice creams, then the lift is an appealing alternative to dragging children, pushchairs, your grandma, and even your donkey (sometimes on holiday it’s hard to say ‘no’ to the children’s requests) up the paths. On the other hand, as you look out of the lift, it is more exciting to see the ground rise towards you as you hurtle downwards, so really, it’s a satisfying experience either way.

Information from ‘A Brief History of the Scarborough Spa Lift’ available for 20p from the pay box (which is at the bottom).

Kevern
2009

3. Boyes Department Store, Scarborough

Boyes Department Store – A Scarborough institution

People often ask me, ‘Kev, whereabouts in Scarborough should I go for bargain housewares, haberdashery, small black cross head screws and ultrafine wire wool?’

Of course, there’s only one answer – Boyes, or Boyses as it’s often known locally. It’s a Scarborough institution. You’ll find it on Queen Street, just set back from Scarborough’s main shopping street, where it was established as ‘The Remnant Warehouse’ in 1886 – and it’s still regarded as a good place to go for fabric, wool, brocade, buttons, lace, frills and tassels. In fact, I think when I followed the Blue Peter instructions to make a gonk back in 1970, I got some of the components from Boyes – no lace, frills or tassels though, it was quite a manly gonk.

You can find out more about Boyes on their website: http://www.boyes.co.uk/ - which seems like some kind of travesty because when you step into Boyes you do feel you’ve stepped into a world of shopping that existed long before anyone had thought of the internet. But, if you like to browse, Boyes is a treasure trove and I’d defy anyone not to find a little knick knack or gizmo that they couldn’t find anywhere else – at least not at such a bargain price. As the Boyes’ value statement says, ‘To Boyes "Good Value" is a combination of quality and price.’

If you’re moved to find out more about Boyes’ history then why not plan a visit to Bridlington where the local Boyes has a museum about the history of the store. As the more famous value department store Woolworths has declined, Boyes has expanded – there’s even a Boyes in Melton Mowbray now, although somehow it doesn’t have the charm of the original Boyes in Scarborough. Coming from Scarborough, seeing Boyes in Melton Mowbray just seemed wrong – but maybe people from Melton Mowbray feel the same when they see a pork pie in Scarborough.

Boyes appears to have thrived since it opened in 1881. A 1903 sale advert on display outside Boyes’ café in Scarborough (top floor) features ‘Cycle bells, Japanese Bread Boats, Bed Ticks, Tea Cosies and Children’s Overalls.’ You can probably still buy all those items from the modern store, well, maybe not the bed ticks. In fact, what better; when the children are asking for some cheap plastic tat on sale along the Foreshore, get them a pair of overalls and get them sweeping a chimney. Those were the days.

The old posters and advertisements outside the café are worth a look. They’ve advertised on cricket score cards over the years:

1927: ‘Famous WALK ROUND stores.

1947: ‘The shop a man can stroll round.

1980: ‘Hi folks, having a great time at Boyes Department store. It’s got something for everyone and it’s open 6 days a week as well as lifts to all floor and car parking facilities. Wish you were here. Scarborough’s most popular walk round department store.’

That’s probably still true.

Here are my small black cross head screws and ultrafine wire wool:

You can see the screws in use holding the room numbers in place at popular Scarborough b&b accommodation The Waves.

Kevern
2009