Continental-Style Cafe Culture @ Wednesday Market

Wednesday Market may be Beverley’s very own ‘Latin Quarter’ – but still not enough is being done to promote this increasingly attractive area of town according to two local business people.

Les and Chris Willicombe have run the Queen’s Head, Wednesday Market, for the past five and a half years and are passionate about the alternative atmosphere the area provides.

Over the past few years, a huge amount of work has been done to turn an area once known only as a place to park and for a few market stalls into a unique area of the town with outdoor seating areas that has a continental feel all of its own.

And now, say Les and Chris, it’s about time the word was well and truly spread about just what Wednesday Market can offer the discerning local and visitor to Beverley.

Chris, 56, told HU17.net: “I want people to know just how nice Wednesday Market is, that there are tables and chairs outside. No one in the local print media is pushing it.

“It is just not marketed well enough. Take your weekly papers – it has only once been mentioned that there is a seating area here.

“If this happened in Saturday Market it would be splattered around town but Wednesday Market does not get well marketed.

“What an atmosphere you get out here – you don’t even have to have a sunny day.”

The couple are proud of what the whole area has to offer. From the Angel onwards, they stress that all the businesses provide a different but complimentary experience that is light years away from the hustle and bustle of Saturday Market.

With the Angel catering for the more sporting crowd, Dine on the Row fine dining, Fusion live music and Ranch high quality but relaxed eating, there is undoutedly a totally different feel to Wednesday Market.

Les and Chris are proud the Queen’s Head has its own niche in the market. Their home-cooked, locally sourced and well priced meals and quieter atmosphere undoubtedly adds a more mature touch to proceedings.

But on a sunny day, especially a Saturday, the boundaries between Wednesday Market’s three main pubs and bars becomes happily blurred and it’s then, as well as a lively Saturday night when live bands are on at Fusion, that the area really comes to life.

Les, 57, who used to run the Durham Ox, said: “At this end of town when we get busy we have dome damn good days and nights and you get a lovely mixture of people.

“All the businesses have something different to offer, from the Angel upwards. It’s the quieter end of town and all the bars and restaurants all have their own niche, even when you move on to the Oddfellows and The Sun Inn.

“I think the work that has been done here is pretty much spot on. It was a nightmare the year it was being done up because it was like a building site, but now it is finished it is great, it is what was intended.

“It just needs finishing off, a few more seats facing inwards so people can sit and relax and it will stop cars parking too close to the seating area, maybe a few trees and planters.

“Beverley has got areas that are exceptionally nice, and I think, with just a little more work and publicity, this could be one of them.

“There is a great spirit of co-operation round here. If there is a lively but well-behaved crowd come in, we will ring down to Dave at the Angel and let him know they are alright, and vice versa.

“I am not jealous of what Fusion or other businesses do, and I am sure they are not jealous about what we do because we all come from a different angle.

“It makes life so much easier as you are not fighting with each other.”

It’s obvious the couple are passionate about the area, so the last word on why people should enjoy Wednesday Market is theirs.

Chris: “It’s brilliant and there’s a totally different places to eat. There’s nowhere else you can sit outside and enjoy a community spirit in Beverley.”

And Les, simply: “Come and people watch.”