While Oxford Covered Market celebrates its 250th anniversary, one of its occupants is marking more than 100 years in business.
Brown’s Café opened in 1920 and now has a Portuguese twist, opening seven days a week and offering “fantastic brunches, delicious pastries, coffees and teas”.
The café, which is run by Humberto Freitas and has a five-star rating, owes its existence to Catherine Brown, who was born in Jericho and is thought to have attended St Barnabas School before leaving at the age of 12 to become a dressmaker’s apprentice.
READ MORE: Progress on shopping centre is branded slow
She was the daughter of Charles Henry Brown, a saddler and harness maker, who was mayor of Oxford in 1932/3.
Catherine opened her cafe in the Covered Market at a time when there were few eating establishments serving home-cooked favourites at modest charges.
Sarah Eddie, who has been researching the cafe’s history, tells me: “Devonshire clotted cream was delivered daily and luncheons and market dinners were a speciality.
“As she described in her advertisement, her cafe was ‘clean, comfortable and especially convenient for business people’.”
As her trade grew, she became known as ‘one of Oxford’s most celebrated characters’ and, more affectionately, ‘Ma Brown’. She was involved in the English Folk Dance Society and helped organise May Morning in the city.
She lived at 14a Broad Street and for a brief time, opened a snack bar there above the ground floor shop.
She named it Kookaburra, a reminder of a ‘world tour’ she made in 1925. The café was accessed via a tiny passageway and up steep stairs.
Her ‘Shilling Supers’ were popular with students and dons, particularly at Balliol College opposite. Catherine also let rooms to lodgers, mostly from the University, many of whom became lifelong friends.
She and her sister Hilda had also run Hunt’s Café.
Catherine died in 1977, aged 91. As she often said, “I have no customers, only friends”.
The current owner, Humberto Freitas, has been involved with the cafe at times since he was 13 helping his parents, Agostinho and Maria, who took over the lease in 1994.
Researcher Miss Eddie writes: “He has continued the business model that Catherine inspired, retaining the character of the place and its important role in the history of the Covered Market.”
It has also retained the name ‘Brown’ it was given more than a century ago.
Although the cafe is thought to have opened in 1920, there are signs etched onto the glass windows which say ‘established 1924’ - providing the perfect excuse for some centenary celebrations to tie in with the 250th anniversary of the Covered Market.
•Next week – the café’s link with ITV’s Inspector Morse.
Help support trusted local news
Sign up for a digital subscription now: oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe
As a digital subscriber you will get:
- Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website
- Advert-light access
- Reader rewards
- Full access to our app
About the author
Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here.
He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.
His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning.
You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel