Member Article

From chops to tops

A shop refit in Whitley Bay has been redesigned to incorporate some period features after builders discovered original tiles and a handwritten note from a local butcher’s dating back to 1901.

The shop on Park View is to be launched as Mitchell’s Menswear in March by the owners of Escape Boutique and builders are currently stripping back the unit ready to redecorate.

However, ongoing work has uncovered the site’s historic past as a butcher’s shop, with blue and white Minton tiles now on show, along with a pressed tin ceiling. A handwritten price list can even be seen on one of the walls.

Interest in the find has been significant, with passers by regularly stopping to ask the builders about the origins of the tiles.

Mitchell’s Menswear and Escape Boutique owners Lisa and Carl Mitchell have since carried out research on the shop’s history, which has shown that is used to be owned by A Dotchin, who ran it as a butcher’s with the same name until around 1946.

Carl said: “Obviously we had plans for a certain look for the shop but when the builders uncovered the original features, they were a pleasant surprise and immediately attracted a lot of attention from locals and visitors alike.

“Following the discovery we’ve done a bit of digging and it’s fantastic to find that a Whitley Bay-based family called Dotchin used to own the site. It would be great to know if any relatives are still local and have any memories to share.

“We have now had a rethink about the shop and it will incorporate some of the features into the new design, which will be unveiled when Mitchell’s Menswear launches in March.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Waddington .