Fountains Café, Bradford: Items from iconic Yorkshire café which featured in Funny Cow and The Great Train Robbery go on display

Fountains Café in the Oastler Centre closed its doors in March 2023 after 55 years of serving the people of Bradford.

Michael and Stella Georgiou said the rise in energy prices and the imminent closure of the Oastler Centre were among the reasons they decided to shut the Bradford landmark.

Now a selections of artefacts from the café have gone on display in Bradford Industrial Museum.

After the café’s closure, Bradford Council’s Bradford District Museums and Galleries Service acquired some of its most iconic and recognisable objects.

These have now been painstakingly cleaned and restored and are on display in the Cafe Gallery at the museum.

Paul and Mary Georgiou opened Fountains Coffee House and Grill in 1968 at Bradford’s then newly developed John Street Market (later called the Oastler Shopping Centre).

The fabric of the cafe remained largely unchanged since it opened, and the items on display including unique artwork, the original signage and cafe furniture all reflect the interior design trends of the day.

The original retro interior of the cafe was the ideal backdrop for filming, and the cafe was used to film scenes from Funny Cow with Maxine Peake and Alun Armstrong, as well as for the 2013 BBC mini-series The Great Train Robbery staring Jim Broadbent.

The display at the museum also includes illustrations by Clock Tower Studios and memories collected by History in Action and brought to life by Bent Architect Theatre Company in a play about the cafe, as part of a social history project.

The new Darley Street Market will replace The Oastler Market at the top of town and the Kirkgate Market, which is inside the Kirkgate Shopping Centre.

As well as market stalls, Darley Street Market will have two ground floor cafes that open onto a new City Square, as well as a second floor food court.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places said: “Many Bradfordians will remember being taken to the Fountains Cafe as children, with many returning with their own families later in life. I’m pleased that this little slice of nostalgia has been preserved for future generation to enjoy.”

Chris Georgiou who is the second generation of the family who worked in the cafe alongside his brother Michael, said: “We are delighted to see our family’s legacy in Bradford being preserved for all at Bradford Industrial Museum.

"We started Fountains Café when the open-air John Street Market was first redeveloped in the 1960s, so it’s going to be exciting to see the next chapter of markets in the city centre with the new Darley Street Market and also the changes coming with the new City Village project starting.”