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'Eccentric' founder celebrated as cafe marks centenary

Mills family Black and white image of Catherine Brown. She is older and and wearing glasses, a hat and blazer. She has two small birds on her shoulders, and two much larger birds on her hands. She appears to be on a reasonably busy street, with shops behind her.Mills family
Catherine Brown, pictured here in the 1960s, founded the cafe in 1920

The 100th anniversary of a market cafe is being celebrated, despite a recent discovery that the venue was actually opened four years earlier than first thought.

Browns Café, in Oxford's covered market, was opened in 1920 by Catherine Brown - who has been described by a local historian as "quite a character".

Miss Brown, who was one of 10 children, started the business on her own and ran it until the early 1960s.

In the ensuing years, the establishment has been run by just four people.

Despite its windows stating otherwise, it was recently uncovered that the cafe was not in fact established in 1924, as was previously thought.

An exhibition marking the cafe's 100th birthday is under way at the Westgate Library in Oxford, and runs until 21 December.

OHC The front façade of Brown's in 1976. It is a small cafe with clear signage and under a covered roof.OHC
By 1976, the café had been open for more than half a century

Sarah Allen, Miss Brown's great niece, told BBC Radio Oxford: "It's been an absolutely fascinating year for me and my family because we found out lots of things that we either didn't know or had forgotten about.

"It's just been a delight to rediscover and remember lots of these things about Catherine Brown - Auntie Katie to us."

Liz Woolley, who has helped curate the exhibition, said: "By the 1920s, women were starting to set up their own businesses, single women mostly, but nonetheless it was quite unusual."

Miss Brown was "reasonably young" and "very, very successful", Ms Woolley continued.

Freitas family Filomena and Agostinho Freitas behind the counter in Brown's in the 1990s and serving a man in a suit.Freitas family
Filomena and Agostinho Freitas ran the venue before their son Humberto took over

At the time, there were few eating establishments in Oxford that served home-cooked favourites for a more modest budget.

Ms Allen said she remembered her great aunt being "very eccentric but fun".

"It seemed like she was some kind of glamorous person who people found irresistible," she said.

Miss Brown retired in about 1964 and died 13 years later, aged 91.

Liz Woolley Brown's café sign. The background is yellow with a black outline. The word Brown's is written in red, cursive-style, and the word café is written in black in blocky characters. Liz WoolleyLiz Woolley
Sarah Allen said the fact that the café was still called Brown's was "amazing"

The cafe was purchased by two Portuguese entrepreneurs in 1977 - beginning an Iberian influence on the establishment that continues to this day.

Humberto Freitas, the current owner, said: "It's very special - there's actually only been four different owners, or partnerships, in that time, which is incredible and just speaks to the longevity of it."

Mr Freitas has been involved in running the cafe from the age of 13, helping his parents who took over the lease in the early 1990s.

Ms Allen said: "The fact that the cafe is still called Brown's is amazing because so many things change hands and change names."

The cafe's centenary coincides with the 250th birthday of the covered market which was celebrated in September.

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