Live The History
For many visitors, York begins and ends with Four High Petergate. If you enter the city through Bootham Bar, the hotel and bistro is the first thing you see. And it is also the last if you exit through the same gateway. That's because the property is not merely close to York's ancient history, but part of it. The four-storey Georgian townhouse is grafted on to the 11th-century Bootham Bar, built on the site of the original Roman entrance to Eboracum.
Four High Petergate's north-west boundary, meanwhile, is a stretch of the medieval City Walls. To stay here is to "live the history", in the words of York Tourism's slogan. A new chapter opened in that history last month when the hotel was acquired by the de Bretton Hospitality Group.
Managing director David Hattersley bought the freehold from Steve Hull, chief executive of Sawfish Software, who had transformed what was previously the Bootham Bar Hotel into something altogether more stylish. Now work is under way on a new refurbishment. Last year de Bretton turned a modest backpackers' hostel on St Peters Grove into the plush, four-star Marmadukes Hotel; but this renovation is on a less dramatic scale.
"It's not my intention to fix something that's not broken. It's to enhance what's already there, " says David of his plans for Four High Petergate.
He intends to redefine the business. While it is too small for lounges, libraries and large reception areas, which many travellers now expect from a hotel, what Four High Petergate has in its favour is a reputation for terrific food. So it will be reborn not as a hotel or guest house, but as a restaurant with rooms. Venues which offer top-notch food and a comfortable place to stay have risen in popularity in the last few years, with the Yorke Arms in Ramsgill and the Wensleydale Heifer at West Witton two of Yorkshire's best-known restaurants with rooms.
Now Four High Petergate is set to join them. It is part of de Bretton's enhanced commitment to fine food and drink, which has seen it open Harvilles restaurant in Fossgate and appoint a group head chef. David hopes Four High Petergate can become the York equivalent to Edinburgh's acclaimed Witchery Restaurant. The Witchery is also located in a centuries-old building on the doorstep of some stunning history - in its case Edinburgh Castle, rather than Bootham Bar and the Minster.
To ensure the York property gains a Witchery-like reputation for sensational food, a ground floor bedroom and the current reception area are being removed to make way for an extended kitchen and dining area. The aim is to win rosettes for the restaurant, and complement its unrivalled range of gourmet beers with a bigger and better wine list.
David's daughter, Emma Watkins, is Four High Petergate's new manager. With new baby Agatha just arrived, she is going to be kept very busy in the coming weeks, but she is relishing the challenge of offering York a taste of something new.
"We'll be serving proper breakfasts and brunch, and hosting business meetings, " she said. "And in the afternoons there'll be Victorian high tea, with boiled eggs and toast, crumpets and cake, which will be really special."
She is particularly delighted that Four High Petergate's garden, which offers a stunning view of the Minster, is being landscaped and made much more accessible to the public.
But perhaps the most noticeable new feature for all the folk pouring through Bootham Bar will be Maude's Ices - an old-fashioned icecream parlour soon to be serving eight or so home-made flavours directly on to the street.
Four High Petergate is likely to close for a couple of weeks in November to allow the renovations to take place, reopening in plenty of time for Christmas.
And that will be a proud moment for history buff David Hattersley, who is already transforming York's 700-year-old Lendal Tower into an exclusive place to stay. "For me, acquiring a property of the architectural importance of Four High Petergate on top of Lendal Tower was like winning the lottery - twice, " he said.
September 4, 2007
The Press