Last month, Edinburgh cafe The Elephant House suffered a devastating fire that nearly burned down the entire place. It was a terrible event, but Harry Potter fans were particularly concerned because this is cafe where author J.K. Rowling wrote parts of the books. Bits and pieces of the cafe are still standing, and the owner was recently very happy to report that the table where Rowling wrote her novels has been salvaged!
Speaking to the BBC, cafe owner David Taylor said he was “immensely relieved” that such a precious landmark was saved from the fire. “Thankfully I’ve found JK Rowling’s table among the rubble and although it is water and smoke damaged it was in the back room so it can be saved,” Taylor said. “It is going to the restorers on Thursday and I’m just so relieved this bit of history has been retained.”
Many fans have been trying to come to terms with the transphobic comments J.K. Rowling made over a year ago, to the point where it’s been hard to separate them from her work. But learning about the fire at The Elephant House was devastating. Many fans flock to the cafe just to stand in the place where this beloved story began. On behalf of Potterheads everywhere, our hearts go out to David Taylor who will have to wait at least a year before he can reopen the cafe.
Harry Potter cafe is on the mend
While Taylor is celebrating the table being saved, he’s still on the lookout for one more valuable item: a signed Harry Potter book. It is still missing but he’s hopeful that it will be found. “There are piles of rubble everywhere so I’m hoping it is under one of them. I’ve started the search.”
We hope so too!
Rowling visited The Elephant House back in 1996 and 1997 after the first Harry Potter book was published. She would sit at the same table, according to the BBC, and conjure up the magical world of Muggles and wizards. Rowling herself gave a shout-out to the cafe while on the podcast The Poet Laureate Has Gone to His Shed back in July. “That was a lovely space with a really great view of the castle,” she said. “I met the owner years later and he said, ‘You never come in anymore.’ In a dream world, I would still go in there but it is just not humanly possible to go in there anymore and write.”
Hopefully, The Elephant House will be up and running before we know it, eager to welcome all the Potterheads who want to go.
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h/t Newsweek