Whitby's refurbished Brunswick Centre enjoying a new lease of life

Izzy and Edwin Jowsey, who have taken over the centre, recently stepped in to help after the impending arrival of Storm Arwen forced the cancellation of Whitby Christmas Festival at the last minute.

Izzy said: “We were hosts to some of the stallholders who had booked and already travelled to the area for the weekend, along with stallholders that had surplus stock ready for the weekend.

"It was such a wonderful weekend and the atmosphere was magical.”

The pair started refurbishing and rebranding the building, on Brunswick Street, earlier this year.

This included a full repaint of the internal building, roof repairs, shovelling huge amounts of pigeon poo which had collapsed the stairwell ceiling, moving the coffee shop to a side room and general cosmetic changes.

“This was all done by Edwin, me, my mum, another man who helps us and our three-year-old son, Charlton, who has absolutely loved every minute of being there – including the cleaning!”

The revamp started in early May and the centre hosted its first event in September, a piano concert.

It was one of the hosts of Whitby Goth Weekend’s bizarre bazaar, which was the first weekend of the coffee shop reopening too.

The centre also hosted BBC Radio 4 show Mark Steel’s in Town, which will be airing on December 15 at 6.30pm.

Izzy added: “We truly have ate, slept and breathed the chapel over the past months but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

"The feedback we have had from locals and tourists has really touched us.”

The Brunswick Centre is open Wednesday to Saturdays 10am to 3.30pm and Sundays 11am to 3pm.