A large blaze broke out at Edinburgh’s George IV Bridge on Tuesday the 24th of August morning, affecting the Capital’s “Harry Potter cafe”.
Fire crews have been tackling the “level four” inferno after the alarm was raised shortly after 6am by a cleaner at the Elephant House, which is thought to be where JK Rowling wrote her first Harry Potter novel. This flame could have gone very well in and burnt the whole thing down if not for the alarm being rung. It is understood that the blaze started in the Patisserie Valerie cafe next door to the iconic spot.
So, what are the Elephant House’s connections to Harry Potter and JK Rowling – and how badly has it been affected by the fire?
Here’s what you need to know.
The iconic Edinburgh cafe, which opened in 1995, sits at 21 George IV Bridge in the city’s old town. Its back room overlooks Edinburgh Castle. Harry Potter fans often flock to the coffee house to catch a glimpse of where JK Rowling wrote her popular wizarding stories.
The Elephant House calls itself “the birthplace of Harry Potter”, but JK Rowling revealed the truth of the Boy Wizard’s origins last year. The author of the wizarding novels didn’t actually visit the cafe until after she had been writing the books for a few years.
Ms. Rowling revealed the information on Twitter when responding to a fan who queried the Elephant House’s claim. She said: “I was thinking of putting a section on my website about all the alleged inspirations and birthplaces of Potter. I’d been writing Potter for several years before I ever set foot in this cafe, so it’s not the birthplace.”
But the cafe does still bear large connections to the Harry Potter books, as the writer went on to say that she did pen part of the story in its premises.
She joked: “I *did* write in there so we’ll let them off!”
