Staff at a popular live entertainment venue and cocktail bar in Edinburgh have said that ‘Victorian era graffiti’, offering a glimpse into the category A-listed building’s past, is hiding in plain sight within its walls.
The Voodoo Rooms will soon celebrate 15 years on West Register Street, in a space which was formerly home to the Café Royal Bistro.
Those who have visited will be familiar with its opulent interiors, drenched in deep black and gold which make the most of a unique setting that boasts over a century's worth of history.
Pictured this week by The Herald, the graffiti can be found on a trip to the ladies loos, in an unassuming spot which events team member Dan Gibson says is often overlooked entirely.
He said: “I’ve worked here for three years, but it's one of these little secrets of the place that you only come across a while after you join.
“We tell new members of the staff that there’s graffiti from the 1800s and they don’t believe it until they go and take a look themselves.
“It’s not just one tiny scratch, there’s a good few bits all the way across a window.”
The building which The Voodoo Rooms calls home was originally built as a gas showroom for owners Robert Hume & Co. before later being converted into the Café Royal Hotel and Oyster Bar in 1863.
READ MORE: How a pioneering rum distillery was established on Scotland's 'whisky island'
The late-night venue is located a flight of stairs above the Cafe Royal seafood restaurant and operates a number of function rooms known for hosting an eclectic mix of stage performers.
Of the building, owners said: “We struck gold in 2006 with our site visit to this well-known but dilapidated Edinburgh building with its lush history, numerous spaces and glaring potential.
“It would have been a crime to do anything other than restore all the original features, woodwork and plasterwork, which we did, at considerable expense and time.
“Add a touch of black and gold, an underlying fun tiki theme, a management team brimming with explorational cocktail needs, sixty tequilas and sixty rums, a cracking kitchen team and menu, and top spec sound and lighting desks and we were in business.”
It’s surely a testament to the teams’ efforts to honour the building's legacy that the graffiti etchings continue the test of time.
A mix of names, dates and messages including ‘George Law Paterson November 9, 1898’ and 'I own a diamond, my father owns an ass' are still easy to read, with Mr Gibson reportedly hoping to invite historical experts along to take a closer look soon.
He said: “There are some really cool examples of cursive writing.
“I honestly have no idea how they managed to carve it into the glass so cleanly.
“We look after this building, so it’s all very well preserved, and you’ll find the graffiti on the left as you come into the ladies bathroom.
“It’s an old place with a lot of history, and it’s nice to have such a physical reminder of that.”
The Voodoo Rooms is located at 19a West Register Street in Edinburgh.
For more information find their website here.
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