(Image: Newsquest)
A popular York cafe in one of the city's oldest buildings has closed its doors amid concerns that its kitchen would become 'dangerously hot.'
Owners of The Old York Tea Room in Goodramgate say it will be closed until Saturday at 9am due to the impending heatwave.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid 30Cs this week with parts of the UK braced for the fifth heatwave of the summer, peaking at 36C in some areas on Thursday.
York will see temperatures rise to 33C by Thursday, according to the Met Office, cooling to 26C on Friday and then 22C over the weekend.
Forecasters expect temperatures to cool slightly in York to 28C on Friday then fall to 22C by Sunday. Clear skies have been forecast in York from Tuesday to Thursday, which will be a boost for people in the area hoping to witness an historic solar eclipse on Wednesday evening.
Yorkshire and the North East have moved to “prolonged dry weather” status, the stage before drought, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.
Infographic shows the drought status in England & Wales.
(Image: PA Wire)
The The Old York Tea Room is in a 14th-century building next to Holy Trinity Church on Our Lady's Row, which dates back to 1316 and is believed to be the oldest row of buildings in York.
Tony Vickers co-owner of The Old York Tea Room which is closing until Saturday, August 15 due to the hot weather.
(Image: Newsquest)
Thomas and Tony Vickers, who run the cafe, stated: "Our beautiful building dates back to 1316 and, unfortunately, does not have air conditioning.
"Sadly, installing it is not an option. We tried a portable unit but does not work for us unfortunately.
"While the upstairs seating area remains reasonably comfortable with both windows open and several fans running, the kitchen downstairs becomes dangerously hot.
"The combination of the building’s thick walls, the heat generated by our equipment, and the exceptionally high temperatures makes it unsafe for our team to work.
"The safety and wellbeing of our staff must come first.
"Thank you for your understanding, and we look forward to welcoming you back from 9am on Saturday."
The Old York Tea Room will also open next Monday to 'make up for lost days.'
Homemade baked cheesecake with salted caramel walnuts from The Old York Tea Room in Goodramgate.
(Image: Newsquest)
The duo say they will take advantage of having time to work on their new venture, The Old York Cake Shop, which will be at 38 High Petergate, on a lease from York Minster, and will offer takeaway cakes.
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This summer has been one of extreme heat and dry conditions, with two record-breaking heatwaves in May and June that led to the deaths of more than 2,800 people, followed by further heatwaves in July.
England had its driest July since records began in 1836, with some areas experiencing no rain for the entire month
Almost three-quarters of England is in “flash drought” as a dry start to August follows the country’s driest July on record, the Environment Agency (EA) has said.
Is the weather affecting your plans? Are you a business that has had to adapt to cope with the heat? Get in touch to share your weather-related news by emailing nadia.jeffersonbrown@newsquest.co.uk