How Louis the Peacock Inspired Our Decor

Whitby has a very interesting and varied nautical history, but the story of Whitby’s Louis the Peacock is firmly based on land, Flamingo Land to be exact…

Our teal blue, green and gold decor in both our downstairs cafe and our upstairs Ballroom was inspired by Whitby’s very own peacock – Louis the Peacock.

Louis lived in Pannett Park in the centre of Whitby during the 1950s/60s. He was a firm favourite of the local children who would go to visit him and his peahen regularly. Like swans, peacocks mate for life, and when Louis’ peahen sadly passed away, Louis spent his days calling out for her.

The people of Whitby decided to give Louis a new lease of life. He was moved to a nearby farm, which you know today as Flamingo Land!

Whitby still has a special place in its heart for Louis, and a metal sculpture of him resides in Pannett Park today. Why not visit the park and see if you can find Louis?

When we discovered the story of Louis, coupled with our restaurant and venue being here since 1928, a peacock colour scheme seemed the obvious choice. We have a painting of Louise, done by a local artist, on our largest notice/specials board.

You may note that we have a display of real peacock feathers in the restaurant too. Peacocks grow their famous tail feathers during mating season, and when the season comes to an end in August/September, they lose their tail feathers in a natural process called moulting. Moulting doesn’t harm the peacock, who will grow thicker feathers to keep him warm during the winter. He will then grow new tail feathers ready for the next mating season. Many farms that have peacocks will sell their discarded feathers. This is one of the reasons peacock feathers were so very popular on hats and other items of clothing.

We love our peacock inspired look, and our customers do too! Let us know what you think when you visit us.

Thanks for reading. We hope you enjoyed this blog.