This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-30609946
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Hickling Hall fire: Grade II-listed home destroyed | Hickling Hall fire: Grade II-listed home destroyed |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An 18th Century home in Norfolk has been destroyed in a suspected chimney fire. | |
| More than 50 firefighters from across Norfolk were called to the Grade II-listed Hickling Hall, Hickling, at about 19:50 GMT on Boxing Day. | |
| Norfolk Fire Service said the three-floor hall on farmland was gutted. | Norfolk Fire Service said the three-floor hall on farmland was gutted. |
| The home, owned by Bernard Ellis, had been in the family for three generations and was described as a "landmark" in the village. | |
| Roy Harrold, Norfolk's deputy chief fire officer, said: "We were called to a chimney fire, but the first arriving crews sent a message back immediately to say the fire was spreading to a bedroom upstairs," said Mr Harrold. | |
| "Unfortunately, there were not very good water supplies in the area and the crews were unable to contain the fire and the whole properly was lost. | "Unfortunately, there were not very good water supplies in the area and the crews were unable to contain the fire and the whole properly was lost. |
| "It's a shell; the entire interior was destroyed. It's very sad to see as it was clearly a lovely building." | "It's a shell; the entire interior was destroyed. It's very sad to see as it was clearly a lovely building." |
| Listed in 1955, according to British Listed Buildings, the two-storey property featured a dormer attic and large panelled lounge. | |
| Sandra Clarke, chairman of Hickling Parish Council and a friend of the Ellis family, said: "I looked out of the window at the back of my house and saw it in flames. | |
| 'History gone' | |
| "The whole of the upper floors and the roof were on fire, flames were going everywhere... it was so awful. | |
| "Mr Ellis is devastated, as you can imagine. He's lived in the house for well over 40 years - he's lost absolutely everything." | |
| She added the house had been "very important" for local dignitaries during its more than 300-year history. | |
| "It's quite a landmark when you drive into Hickling, and obviously part of that history is gone," she said. | |
| "It's a devastating thing, but most important is that no-one was injured." |