J G 927 Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Today our local stately home burned down. Clandon House, a beautiful palladian mansion, owned by the National Trust and only a few miles from where I live has been destroyed by fire. I passed by the house this evening and saw it ablaze. These photos were taken on my phone, and so the quality is not so good. Apparently the fire started in the basement and has gutted the whole building. In the photo above you can see the fire fighters platform to the left (the white line) when compared to this, my estimate that the flames coming from the roof were about 50 ft high. It looks like the whole building will be lost. Clandon House was a beautiful building that housed so many beautiful treasures. it is a very sad loss indeed. Visit here: http://www.clandonpark.co.uk to see what we have lost. Link to post Share on other sites
jaydor 345 Posted April 29, 2015 Report Share Posted April 29, 2015 Very sad.. More: Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,292 Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Just took a virtual tour, a crying shame. Wonder if they will rebuild it. Link to post Share on other sites
allardjd 1,853 Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 That's a tough one, John. Really irreplaceable, I'd guess. You could recreate the structure, with a boatload of money, but the contents will be gone forever. John Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Coffee 2,030 Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 Damned shame...a great loss of art, craftsmanship, objects of history. I hope some can be recovered. I hope there was opportunity to rescue some of the contents. And, ofc...I Hope no one was injured. Link to post Share on other sites
britfrog 180 Posted April 30, 2015 Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 I know this place well as we used to live in the area for many years. what gives me the screaming hump is that these places get handed over to the NT because the owners cannot afford the upkeep let alone modernise them. So the NT is effectively in charge of our national treasures. It is well known from other similar fires over the years that these places are tinder boxes , so one would have thought that the first thing on the agenda would be the installation of a fire supressant system, after all it is a national treasure that needs protecting. What do they do in reality? arm the caretaker with a garden hose and fire extinguisher, The NT will not be happy until all the stately homes burn down so they can sell off the land for modern housing estates it is a scandal Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted April 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2015 @britfrog.If you install a sprinkler system is a property such as this, the first time it goes off because someone has a crafty cigarette hear a sensor then all the furniture carpets and ceilings get ruined with water damage. It is not an option. I don't know of any National Trust properties that have ever been sold for re-development. It just doesn't happen. The local rumor mill is that many portable object have been saved, which if true, is good news. It seems the fire started in the basement. This area is used to host weddings, and it is highly likely that an electrical fire in some equipment used for this aspect was the cause. Buildings such as there cost a lot to maintain, and sidelines such as hosting events are a vital source of income. Looking at the video posted by Jaydor, it shows the right hand side of the building burning when viewed from the gardens. My photos are taken from the same aspect and show the left side burning. It looks like the whole house has been completely destroyed. It remains to see if the shell is sound enough to be saved. lets hope so and that it can be rebuilt. If not, then the gardens will remain. These are worth a visit in their own right. They are a beautiful example of landscaped gardens and like the house date from the 1720s. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
J G 927 Posted May 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2015 The fire is out but the building is complexly gutted. The local council and the National Trust are going to be doing a structural examination of the shell to see if it is safe. If this proves to be the case, there is already talk of restoration. If it proved to be unsound then I think the house will go. Fingers crossed it it okay. Link to post Share on other sites
brett 2,292 Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 Hope for the best. Link to post Share on other sites
ddavid 149 Posted May 2, 2015 Report Share Posted May 2, 2015 This is a sad event and even if the insurance pays out, the National Trust will lose out on revenues from the house and garden whilst refurbishment is carried out. It's an up-side down world, eh?!? Cheers - Dai. Link to post Share on other sites
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