Incredible drone footage reveals devastation to Britain’s oldest hotel after 250-year-old building is gutted by blaze
DRONE footage has revealed the heart-breaking devastation caused to Britain’s oldest hotel after a fire rampaged through it for 24 hours.
The incredible video shows that all the floors inside the Royal Clarence Hotel in Exeter, Devon, have collapsed with just the walls still standing.
The 250-year-old building, which was constructed in 1729, caught fire yesterday morning after a blaze in an art gallery next door.
Over 100 firefighters from around the county fought the blaze but were up against it after a gas main ruptured under the historic building.
The gas fuelled the fire overnight and into this morning but the damage had already been done by the time firefighters managed to fix the leak.
The inn, which is now known as the Abode Hotel, was built within the limits of Roman Exeter and survived the 1942 Blitz.
Dr Todd Gray, a historian from the University of Exeter, said: “We have so little left and hopefully the fire will be contained and not spread further.”
He added: “For 2,000 years this area has been the focus of the city’s religious and commercial life.
“The ground and first floors of the hotel are medieval and the upper floors were added in the late 1700s when the building was renamed a hotel.
“It has been long known as the first inn in England to rebrand itself in this way.
“What is so particularly heart-breaking about this loss is that these buildings escaped the Blitz of 1942 when so much of Exeter was destroyed.”
Everyone staying at the hotel was safely evacuated but it is not yet known how the blaze started.
A statement from the hotel owners, Andrew Brownsword Hotels, read: “We are immensely grateful for the tremendous efforts made by all the emergency services and especially the fire service, who have worked with such focus and determination throughout the night.
“The support offered by the Mercure Hotel, Exeter City Council and colleagues in Exeter at this difficult time has been overwhelming, and we thank everyone involved for their outstanding efforts and generosity.”
The raging fire didn’t bring all of the city to a stop though as couple Nikki and Fraser managed to wed in the nearby guildhall as firefighters tackled the blaze outside.
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