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MORE than 30 fire fighters were called to
tackle a blaze in Stapeley Manor in which one wing was badly damaged.
According to a Crewe fire
station spokesman, quoted by The Sentinel the next day (November 25,
2008), fire fighters, who found flames licking through the roof when
they arrived, went into the manor to tackle pockets of fire.
The possibility that children
might know something about the blaze was raised by the front page story
of The Nantwich Chronicle (November 26) which asked: "Was anyone
inside?", adding "Children seen near historic home just before it went
up in flames."
A SECOND fire gutted the Manor early on
January 3, 2009, this time affecting the whole building. No-one was hurt in
the blaze.
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Has the upper window been damaged
(above), or is it just not reflecting the sun like the lower one? |
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Above and far left: Two views of the end
of the building facing Peter de Stapleigh Way, showing signs of fire
damage.
Given that it is planned to demolish the
manor when the Water Gardens site is re-arranged to accommodate housing
and offices (see here),
you might think "So what if part of the manor has been burned down?
It will all be down soon." Well, it is more than a year since the
houses/offices plan was announced and, as far as I know, no start has
been made on the development. There has been a slow down in similar
housing developments generally. Could it be on the cards that the plan
will not go ahead? There is, we are told, a demand for affordable homes
(the Stapeley plan includes some) but has the overall
demand been overestimated? (See Update left). |
