Church Inn - Gutted by Fire
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Church Inn Torched In Suspected Double Arson Attack
By Vernon Reid August 2006
A huge fire has swept through one of Northenden's most famous landmarks, The Church Inn.
The Church, which was built in 1879, was Northenden's second favourite pub and its distinctive roof sign has been a village landmark for well over 100 years. Recently residents have been concerned that the appearance of the building, including the famous sign, may be under threat as the move to redevelop the Church as Luxury Apartments edged closer to approval. Those same residents at Royle Green were shocked to discover the building ablaze on the evening of Tuesday, August 29th.
According to the fire service, over 20 officers were needed to fight the fire, which completely gutted the first floor and destroyed most of the roof towards the front of the building. The structure was declared unsafe and is under evaluation to determine if any of it is worth saving from demolition. Firefighters were on the scene throughout the night to secure the building so that it did not pose a risk to members of the public. Scaffolding has been installed inside the building to strengthen the structure for safety.
It has since been revealed to Northenden.NET that the fire is the suspected work of arsonists, who gained access to the building through a window at the back of the pub. Incredibly, it has also been revealed that two attempts were made to destroy the pub and it was the second attempt which caused the most serious damage.
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The building was due for redevelopment into 14 luxury flats, with 4 houses to the rear, by the company responsible for Cine City in Withington. It is understood that the developer's philosophy is one of minimal disruption to well established buildings such as the Church, and to seek and take on feedback from the local communities affected by any change.
The fate of the Church is an echo of a similar event in 2004 which completely gutted the Jolly Carter on Royle Green Road. The Carter, also one of Northenden's favourite watering holes, had been closed prior to the development of Luxury Houses on the site of the old school on Weston Grove. Arsonists struck after the pub had been closed and standing derelict for a number of weeks. The building was swiftly demolished and the site is now home to a huge housing estate.
Ernest Reid, a seriously old duffer and lifelong resident of Royle Green, said "I am gutted. I had a pint in The Church to pay my respects on its last day just like I did on the last day at the Carter. I have stopped going to pubs in Northenden as I now feel like a horseman of the Acropolis. I have started drinking in Benchill, but no luck so far - nothing's gone up in flames".
So what's next for the Church Inn site? It is not known when the development into flats was due to start, or how it will be affected by the fire. It cannot be denied that the incident has focussed the attention of the whole community of Northenden, plus the local media, on the village and its famous hostelry. Local residents have talked about little else since Big Brother finished. Local pensioner Ethel Reid of Kenworthy said "There's enough room for fourteen houses, never mind four."
Northenden.NET is committed to bringing you up-to-the-minute information about this and other hot news items. We have been sent some short videos of the blaze which you can watch by clicking on the two links below. These are in mp4 format so you will need to have a compatible player.
Church Inn Video No. 1
Church Inn Video No. 2
You can also click on any of the following pictures to examine the effects of the blaze in detail - Big Vern suggests burning some chops under the grill for that authentic ambiance.
