A devastating blaze has ripped through an abandoned Grade I listed manor house following warnings that the building was at risk due to its poor condition.
Woolton Hall in Liverpool caught fire at around 8pm on Tuesday as firefighters were called to battle the blaze through the night.
Residents were urged to keep their doors and windows closed as the fire caused the roof of the three-storey building to collapse.
By 11.30pm, there were nine fire engines at the scene using hoses to tackle flames at the exterior of the building, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said.
A surveyor advised that it would be unsafe for firefighters to enter the building to investigate.
The spokesman said: ‘A multi-agency meeting has taken place with police and a building surveyor, who has assessed the building and advised it would be unsafe to commit firefighters to the interior of the building.’
The cause of the fire is still unknown. An investigation will take place ‘when possible’, the service added.
Crews continued to fight the fire overnight and the main body of the blaze was extinguished just before 2am on Wednesday.
Smoke from the fire at the Grade I listed building could be seen as far away as Preston.
Daylight photos have revealed the extent of the damage to the 300-year-old building.
Pictures show the roof which collapsed in the fire, with burnt out walls and broken windows.
The hall, which is privately owned, was built in 1704.
In the hundreds of years it has stood it has been a manor home, a private school and an army hospital.
It was saved from demolition in the 1980s and was subsequently granted Grade I listed status.
Local campaigners have been calling for it to be saved for a number of years due to the condition of the building.
The owners had plans to use the building as the focus of a retirement village but their proposals failed to get financial support and the building continued to decline.
It has remained vacant since 2003 and has been left in a ‘neglected, damp, condition’, according to Historic England.
In 2019, fire crews were called to tackle a suspected arson attack in outbuildings and worked to prevent the blaze spreading to the main building.
It was added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk register two years later as a category A building, meaning it was among the buildings most at risk.
Jonathon Wild has been campaigning for years to save the historic building from ruin.
He said: ‘This is the same as Liverpool Cathedral going on fire. The same category listing.
‘I am absolutely devastated that this has happened and I ask that the powers that be hold a full investigation in to this fire and the outcome is that this building is somehow rebuilt.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the fire and rescue service and police for further comment.