ONE of the oldest buildings in Marshchapel has been gutted by fire.
The Old Hall, in Sea Dyke Way – a grade two listed building, built in 1720, was destroyed when a fire broke out in the roof of the property at around 6pm yesterday.
An elderly couple, named locally as Mr and Mrs Borrill, were in the house when the fire started and were alerted by their smoke alarms.
Villagers, who could do nothing but watch the incident unfold in front of them, have described how heartbreaking it was to see the property go up in flames.
They say it was used as a family home and the owners bought it in ruins more than 20 years ago, with the aim of renovating it back to its original state.
One villager who was at the scene but did not wish to give his name, said: "The house is one of the oldest buildings in Marshchapel, I feel the same as it now, gutted!
"If it was mine it would have broken my heart to see it on fire.
"The owner has put his life into bringing the house back to its former state so it is very upsetting to see his hard work destroyed."
Karl Smith, of Westend Lane, Marshchapel, also witnessed the incident.
He said: "It is one of the biggest buildings in the village and the fire has made a total mess of it."
Fire crews from Louth, Humberside, North Somercotes and Waltham attended the scene with some working through the night to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.
An investigation into the cause of the fire was on-going last night.
Nick Davis, Lincolnshire Fire And Rescue Service group manager, said: "The elderly man and woman were shook up and devastated.
"They were alerted to the fire by their smoke alarms.
"It was a beautiful house but the entire roof has gone due to the fire.
"We are not looking at anything untoward with this incident.
"Fire crews worked through the night with the couple to salvage as much property as they could.
"It is extremely sad when anything like this happens but thankfully there were no casualties as a result of the fire."
