As it was
Toasted Bun
Apparently the Bun Penny burned last night.
The emergency services were still there at 6am. Hopefully nobody hurt - I think the upstairs was residential.
I'm told the place is now a windowless, roofless shell. And this is after spending months and £,000's refurbishing. Hope the insurance was up to date.
More anon.
Struck by lightning or struck by matches?
As it is
Nobody was hurt.
Currently being treated as suspicious...
Apparently the building is "locally listed", presumably because of its age, history, and being in the conservation area. Local listing doesn't, however, offer the same level of protection as being a Listed Building.
As others have noted, there's a real risk that this could be a boarded up blot on the townscape for some time (years?) before anyone gets round to doing anything about it... Car park? Flats?