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Historic Sandal pub The Three Houses will bounce back after devastating fire
Fire damage at The Three House pub on Barnsley Rd Sandal.
This is the fire-ravaged bar at the historic Three Houses Inn at Sandal.
A blaze on Monday caused “extensive damage” to what is one of the oldest pubs in Yorkshire.
Parts of the 300-year-old bar were gutted and historic documents were also charred by the flames.
Co-owner Christian Hazell, 44, said: “We never expected it to be so extensive, the damage. Nothing could prepare us for what we saw inside, totally devastated.
“Half the bar had gone, had disappeared. The ceilings were down from up above. We think ten minutes more and it would have been in the roof and it would have been gone.”
But the owners of the Grade II listed former coaching inn have vowed to restore the pub to its former glory and hope to be back in business within two to three months.
Mr Hazell, who co-owns the bar with Richard Saddler, Dean Jackson and head chef Simon Jackson, said: “We have just got to get it back. We want it back to how it was as quickly as we can because it’s so important, not just to us but so many people who come to visit us.
“We know we have got to get it back. It’s almost being like a public service to return The Three Houses to its former glory.”
The pub is steeped in history.
It features a blue plaque from Wakefield Civic Society commemorating the reputed capture of gentleman rogue and highwayman John Nevison there in 1685.
Mr Hazell said: “It’s certainly the second oldest pub in Wakefield and the Five Towns and it’s one of the oldest pubs in Yorkshire.”
It was home to The Chevet Club and kept many of its old records. It was an old-fashioned gentlemen’s members club which had an honesty box on the bar, a place where locals could enjoy a drink and a game of snooker or bar billiards.
But Mr Hazell added: “We had some documents and beautiful old books. They are hopefully going to be salvaged but they look like they are burnt.
“We can’t see them for soot. Everything was covered in a film of black soot.”
He added: “As owners of this historic building we hope can bring it back better than before, while keeping the traditional pub feel.”
Mr Hazell believes the cause of the fire to be a suspected electrical fault.
But a fire service spokesman said the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.
Firefighters were called to the pub on the junction of Barnsley Road and Chevet Lane at 7.30am on Monday.
The owners wanted to thank the firefighters for saving the pub and the hundreds of people who sent messages of support.
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Weather for Wakefield
Wednesday 22 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 6 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
