Devastating fire at Lancaster Market Hall

By The Newsroom
Published 11th Oct 2019, 10:25 BST
Updated 11th Oct 2019, 11:25 BST
A picture of the Lancaster Market fire in October 1984. Picture by Bernard Breslin.A picture of the Lancaster Market fire in October 1984. Picture by Bernard Breslin.
A picture of the Lancaster Market fire in October 1984. Picture by Bernard Breslin.
Bernard Breslin sent us this picture of the fire at Lancaster Market in October 1984.

Lancaster’s Market Hall was wrecked by the blaze and took years to rebuild.

The tea-time fire on October 8, 1984, caused an estimated £3m damage.

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Chatterbox Charlie, the mynah bird popular with hundreds of market shoppers, lived to tell the tale of his own ordeal.

A fixture in Mary and John Whittingham’s market pet shop, Charlie – along with Anthony the canary – was rescued by firemen at the height of the blaze.

Within a week of the fire, hundreds of people had put their names on a petition calling for the speedy rebuilding of the market hall.

Many years were to pass before a new purpose built market hall was to open.