The Norman King, Dunstable: After the fire

In an incident unconnected to the riots, the Norman King pub in Dunstable burned down. It's a listed building which had a thatched roof and was once part of the stable block of the Priory, when it was a relatively important religious house.

The roof is completely destroyed with just a skeleton of charred beams visible punctuated with twisted chicken wire. The air smells of burned wood and scorched straw. Whether it can be rebuilt remains to be seen.

Seems wrong to mourn one building when so many are putting up with devastation on such a dreadful scale. However, it is a sad day for a town trying desperately to move out of the doldrums.