Revisited by fire: Wareham's "Black Bear" Hotel

The damage is fortunately minor when compared with that caused to this building's predecessor by the Great Fire of 1762.  Charred floorboards and some other woodwork can be seen on the balcony

South Street, Wareham's main traffic axis, was closed for several hours yesterday morning.  This slowed the flow of traffic through the town!

Several fire engines - the Fire Station is only a quarter of a mile away - and several electricity vans were in attendance.  Reportedly the fire was an electrical one which also cut the current to several neighbouring buildings.  Nobody was in the hotel at the time.

The front door is now padlocked, but apart from that there is little at ground floor level to indicate that the hotel is closed temporarily.  (The "vacancies" sign is still on display.)