Aristocrat blaze started accidentally, says senior Herts fire officer
A fire at the vacant former Aristocrat fashion shop in Bishop’s Stortford on Wednesday (August 28) started accidentally, a senior fire officer has said.
More than 30 firefighters were sent to the historic The Chantry in Hadham Road, home until earlier this summer of the high-end women’s and men’s clothing retailer.
Herts Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) was called at 12.41pm and the first of six fire engines arrived at the scene at 12.47pm. Crews from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertford, Cheshunt, Hoddesdon and two from Harlow, along with an aerial ladder platform from Stevenage, attended.
Police closed Hadham Road between its junctions with Bells Hill and with the Northgate End/Link Road traffic lights, as well as the whole of North Street, at 1pm for almost two hours.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer Mark Barber told the Indie: “Crews located a fire affecting the loft space and internal walls, and firefighters worked for around an hour-and-a-half to fight the fire from the inside and outside of the building.
“Fortunately nobody was hurt in the incident, and we believe the fire started accidentally.
“I’d like to thank our colleagues at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service for sending two fire engines from Harlow to help us tackle this fire quickly and effectively.”
The fire appears to be linked to work going on at the building to prepare it for a new tenant.
On the Indie’s Facebook page, Dada café customer Helen Kenny said: “We were having lunch opposite and one of the guys working inside said they were burning off paint from the wood frames and it caught fire.”
A resident who lives nearby told the Indie at the scene confirmed that a workman had been burning old paint off a window frame when it caught fire.
Holes appeared in the tiled roof of the left-hand side of the building, through which smoke billowed.
Earlier this summer, Aristocrat went into voluntary liquidation under new ownership after almost four decades in the town. It had debts totalling £881,167.
Brother and sister founders Lawrence Taylor and Janet Malcolmson sold the business in March to Oliver Tookman, chief executive of the Aldrich Group Ltd, an owner-managed group of companies running independent designer fashion stores, including Robert Goddard, which has 10 shops stretching from Lincoln to Surrey. Mr Tookman is also a director of Robert Goddard Ltd.
Lawrence and Janet told the Indie in mid-July that news of the company’s demise had come as a “total shock”.
The siblings started Aristocrat in 1976 in Chingford, where they retained a shop until 2013. At one point they employed 16 staff.
They moved into The Chantry in 1987 and had a second store in Florence Walk, during which time they accrued thousands of customers. They decided to sell because they were looking to scale back and retire.
A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire Constabulary told the Indie: “Police are currently assisting the fire service at the scene of a building fire in Hadham Road, Bishop’s Stortford. Road closures are in place at Bells Hill, Northgate End and North Street. People are asked to please avoid the area at this time.”
While firefighters tackled the blaze, police closed Hadham Road between its junctions with Bells Hill and with the Northgate End/Link Road traffic lights, as well as the whole of North Street, at about 1pm. All roads were reopened by 3pm.
Pictures by Will Alderton, JJD Media, and Paul Winspear
