Sussex hotel inferno: COMMENT - This is why we must restore The Angel at Midhurst

The Angel Hotel in North Street is not only an iconic landmark loved by visitors for hundreds of years, but it is a building which symbolises so much of Midhurst's proud and wonderful history.

The news of the devastating fire will have left an entire town - and beyond - in shock.

Thanks to our amazing emergency services, not least our very brave firemen and women, no-one appears to have been hurt in the inferno.

But as the dust and the smoke abate, everyone who has loved and loves the Angel knows that it must be rebuilt and restored.

On Friday March 17, the Midhurst and Petworth Observer - which for many years had its offices adjacent to the Angel - publishes a very special edition of the newspaper in addition to the normal edition which went on sale yesterday, so momentous is the terrible event.

And we applaud the statement by Carol Lintott, chair of Midhurst Town Council. She told this newspaper: "Following news of the devastating fire, West Sussex County Council are coordinating the emergency and accommodation has been found for those evacuated. Midhurst Town Council is grateful for the outpouring of support from our local community, we’ve been inundated with donations and we ask for no more at this time. Our thoughts are with those who have lost possessions, homes and businesses but we are so thankful that no one was injured."

I remember the Angel well as a young reporter on the Observer, 42 years ago.

It was a hub for the town and a welcome haven after a long day in the office next door. Indeed, if we started work particularly early it was not unknown for some of us to slip to the Angel for breakfast ... and then again for a pint of beer in the evening.

It exuded a timeless charm and its extraordinary history - over 400 years - was imbued in the very fabric of the building.

I am convinced that the community will rally round as they have already done and insist that the building is brought back to its former glory. This newspaper will do all it can to encourage and support such efforts.

A number of famous people have visited over the years, including H G Wells who was schooled at Midhurst Grammar School when it was in North Street.

Poet Hilaire Beloc also stayed at the hotel and ended up writing much of his work in Sussex.

Another momentous visit came from the Pilgrim Fathers who are said to have spent time in the hotel when it was a coaching inn.

It truly is a very special part of Sussex. How shocked and saddened we all are by this terrible fire.

Here is what we know so far: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/the-angel-inn-fire-heres-what-we-know-so-far-4066390

Photos of the blaze: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/pictures-more-than-30-people-evacuated-due-to-significant-sussex-hotel-fire-4066398

Owners of The Spread Eagle offer help: https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/angel-hotel-inferno-owners-of-midhursts-other-major-historic-hotel-offer-assistance-4067337