A salvage operation is expected to begin soon at the former seminary of Ushaw College where the disused Junior House was damaged by fire on 7 July.
Structural engineers are focussing primarily on the building’s chapel, designed by Edward Pugin between 1857-59, and Grade II* listed. The chapel, dedicated to St Aloysius, has superb furnishings and decoration, including a Carrara marble statue of the Madonna and Child by the celebrated sculptor Karl Hoffmann (1816-72). Drone footage suggests that the statue is intact. The rest of the building is Grade II listed and the whole is on Historic England’s At Risk register.
The fire, believed to be the result of arson, began in the eastern range of Junior House and rapidly spread to the chapel’s roof space. County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service were alerted around midnight. The next day Durham County Council erected fencing around the perimeter of the affected area.
On Monday, Ushaw College’s commercial director, Jonathan Ward, said they were hoping that damage to the chapel is not as significant as initially feared.
Mr Ward added: “The next step is for a conservation specialist structural engineer to carry out an assessment of the fire damaged buildings and only at that stage will a decision be made about if and when other specialists can enter. At this stage no-one, either from the emergency services or from Ushaw, has entered the buildings. A loss adjuster has already visited the site to carry out external visual inspections on behalf of our insurers. Until access to the building is permitted it is impossible for us to predict what the future holds.”
Junior House was the prep school for Ushaw College which closed in 1972 and has been boarded up ever since. It has been targeted by vandals who have smashed windows and started fires. So-called urban explorers drew attention to the chapel by breaking into it in 2021 and putting footage of the interior on the internet.
The Victorian Society said it was deeply saddened by the fire at what it describes as a great Gothic Revival building.
The society’s director Joe O’Donnell said: “Sadly these buildings have been closed for decades and allowed to become derelict. Once buildings fall into this state, the risk of fires or other disasters dramatically increase. Nationally important buildings like this must kept properly secured. The custodians of Ushaw should now quickly move to secure and restore them, and redouble their efforts to find a new use, which is ultimately what is required to prevent these kinds of incidents.”
Architectural historian Peter Howell produced a revised listing for Ushaw, for use by English Heritage. He said the chapel is architecturally distinguished and its furnishings and decoration of high quality.
The Hoffmann statue is titled Our Lady, the Mother of Jesus. Mary is seated and the Christ Child stands in front of her, delivering a blessing with his right hand and holding an orb in his left.
St Cuthbert’s College, Ushaw, was the great seminary for the north of England, with origins dating from 1808. The college, dedicated to St Cuthbert, was founded by scholars from the English College, Douai, who fled the French Revolution. The seminary closed in 2011, due to lack of vocations, and the main building became a Catholic heritage centre. Now known as Ushaw: Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, it hosts exhibitions and an extensive programme of events.
According to the Charity Commission, the Ushaw Trust, created in December 2021, is responsible for the preservation and protection of the estate. The trust’s chair is Carol Lawrence, financial secretary and chief operating officer of the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
Another charity, St Cuthbert’s College, Ushaw, is listed as responsible for education of those of all faiths and none. Its trustees are bishops of the northern dioceses of England.
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