A landmark corn mill, which was set to be a centrepiece of Wolverhampton’s canalside regeneration when it was turned into flats, has been destroyed in a devastating fire.
Flames could be seen from miles around when the old JN Miller Ltd mill on Sun Street went up in smoke.
At the height of the blaze 15 fire engines, some from as far as Ward End in Birmingham, were sent to help pump water from the nearby canal.
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The grade two listed building was set to become flats with another 212 properties surrounding it.
It was to complement Redrow Homes’ successful Southbank apartments on the opposite side of the Birmingham Canal off Corn Hill near to Wolverhampton rail station.
Councillor Neville Patten, leader of Wolverhampton City Council, said: “it’s a great loss to the city as the building was associated with Wolverhampton’s industrial heritage.
“It remains to be seen what the developers will be able to do now. Perhaps the building can still be salvaged or it may have to be demolished completely.”
The fire started at around 8pm on Saturday and firefighters were still on the scene well into yesterday.
Trains had to be stopped from coming into Wolverhampton station for around an hour and delays of up to 60 minutes were being reported until around 4am on Virgin Trains, London Midland, Arriva Trains Wales and CrossCountry services.
Residents of the Southbank flats were able to watch the firefighters from their balconies.
Steven Smith, aged 19, a clothes shop worker, said: “I couldn’t get my train back from Birmingham and ended up having to catch a bus.
“I had no idea that the problem was here until I arrived and I could see the fire from a long way off.”
Drinkers at the nearby Great Western pub also spoke of their shock.
Ian Garlick, a 42 year old accounts officer from Bealeys Avenue, Wednesfield, said: “I was trying to get to the Great Western pub to meet some friends. I couldn’t get around because the road was closed off. The trains seemed to be getting through but it looked like a huge fire.”
Divisional officer Alan Tranter of West Midlands Fire Service said: “The fire went through all five floors and had broken through the roof.
“Water was something we needed large quantities of and we sent a high volume pumping unit to allow us to draw large quantities of water from the canal.
“Smoke from the incident affected a nearby railway line and as a consequence we had to ask Network Rail to switch off the power supply there.
“I’m glad to say there have been no casualties. Investigations can only take place once the building has been deemed safe to enter.”
The Corn Mill was rebuilt after a fire in1851. It had been empty since 1981 when Miller’s closed down.
Around £179 million is being spent on regenerating the Canalside area of Wolverhampton including a new bus and rail interchange, a casino, flats and offices.
8 Comments
I was watching the fire from my balcony of the flat I think the fire fighters deserve a lot praise for saving this historic building.
i do hope is is saved. No doubt the developers will move in and class it as unsafe and demolish it to build yet more tastless houses.
Hi,
I was there, i wouldnt say it was big cause im apart of the youth fire serivce and i seen bigger fires. The deputy cheif was there. I spoken to some fire fighter i new and they sed wolvo station (e5) was first on the seen. I got there around about 10 ish i left around 11 30 and the fire was just smelting.
I was at the station around 17:30 and you could smell smoke around the bottom of the platforms…though it must be trains or something…with the rain at the time you couldnt see where it was coming from…so it had started much earlier than 8:00 according to E&S.
As there we hoards of Police milling around following the end of the Wolves match…you mightve though one of them wouldve picked up on the smell of smoke too!
oops… another incovenient old building… another fire..
Central Arcade, Butlers Brewery, Molineux House, Hippodrome…. and now a flour mill!
not to mention the Queen’s Cinema (”unsafe” roof or was it electrical problems?)
sounds very suspicsious to me, credit cruch, problems selling flats, market flooded with similar flats, mystery fire, insurance claim.
It doesn’t take sherlock home to work out that the developer has paid to have this burnt to the ground.
Shame on you.
As Michael post 6 says, funny how re-development sites get torched.
The great trumpeting of the Low-Level re-development has gone quiet. How many takers for the new ghetto? Building has stopped on the site.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that. I’ve spent a lot of time in this amazing building, and the things that were in there…………..God, it’s a crime it was left empty since ‘81 in the first place. I’m lucky to have seen what was left behind. Lets face it, a developer doesn’t pay tax on a totally new build. A restoration job would cost an awful lot more…..