The aftermath

A famous Oxfordshire landmark, which had stood for hundreds of years, was severely damaged by an intense fire 50 years ago tomorrow.

A third of the roof and 11 rooms were destroyed at Cuddesdon Palace at Cuddesdon, near Oxford.

The three-storey building was unoccupied at the time, but was the home of Bishops of Oxford for three centuries until 1937.

Oxfordshire's chief fire officer, Timothy White, told the Oxford Mail at the scene: "At its height, the fire was blazing like a giant Bunsen burner."

The alarm was raised by Tim Bravington, a student at the nearby Cuddesdon Theological College.

While he rang the fire brigade, other students and villagers ran to move cars and motorcycles stored near the blazing palace.

However, there was little of value inside - witnesses saw only one chair brought out.

Up to 40 firemen from Oxford, Wheatley, Thame and Woodstock tackled the blaze and had it under control in about two hours.

The fire rages

They used water from a well and from the theological college swimming pool to supplement their own supplies.

The palace was burned down during the Civil War when King Charles I had his headquarters in Oxford.

It was rebuilt by Bishop John Fell and occupied by him and his successors until just before the Second World War.

At the time of the 1958 blaze, the Bishop, Dr Harry Carpenter, had intended to revive the tradition and live in the palace.

But it was so badly damaged that it was demolished and a new home built for him nearby.

Dr Carpenter had argued that the palace was at the centre of his diocese, which covered Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

However, in a letter to The Times in 1955, a reader pointed out that the central point in the diocese was not Cuddesdon Palace but the Three Pigeons pub on the A40 three miles away!

6:10pm Monday 11th February 2008

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