Thomas Hardy building lost in fire

The mid-terrace building was gutted by fire, collapsed and spread across the street

A building where novelist Thomas Hardy trained as an architect has been left a charred wreck after a fire.

The blaze on Dorchester's South Street swept through The Gorge Cafe and spread to the roofs of neighbouring properties, shortly after 03:30 GMT on Monday.

The Thomas Hardy Society said: "We are deeply saddened, this was such an important piece of Hardy history."

Dorset firefighters and police are at the site of the burnt-out building where a stretch of South Street remains cordoned off. No-one was injured in the fire.

Buildings either side of the cafe remain unstable with fears chimney stacks could collapse, Dorset Council said.

Businesses with rear access are still able to open, the authority added.

The fire swept through the cafe in South Street and spread to neighbouring buildings

The mid-terrace building, gutted by fire, has fallen and spread across the street, along with a stone plaque inserted in the wall on the first floor, dedicated to the novelist.

Chair of the Thomas Hardy Society, Mark Cutter, said: "This is the building where Thomas Hardy trained as an apprentice architect in 1856 at 16 years old.

"It's a great loss to our Hardy heritage. He became an architect and then he became an architect of words".

He added he hoped the plaque could be found in the rubble.

It is not yet known if it survived the blaze and the building's collapse.

"Hopefully the Phoenix will rise from the ashes, we've got to be positive about this," he continued.

"But if not we will redo the plaque and we can hopefully get something up about Hardy there again."

The plaque stated the novelist and poet trained at the building as an apprentice architect to John Hicks between 1856-1862.

Hardy designed and built his home Max Gate, just south of the town, and lived there from 1885 until his death in 1928.

About 50 firefighters were sent to tackle the fire on South Street

At the height of the fire, 50 firefighters from 11 stations across Dorset were on the scene as fire engulfed the building.

Crews worked through the night into Tuesday dealing with pockets of fire within the collapsed building and two neighbouring properties.

Dorset & Wiltshire Fire Service said the cause of the fire was unknown but an investigation would be carried out "when it is safe to do so".

The stone plaque was inserted in the wall on the first floor of the cafe