Arson investigation after former chapel damaged

The former Junior Seminary Chapel of St Aloysius at St Cuthbert's College was damaged in the fire

A fire which left a Grade II* listed chapel and school with serious damage is being treated as arson, police have said.

Emergency services were called to the former Junior Seminary Chapel of St Aloysius at St Cuthbert's College in Ushaw, County Durham, just after 00:00 BST on Friday.

Durham Police said no-one was injured and structural engineers will now assess the site's safety.

Ushaw Historic House, Chapels and Gardens, which owns the disused building, said it hoped the damage was "not as significant as initially feared".

Durham Police is treating the fire as suspected arson

The building, which dates back to the 1850s and was closed in 1970, had been deemed "at risk of further rapid deterioration" by Historic England.

It was created by architect Edward Welby Pugin, who was responsible for several other sites across the UK.

Pictures showed how part of its roof had collapsed while its interior suffered smoke damage.

Ushaw commercial director Jonathan Ward said the scale of the damage was not yet clear, and it was believed the fire started in the eastern part of the building.

"The fire then spread in a southerly direction into the roof space of St Aloysius Chapel," he said.

"It is possible, although we do not yet know, that the damage in the chapel may not be as serious as in the eastern range."

Mr Ward said nobody had yet entered the buildings due to safety concerns and the area remained cordoned off to "protect the public".

He added it was currently "impossible for us to predict what the future holds" until bosses can access the site.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service crews from Durham, Peterlee, Spennymoor and Consett attended, and the service remained on the scene until 16:00 BST.

Durham County Council had also been called to help secure the area.

'Deeply saddened'

The Victorian Society, which campaigns to preserve heritage sites including church buildings, said the building was of "national importance".

The charity's director Joe O'Donnell said he was "deeply saddened" and urged Ushaw to "redouble their efforts to find a new use" and restore the building.

He 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 increases."

However Mr Ward said that it had "struggled for many years to find a viable use for the building".

He said it had previously been in talks with developers, but the costs had "always been prohibitive".

Ushaw's main building, the historic house and grounds remain unaffected by the fire.