According to two eyewitnesses it appears the Slabhouse went up in flames last night. One local resident said: "There were fire engines still there when I drove past this morning at 8am. The right side of the building seemed badly damaged and you could see the beams of the roof on that side." Another report from someone who lives nearby said: "The Slabhouse pub has caught fire.It looked very bad just now,services still there" at 08:17

It's been unused as far as we know since the owners were forced to close it down after Christmas.

By Wells_Jaqui at 09:54 on 31/08/11

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That restaurant seems cursed, I wonder if the owners will rebuild? It could be really profitable if the land were turned over to housing?

By WellieWonka at 14:45 on 31/08/11
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According to Google Earth the site looks about 85 x 40 metres, wonder how many houses that would take?

By WellieWonka at 14:51 on 31/08/11
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Does anyone know how the fire started? This is apparently the coolest August since 1993? Thank goodness it's been shut-up for so long & no-one got hurt.

By Well_oiled at 14:58 on 31/08/11
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The Slab House fire is believed to be arson.

There were fire crews from Wells, Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet & Midsomer Norton getting the fire under control.

http://tinyurl.com/3g6cbu5

By diehardsteven at 21:13 on 31/08/11
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It's a bit disturbing to think that if it is proved to be arson that there are such goings-on in Wells?

By WellieWonka at 21:49 on 31/08/11
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What if someone had been living there, keeping an eye on the place? There could have been a terrible tragedy.

By WellieWonka at 21:50 on 31/08/11
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If, as the BBC suggest, the fire was "deliberately set" presumably there will be a full police investigation?

By Wells_Jaqui at 21:56 on 31/08/11
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diehardsteven d'you know whether there were forensic experts called in?

By Wells_Jaqui at 21:58 on 31/08/11
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When it was just a cosy country pub, the place used to be very popular as the local pub in which to demonstrate your spoofing skills. Then it became a 'gastro-pub' when Stuart Le Gassick bought it for £1 million in Nov 2007 and had some sort of association with celebrity chef, Brian Turner. It closed in 2009 before it was re-branded & relaunched in July 2010. It was then forced to close in early 2011 due to wholesale cancellations of Christmas bookings by customers unable to make the journey on treacherously icy roads following the heavy snowfall. It has been on the market for £750,000 for some time.

By Wells_Jaqui at 22:13 on 31/08/11
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The Slab House Inn was due to reopen before it burned down.

Not sure if there be any forensic experts called in but I expect there will be a police investigation.

By diehardsteven at 11:53 on 01/09/11
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I bet there will be! I drove past there today - the damage is a lot worse than I thought it would be, the whole right-hand side of the building is pretty much gone...

By TimothyL12 at 13:32 on 01/09/11
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My parents ran the Slab House from 1998-2007. They got a good price for it when they sold, but I wish that they had sold it to someone who would have maintained it as it was - a good old-fashioned country pub selling hearty food well cooked by a talented Head Chef and his team. It was such a shame that the various ventures undertaken in the last four or so years did not work out and that the grand old pub was left empty. So much potential and promise left unfulfilled.

My family enjoyed living there, parents and sister working hard and meeting the diners. The local farmers used to meet on a Thursday night and play spoof, and they took my father in as one of their group.

My sister had her wedding reception there. Her daughter was born there. My grandmother died there. There are many memories of the Slab House for my family that are now buried in smoke.

My sister still lives in Wells and was very upset to see for herself the damage yesterday.

I hope the individual who did this is happy. Inevitably they only thought of the money, or the kicks, without thinking that many people had fond memories of that inn.

By DeanGr at 22:12 on 01/09/11
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DeanGr thank you for your moving post, you've very succinctly put the sad loss in a meaningful context. I wish I had know it in those days, it sounds like it was just my sort of pub.

By Wells_Jaqui at 13:23 on 02/09/11
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DeanGr we used to eat out regularly when your family owned the Slabhouse - it really was an excellent place to eat, wonderful food, friendly staff and great atmosphere. Its a shame it went so downhill after your family sold it, theres never been anywhere as good to eat since - its well missed! I used to love all the antiques that were on display and collection of grandfather clocks - whatever happened to them all?

By Lionlady at 15:40 on 02/09/11
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