00:00Fire crews have been tackling a major blaze at a Grade 1 listed manor house.
00:05A spokesman for Mergeside Fire and Rescue Service said it was alerted to the fire at Walton Hall on Speak Road just after 8 o'clock on Tuesday evening.
00:15Residents were warned to keep doors and windows closed as crews tackled the fire at the three-story stone-built building.
00:22By 11.30 that night, there were nine fire engines at the scene using hoses to tackle flames at the exterior of the building, the service said.
00:32The spokesman said a multi-agency meeting has taken place with police and a building surveyor who has assessed the building and advised it would not be safe to commit firefighters to the interior of the building.
00:45Crews continued to fight the fire overnight and the main body of the blaze was extinguished just before 2 o'clock on Wednesday morning.
00:54The hall, which is privately owned, was built in 1704.
00:59It is currently listed in the highest at-risk category according to Historic England.
01:04They say the condition of the building is neglected, damp and has been vacant since approximately 2003.
01:12The owners had plans to use the building as the focus of a retirement village, but their proposals failed to get financial support and the building has continued to decline.
01:23Local campaigners have been calling for it to be saved for a number of years due to the condition of the building.
01:30Back in 2019, fire crews were called to tackle a suspected arson attack in outbuildings and work to prevent the blaze spreading to the main building.
01:39The cause of this fire has so far not yet been established.
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