Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze
- Publication: The Press and Journal
- Date: 1996-09-16
- Author:
- Page: 8
- Language: English
A DOCTOR Who exhibition at one of Britain's best-known stately homes was evacuated yesterday as it was gutted by a fire.
The display at Longleat House, Wilts, has attracted fans of the BBC science fiction serial for 23 years.
No one was hurt in the blaze, which did not affect the historic manor house itself.
But We complete collection. including original props from the TV show, was destroyed.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire Brigade said the exhibition appeared by a Dalek, thought to be where the flames started.
Longleat spokeswoman Clare Kiener said: "It is a very sad day for Longleat. We have lost the entire display.
"It was a very dramatic scene. The flames were 6ft high or higher, and there was lot of smoke.
"We had a lot of visitors in, but we followed our safety procedures and removed everyone from the building without any problem."
Building
The exhibition was in a separate building in a courtyard of the 16th-century 140-room house, home of the Marquess of Bath and location of the famous safari park.
Ms Kiener said the historic part of the house was not damaged, and the exotic animals were well away from the scene of the blaze.
Around 35 Wiltshire and Somerset firefighters were on the scene within 11 minutes of the outbreak of the fire just after 3pm, and extinguished the flames within half-an-jour.
The exhibition included a model of the Doctor's Tardis time machine, monsters including Daleks and Cybermen, and some of the Timelord's clothes and equipment.
Ms Kiener said: "Some of the exhibits were original props front the show and are therefore irreplaceable. No decision has yet been taken on whether to rebuild the exhibition.
"It had become increasingly popular over the last few years, and next year we were planning to extend it to celebrate the 20th birthday of K-9, Dr Who's mechanical dog."
An investigation was being carried out into the cause of the fire.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: (1996-09-16). Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze. The Press and Journal p. 8.
- MLA 7th ed.: "Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze." The Press and Journal [add city] 1996-09-16, 8. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: "Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze." The Press and Journal, edition, sec., 1996-09-16
- Turabian: "Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze." The Press and Journal, 1996-09-16, section, 8 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_exhibits_lost_in_blaze | work=The Press and Journal | pages=8 | date=1996-09-16 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 April 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Dr Who exhibits lost in blaze | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Dr_Who_exhibits_lost_in_blaze | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=16 April 2025}}</ref>
