A fire took place inside the seventeenth-century College of Arms in Central London yesterday, leaving thousands of historic documents at risk. The College, which was founded by Richard III in 1484, grants titles and coats of arms to peers. The London Fire Brigade stated that 20 per cent of the third floor and 10 per cent of the fourth floor were damaged in the blaze.
The building was constructed in the 1670s, and houses the official records of the coats of arms of British and Commonwealth families dating back to 1530.
Eight fire engines were involved in putting down the fire on Queen Victoria Street in Blackfriars.
As of the report in the February 5, 2009 edition of the Times Online, a spokesman for the London Fire Brigade said that no historical documents were so far reported lost or damaged in the fire, but the curator at the college is working closely with fire crews to preserve historical manuscripts held in the building. The collections include an extensive library of printed genealogical and heraldic works as well as manuscript collections dating back to the fourteenth-century.