Family tells of devastation after fire ravages iconic Jesus Green Lock House in Cambridge

A mother and daughter who are renovating the Jesus Green Lock House have spoken of their “total shock” after the exterior was engulfed by fire.

Elizabeth Huang is restoring the house in the hope it will be a retirement home for her mother, Victoria Li.

But they have lost many of the original materials being used in the well-known grade II-listed building after fire swept through the yard outside the home, which is on the riverbank at Jesus Green.

Elizabeth said: “We are in total shock about what has happened. It feels like a miracle that no one was injured and that the roof didn’t catch fire. We have put our heart and soul into restoring the house and it is just devastating to see the aftermath of the fire, which has reduced materials and tools to ashes, including some things that will be very difficult to replace.

“We are still establishing what has happened, but it seems that construction materials outside the house caught fire sometime about 10pm on October 7 and the fire service was called out.

“Thankfully no one was injured and the interior of the house was spared. It could, however, easily have been a major incident as the historic and distinctive roof of the house narrowly avoided catching fire.

“While we are still investigating the extent of the damage, it is clear that the roof area will require repairs, as well as a major clean-up and replacement of damaged and destroyed items.

“It’s just heartbreaking as we have been working so hard on renovating the house and the things that were destroyed included original floorboards. We believe it is unlikely the fire started on its own or accidentally as there is no obvious way that could have happened. It would be of great help to us if anyone may have witnessed anything that sheds light on the cause of the fire.”

Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to the property at 10.47pm on Saturday, October 7. Firefighters set up a light portable pump and, wearing breathing apparatus, used a jet to extinguish the fire before returning to their station by 12am.

A fire investigation has not found any evidence that the blaze was started deliberately.

Jesus Green Lock House is an iconic building located on Jesus Green along the banks of the River Cam. Dating from 1836, and originally built by the Conservators of the river for their lock-keeper, it has fallen into disrepair in recent times after being left empty for a number of years.

Victoria and Elizabeth have dreamt of restoring it as a family home and also hope to use it to host community events, or even local artists by providing studio and exhibition space.

Anyone with information can contact the fire service at cambsfire.gov.uk/contact-us/contact-form/.