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The family home of a prominent London architect has been destroyed by a fire.
The house on Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, belonged to Clive Chapman, who works extensively for Richmond council. Neighbours said today that Mr Chapman had spent 20 years working on the property.
The fire happened at about 9pm on Saturday and is said to have started when a gas canister exploded in a shed next to the house.
Many of the island's 120 residents had to leave their homes during the blaze and some were not allowed to return until yesterday morning.
One neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: "We were watching the Proms when we suddenly saw what looked like flames reflected in the river and immediately called the London Fire Brigade. It was terrible to watch, especially as we know the Chapmans. It was around 99 per cent completed and he had some of us around to look at it.
"The house was fabulous, all state-of-the-art design. There was a climbing wall and the basement was also a boathouse. The children's bedrooms were at the lower level and there was a firemen's pole for them to slide down on.
"It's such a shame. All that was left were blackened steel joists and some brickwork still standing - but all the lovely interiors have gone."
Eel Pie Island is home to a collection of art studios and to the Twickenham Rowing Club, one of the oldest clubs on the Thames, and Richmond Yacht Club.
In the Sixties the island was known as a major jazz and blues venue and it gave its name to Pete Townshend's The Eel Pie Studios, on the mainland nearby and to his Eel Pie Publishing company.
Reader views (3)
Mo of Harrow,
bad point, if every house had sprinklers, then we'd all be safe and happy, but then no-one could afford to live in them. Whilst there is no doubt as to their effectiveness, sprinkler systems are hugely expensive and practically speaking, prohibitive to almost any private residence. This story is a tragedy, like every other house fire, not an opportunity to try and lay blame at the feet of the architect for not wasting money on something onlt needed in commercial and retail buildings.
- Colin, London, UK, 14/09/2009 16:54
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Good point, Mo of Harrow. I hope he had the good sense to get his property insured too!
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands, 14/09/2009 14:21
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Why did an architect not recognise the benefits of fitting sprinklers to his cherished property?
- Mo, Harrow UK, 14/09/2009 12:16
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