Princes Street fire: Treasured historic features of building survived the blaze
Staircase and stained glass window ‘relatively unscathed’
Key historic features of the former Debenhams store in Princes Street survived the massive fire which ripped through the building, the city council has revealed.
The much-admired Victorian grand staircase which was part of the old Liberal club, and a stained glass window of Victorian Tory prime minister Benjamin Disraeli appear to have come through the blaze intact.
The council said they appeared “relatively unscathed” but would now be examined to assess if any further work is required.
It had been feared the staircase and the window had been lost in the fire which broke out in the early hours of July 9.
The building at 109-111 Princes Street dates back to 1869, when it opened as the Palace Hotel, but it was converted to be the Scottish Liberal Club in the 1890s.
The interior was extensively reconstructed between 1978 and 1981, when the building became Debenhams department store. And a modern glass bridge was inserted to physically merge the site with the neighbouring former Conservative Club at number 112.
There was also an ornate Victorian library with valuable oak panelling and a noted bookcase. The council has not said whether the library survived the fire.
But it is know that a “fine bust” of former Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone survived because it had been moved into storage before the fire.
The July 9 fire caused extensive damage to the former store, which was due to be turned into a hotel and pod-hotel with 328 bedrooms plus 345 “capsules” or pods.
Structural engineers advised at least the top two storeys of the building would need to be taken down. But work is continuing to secure the facade and make the building safe.
Conservation body Edinburgh World Heritage has said it is "imperative" that as much of the original structure as possible is retained.
Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson welcomed the news about the staircase and the window. He said: “The fact that these key historical features of the site have survived is a rare silver lining in this terrible event.”
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