Dozens of firefighters were battling a blaze at a heritage-listed church in north-west London early on Friday morning.
Some 80 firefighters have been sent to St Mark’s Church in Hamilton Terrace, St John’s Wood, the London Fire Brigade (LFB) said.
The whole of the two-storey building is alight, with residents asked to keep doors and windows closed due to the significant amount of smoke being produced.
One of our 64-metre turntable ladders (TL) being used at the scene of the church fire in #StJohnsWood. The TL is equivalent to the highest ladder in service across Europe https://t.co/PfRfeMugRc pic.twitter.com/rBwdOyhCpZ
— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) January 27, 2023
The LFB said it is using three ladders, including the tallest in Europe at 64 metres, as towers to distribute water evenly.
The National Churches Trust lists St Mark’s as a grade II Victorian church, containing “stunning” mosaics by the Salviati family as well as highly decorative marble flooring in the chancel.
The Anglican church is located near Abbey Road Studios and Lord’s Cricket Ground, and has links to author Lewis Carroll and Queen Victoria’s son Prince Leopold.
The trust describes it as an “architectural and historical treasure”, which finished construction between 1846 and 1847 in the Gothic style to the design of architect Thomas Cundy Junior.
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