AS images of a blazing Notre Dame cathedral flashed across our TV screens it brought back sad memories of the time, now almost 50 years ago, when Whitehaven’s own religious centrepiece, St Nicholas’ Church, burnt down.

All that remain today are the tower with its busy cafe and a small chapel, a raised footprint of where the main body of the church once stood… and the gardens.

It was a sunny Tuesday afternoon in August 1971, with shoppers strolling and traffic rumbling by, when a coil of smoke began to drift skyward at the Duke Street end of the church – and then the entire east side burst into flames.

People looked on in confusion, traffic stopped, black clouds filled the air. A light breeze whipped up the flames and it seemed that by the time the fire engines arrived, the battle had been practically lost.

Thousands of gallons of water were hurled at the conflagration but, despite firefighters’ best efforts, huge charred roof timbers soon began to fall, slates tumbled down and beautiful stained glass windows burst out in the intense heat.

As in Paris, the shock was palpable and townspeople watched silently in a united sense of horror. The cause of the fire was never known, though it was rumoured to have begun in the boiler room.

In the weeks to come, once shock and the sense of loss had somewhat subsided, there was a tremendous public response and a strong desire to see this important edifice restored. The mayor of the time, James Ruddy, set up a restoration fund and contributions flooded in, cutting across all creeds.

But it was not to be. Congregations had been dwindling and two years later, in 1973, a diocesan committee decided against rebuilding. The St Nicholas C of E faithful joined with Christ Church and then ultimately there was a further union, this time with St James’, the 1753 Georgian church at the top of the hill, forming the new Parish of Whitehaven. The Tower at St Nicholas would gradually be salvaged from the ruins and put to community use, managing to retain a small space for worship.

Many weren’t happy that the church was not to be rebuilt, especially those who had worked hard on numerous fundraising endeavours. But the tower’s subsequent success as a community hub, used regularly by local organisations for their own fundraising events, was hailed as “a phoenix rising from the ashes” though there is still nostalgia for the old church where countless generations worshipped, were baptised and married. It is still missed; everyone remembers the day St Nicholas Church went up in flames.

Dedicated to the patron saint of sailors and children, it had indeed been a magnificent building, an imposing presence slap bang in the middle of town. It was built of red sandstone from the Beggarhill Quarry at Egremont, and replaced the former church of 1693. It had a seating capacity for 600 but could accommodate 1,000 if need be and it was a gift to the town by Miss Margaret Gibson, in memory of her parents. She was the daughter of a wealthy family of bookbinders and printers (the Cumberland Pacquet) and her father had owned a pencil mill at Keswick. She lived most of her life in Scotch Street and died there, in 1902, aged 85.

St Nicholas had stood for 93 years before it was destroyed, the fire consuming the nave and sanctuary, the beautifully carved high altar and Matthias Read’s painting of the Last Supper.

When the parish celebrated its 300th anniversary in 1993, a programme of events were held throughout the year to mark the event and July saw local thespians memorably perform Jesus Christ Superstar before a large crowd on the open air ‘stage’ behind the tower. Baxter Shaw produced the show and David Simpson played Jesus.

Over the years this open space has provided a pleasant place to be, a setting for many local events, commemorating happy and sad times – mining disasters, fetes and exhibitions, Christmas activities and, of course, it became a focus for community mourning in the wake of the Bird shootings of 2010.

It is a regret that when we pass by fine buildings every day, we tend to take them for granted and perhaps don’t appreciate them until they are gone – something Parisians are now learning. Things must always change, but if it’s worth keeping let’s look after it, appreciate and use it. Even though it’s 48 years since Whitehaven lost the large church building of St Nicholas, the Tower continues to remain well used and at the centre of its community, hopefully to be so for many years to come.