Jailed, firebug in senseless £5m attack on historic Tudor manor
AN ARSONIST who torched a Tudor landmark was jailed for four and a half years yesterday.
Jeremy Taylor, 28, used newspaper and matches to start five separate fires around Wythenshawe Hall in Manchester in March last year.
The court heard that one of the five fires was started in front of the oak entrance door to the Grade II listed building and caused most of the almost £5million damage.
Firefighters tackled the blaze for several hours. No one was injured but a large part of the roof and upper floor of the timber-framed 16th-century home was destroyed.
Stupid
Taylor of Baguley, Wythenshawe, had pleaded guilty to arson at an earlier hearing and was jailed when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court yesterday.
He had told a friend after the attack that he had “done something stupid” but never fully explained the reason for his actions.
Gary Logan, senior prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Jeremy Taylor, for reasons only known to himself, caused extensive damage to one of the oldest and most -loved buildings in Manchester that will cost in the region of £4.75million to repair.”
Yesterday Judge Martin Redlands told him: “This was a single act of reckless folly.”
Paul Selby of Friends of Wythenshawe Hall, which was built in 1540, said: “Most of the building can be restored but it will not be original .
“We have lost hundreds of years of history. We cannot just pop down to B&Q for the materials.”
Inspector Luke Breakspear of Greater Manchester Police, said: “This was a mindless act that intended to destroy a historical building that has great significance to the people of Wythenshawe.
“People were shocked by the needless damage caused to a piece of our local and national heritage.
“Taylor’s senseless actions have taken an innocent life.
“I hope the community feel that justice has been served today and I am satisfied that Taylor is now where he deserves to be.
“Wythenshawe Hall is a beautiful building and hopefully in the near future we will see it open its doors again to the people of Manchester.” could