Bridlington's pride and joy, the Spa Royal Hall, was ablaze from end to end.

Its dazzling glass domed roof, famous dance floor – one of the finest in England – and its elegant public rooms were reduced to a mass of twisted girders and smouldering wood in a matter of hours, wiping out a visitor attraction admired by competing resorts up and down the east coast.

According to Free Press reports of the time, despite the best efforts of firefighters the blaze had been unstoppable.

It had started near the bandstand, possibly due to a discarded cigarette, during a whist drive and dance held the previous evening by the Bridlington Agricultural Society.

Flames spread upwards to the balcony and around 6.30am the famous glass dome crashed down onto the ballroom floor.

The noise of the fire, exploding light bulbs, crashing masonry and breaking glass could be heard over a wide area of the town, which was also littered with small pieces of burning debris.

By 7am, everything but the buffet area and manager's office was gone.

The fire crews did manage to save the buffet and the manager's office but everything else was gone, including all the instruments belonging to resident musician Ceres Harper and members of his orchestra.

The final nail in the coffin came when it was decided the remaining cracked walls must be demolished for safety reasons.

It was a huge blow to tourism, and Bridlington's pride.

With amazing speed, borough architect Peter Newton designed a new Royal Hall to be built on the same site. It re-opened a staggering 52 days later on July 30.

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