Somerset House announces phased reopening after fire

Somerset House will partially reopen to the public on 24 August after a fire damaged the west wing of the building last Saturday.

The cultural complex, which overlooks the Strand in central London, has been closed to visitors since the blaze, which was successfully contained by around 125 firefighters.

The fire broke out in a part of the building mostly used for offices and storage. No-one was hurt and the cultural collections housed in the complex were not affected by the incident.

The Courtauld Gallery, which is also located in the building, was unaffected and reopened shortly after the fire.

Visitors will be able to access Somerset House’s temporary exhibition, the Lore of Loverboy, from 24 August. The venue’s events programme will also resume with a performance of the Mighty Crown Ball, an open-air dance show by Vogue Rites, to take place on the same day in the Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court.

The venue advises visitors to see its website for further details of this and other events.

Somerset House, which provides a range of workspaces for cultural practitioners, says the artists, makers and creative start-ups based in its new wing, including Somerset House Studios artists, have already started to return to the building. Residents based in the workspaces of west and south wing will follow “as soon as possible”.

A statement from the venue said: “Saturday’s fire was successfully contained to one part of the building. London Fire Brigade’s operation onsite has ended and its investigation will continue.

“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the individual firefighters, the emergency services and our staff for ensuring everyone’s safety and preventing much greater destruction.”