AN HISTORIC house in Waterford city was destroyed in a fire on Saturday evening. Gardaí and four tenders from the Waterford City Fire Service attended the scene at Cathedral Square at 5.30pm, as plumes of smoke billowed onto the mall. The area was cordoned off until firefighters got the blaze under control.
The three-storey Georgian house was home to John Roberts, a city architect who designed both of the city's cathedrals in the 18th century before his death in 1796. Waterford is the only city in Europe that has had both its Catholic and Protestant cathedrals designed by the same person.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, but added fuel to rumours that an arsonist has been active in the city in recent weeks.
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