A bride-to-be has told how she is trying to find a new venue for her wedding reception after fire ravaged a village hall. Like many residents in Gotham, the news of the devastating blaze has brought reactions of sadness and disbelief, impacting on local services - such as the GP practice - which was housed in Gotham Memorial Hall.
Five crews from various fire stations tackled the blaze which damaged the entire building - including the library and GP surgery - on Thursday, February 16. As well as "completely" destroying the roof of the village hall, the blaze affected Orchard Surgery, and patients have been temporarily transferred to the Kegworth branch.
As residents continue to reel from the shock of the blaze, one told Nottinghamshire Live how she had planned her wedding reception in the hall. Maggie Hall, 53, of Gotham, told how she is getting married in July, adding: "It has had a big impact as we were supposed to have our wedding reception there, so now we have to try and find a new venue for that date.
"It's really upsetting. I've got two children, now 21 and 19, and we always used to take them to parties at the hall, pudding club used to be there, and the play groups.
"We have lots of memories there, so it's really really sad." Maggie added that they used the doctor's surgery "regularly" and so travelling to Kegworth would be difficult.
Five crews from various fire stations tackled the blaze which damaged the entire building.
Other residents have spoken of the impact on the community. Villager, retired John Babos, 64, who has lived in the village for more than 20 years, told Nottinghamshire Live: "The fire started at about half past 10 in the morning, and I was in the back garden. I didn't even smell it at first.
"It was quite shocking the way that it spread from this end of Nottingham road to the back end of the doctors surgery and the library. It was a bit worrying."
John added: "The fire crews were great, they came from all over the place. It's sad for the village really as the library has gone, the surgery has gone, and I'm not sure how long it will all take to rebuild."
When asked if the fire had had an impact, a retired 63-year-old, who did not wish to be named, said: "Not at the moment, as I'm feeling well, but it is a bit of a trek to Kegworth for the doctors. My mate sent me a message about it going up and it was a bit of a shock.
"I've been in the village around 20 years, but my partner has been here all her life, so it's a bit sad as she's known it her whole life."
Gotham resident Cheryl Thorley, 63, said: "Everybody has all come together as a community does. The church is making space for some of the little groups, but it's still hard to take it in. It's still difficult to take it all in when you see the hall, it's just horrendous. Everyone is singing the praises of the doctors and how they have moved everyone to Kegworth."
Health and safety consultant, Chris O'Neill, 42, said: "I haven't really been affected too much myself as I've been away. We were at the park yesterday and saw all of the damage and everything which was awful, my daughters were a little startled by it."
When asked if the community had any plans on a potential rebuild and where events would take place in the meantime, Chris explained that there was no set plan but, "I've heard of some things and there does seem to be a sort of effort from everyone in the village."
A 48-year-old conveyancer from Gotham, who did not wish to be named, said: "We were on holiday at the time it happened, but generally we didn't use it too much given our age. However, it is a shame for the village as quite a lot of people did use it."
He explained that travelling to Kegworth if they needed to go to the doctors was "not a massive issue" for themselves as they have a car, but stated the situation following the fire "is still sad" for everyone.
Last week Nottinghamshire fire service confirmed the cause of the blaze. A spokeswoman said: "A joint fire investigation took place on Friday 17 February, and concluded that the fire at Gotham Village Hall was accidental electrical. We returned to reinspect the scene and found no further hotspots."
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