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8th November 2002 was the date which saw the end of an era at Old Ford Lock in Bow, East London.
Lock Keepers Cottages, location of The Big Breakfast since 1992, caught fire in a suspected arson attack. Salsoul Nugget, long time fan of the show and poster on the Bow Locks Forum visited Old Ford Lock and described the scene as extremely upsetting - the most horrible thing being the acrid smell.
The fire all but destroyed the roof and almost half of the first floor. Twenty firefighters battled for almost two hours to control the blaze, which is thought to have started in the second floor of the two-storey building. Foul play was suspected because the building was unoccupied and no longer had an electrical or gas supply, said the Fire Brigade spokesman.
The Sun newspaper even carried reports on how Johnny Vaughan & Denise Van Outen were shocked that someone could have done such a thing and noted that £400,000 of damage was caused to the building.
It was almost fate that just 6 months after the Big Breakfast finished Lock Keeper's Cottage had come full circle being returned to the derelict state it was in when producers first bought the property 1992.
The house was put on the market soon after the show finished and Channel 4 hoped to earn £1 million from the sale, when it did sell the damage to the property reduced the fee to just £600,000.After the fire in November 2002 there were been encouraging signs that Lock Keeper's cottages were to be better looked after. An 8 ft high security fence surrounded the property where the picket fence once stood and blue plastic sheeting covered the damage to the roof.
After a period of the house's windows being covered in sheet metal fans became excited when graffiti daubed all over the 'sunrise' wall in the back garden has been scrubbed clean. It was the first sign of the stunning renovation to come.
Just as the renovation was about to begin Big Breakfast fan Marc Neun payed a visit to Old Ford Lock. Expecting only to take a photo from the outside of the house he was thrilled when the new owners invited him inside to see what remained. Marc kindly shares his story here.
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