It was one of Kent’s worst post-war tragedies.
During the early hours of Sunday, March 27, 1977, a devastating fire broke out at the Crypt restaurant in Dover.
The burnt-out Crypt restaurant after the fire in 1977. Picture courtesy of Dover Museum
The blaze tore through the venue and the flats above it in Bench Street, claiming the lives of seven people – including three young children and a firefighter who died trying to save others.
Now, a campaign has been launched to ensure those who lost their lives are never forgotten.
The night tragedy hit town
The Crypt building, dating back more than 900 years, was an iconic local venue.
During the Second World War, it was known as Dover’s safest restaurant because its basement location protected patrons during air raids.
The Crypt restaurant in Bench Street in the 1960s. Picture courtesy of Dover Library
But decades later, it was the scene of one of the town’s worst tragedies.
The alarm was raised by a dog walker at 2.49am, who saw smoke coming from the restaurant.
The first fire engine arrived at 2.55am and a total of 20 ended up at the scene – from Dover, Folkestone, St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, Whitfield and Deal.
The fire started at ground level and quickly spread to the upper floors through a number of voids, before tearing into the building’s flats.
By 4am nine people were carried out of the burning building by firemen, two confirmed dead.
KM newspaper group picture at the time of the Crypt fire
Firemen had gone inside to confirm everyone was accounted for – but while checking, part of the building collapsed, burying some of them.
An inquest found that the blaze had been caused by a mains switch to a fryer being left on, leading to overheating of fractured wiring.
Coroner Wilfred Mowll recorded a verdict of accidental death.
The victims
The rescuer who died when the roof collapsed, as he searched for trapped victims, was leading fireman John Sharp.
KM picture at the time of the 1977 fire at The Crypt restaurant in Dover
The 31-year-old was married with two children, living in Canterbury and based full-time in Folkestone.
Mr Sharp was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct.
Three others who died were from the same family and lived upstairs in the five-storey building.
These were Marion Clay, 32, wife of licensee Colin, and two of their children, Shane Clay, six, and Charlotte Clay, 18 months.
Christine McCaughan, who was Marion’s daughter and Shane and Charlotte’s sibling and then aged 14, escaped the fire.
The memorial plaque for the Crypt restaurant fire victims in Dover, placed in March 2019. It is on the slope of an underpass directly in front of the site
A family friend who was there that night, Phyllis Conlon, 43, died in Buckland Hospital three days later and her granddaughter Janusia Ashton, seven, had also perished.
Live-in nanny and restaurant worker Anita Lee, 19, was the seventh to die.
Because there had been a family party the evening before, more people were staying the night at the property.
‘They should never be forgotten’
Now, ahead of the 50th anniversary next March, the Crypt Memorial Group (CMG) is planning commemorations and hopes the former restaurant site will eventually become a permanent memorial garden.
Cllr Graham Wanstall and a group of campaigners are pressing for a memorial garden for the Crypt fire victims in Dover
The group, led by Dover town councillor Graham Wanstall, is also organising a wreath-laying ceremony and wants relatives of the victims and former staff to help shape the anniversary events.
He said: “We would like the site to become a memorial garden to mark this important anniversary.
“If it were not for our plaque in the underpass, nobody would know there had been a horrific fire there in 1977.
“We are making our plans public and hope people will get in touch with any ideas they may have to help us mark this important day in 2027 for Dover, especially those connected with the Crypt restaurant in any way.
“I did not know any of the victims but feel they should never be forgotten.
The site today of the Crypt restaurant, where seven people died in a fire in 1977. It is behind decorated hoarding promoting features of Dover’s history
“However, I had eaten there. My grandfather was a regular customer as a local businessman.”
Cllr Wanstall has previously described the tragedy as the single worst loss of life in Dover since the Second World War.
Despite its significance, the Bench Street site has never been rebuilt and today sits behind construction hoardings. Some believe this is because the original listed medieval crypt remains intact below ground level.
The hoardings celebrate other parts of Dover’s history, including the Maison Dieu and the town’s famous Channel swimmers, but make no reference to the tragedy.
Instead, a memorial plaque listing the names of the seven victims was unveiled in the nearby underpass on the 42nd anniversary of the fire in 2019. Almost 200 people attended the ceremony.
The Crypt Memorial Group is now urging Dover District Council to install historic photographs and information panels on the hoardings so passers-by can learn about what happened while longer-term plans for a memorial garden are explored.
A spokesperson for Dover District Council said: “We are currently looking at what possibilities could be brought forward for several town centre sites as part of the regeneration of the area.
“The regeneration of the Bench Street area has already seen the successful construction of the landmark Bench building, which is opening soon.
“We are aware of the significance of the Crypt restaurant site, and any proposals for the site would be subject to consultation and engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including the Crypt Memorial Group.”
The former restaurant site lies within the wider Dover Beacon regeneration scheme, a £21 million project to transform the town centre.
Across the road, the new Bench building is due to become a major business, education and arts centre.
The Crypt site also stood next to the Castle Amusements building, whose flank wall famously displayed Banksy’s Brexit mural between 2017 and 2019.
Anyone with ideas or memories they would like to share about the Crypt restaurant or the anniversary commemorations can contact Cllr Wanstall on 07894 156411.