Midhurst footfall 'still down' one year after 400-year-old hotel fire

On March 16 2023, The Angel Inn Hotel in Midhurst was alight, which destroyed the hotel. It had been a well-known location to locals and was even referred to as a ‘landmark’ in the town. With it almost being one year on since this fire, we wanted to know what footfall had been like since. Over the last few months, we’ve spoken to a range of shopkeepers and business people in the town to find out how footfall has been.

Marianne Wood, the manager of Age UK in Midhurst said: “Since the fire, we lost so much trade. The road was closed in North Street for a number of months too. The streets were so empty. It has been a little bit better since the main road opened back up, it did improve. We’re still not back to normal though just yet.

Laura Jandak, owner of the Upholsterer told us a few months back that: “Footfall is certainly not back to where it was since the incident with the fire. The fire happened when we were on a bit of a high point for the high street, people seemed to be doing really well and people came to Midhurst in good numbers.”

Peter Nightingale runs the Midhurst Museum with his partner Gill. He said: “The fire at the hotel was really tragic. When the road reopened after the incident it made a real difference for us. It did allow people to go through the town and have a proper look. People are slowly coming back, and I’m hoping that continues in greater numbers as well.”