A FIRE engulfed The Bourne Mill antiques centre in Guildford Road on Tuesday afternoon, causing catastrophic damage to the iconic 17th century landmark.

The blaze took hold in the fourth and fifth storeys of the Grade II listed building shortly after midday - destroying much of its roof and valuable contents.

A fire alarm alerted staff to the fire, who evacuated the building, including its busy tearoom, in under five minutes.

Two employees then returned to fight the flames with fire extinguishers but were forced back by the ferocity of the blaze and promptly made their escape.

Up to nine fire engines tackled the fire at its height, and although it was quickly brought under control, firefighters warned there will likely be extensive smoke and water damage throughout the building.

David Myers, who runs The Bourne Mill with his wife Claire, said he feared the fire had caused around £2 million of damage but promised the antiques centre will “bounce back” from the blaze.

He also expressed relief that nobody was hurt and praised staff for quickly evacuating the building which was open to the public at the time.

“We’ve had the business for five and a half years and it’s a very busy business - probably one of the busiest in Farnham,” he said.

“It’s very sad and we’re all pretty down at the moment, but The Bourne Mill will bounce back - guaranteed. It may take six months, it may take three, but we will get it back up and running as soon as possible.

“We’ve got more than 70 antiques dealers spread across 33 rooms in the building, and the damage to contents alone will cost at least a couple of million pounds to repair and replace.

“But it’s a great relief that nobody was hurt, and that’s thanks to our fire alarm system which is checked every week, our wonderful staff and a very impressive response by the fire service.”

Abbie Buckland, an ex-police special constable who now runs The Bourne Mill’s tearoom, was one of those to re-enter the building to try and fight the blaze.

She said: “We ran upstairs to see where the fire was and try to tackle it with fire extinguishers but it was incredibly extensive.

“You could see the plumes of smoke and flames coming through the corner of one room into another, and quite quickly realised that we were making no effect on it.

“Then we began to hear wood crackling and falling, and at that point we said let’s get out of here.

“We were very fortunate the fire started where it did in the upper storeys, because had it been in the bottom of the building it may have been a different situation.”

After the fire service arrived, Abbie was later tasked with aiming one of their hoses at the flames as the fire crew unpacked their equipment.

She continued: “It’s sink or swim and you just try to make sure everyone gets out and is OK. It’s not until afterwards that you realise this is people’s livelihoods that we’re losing.

“I own the tearoom, I’m not going to have customers for six months and we’ve got staff we’ve got to support - it’s going to be very difficult.

“The Bourne Mill is a real jewel of the community. Everybody in Farnham loves this building, it’s incredibly old and there’s so much history here.

“Hopefully this fire will just be part of it, and we’ll be able to rebuild it and the dealers and staff here will club together to do everything we can to repair it.”

The current Bourne Mill building dates back to the 17th century and the site, straddling a tributary of the River Wey, has been home to a mill since the 11th century and was mentioned in the Domesday Book.

It has served as an antiques shop for many decades, but has a more nefarious history as a brothel in the 1930s and a nightclub during the 1960s - the latter reportedly frequented by celebrities including Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger.

Erica Arnold, a dealer in vintage ball gowns, wedding dresses and accessories, who runs her business Real Green Dress out of the antique centre’s basement said: “The Bourne Mill is a hugely important building because it’s got so many distinct stages and uses in its development.

“Everyone loves the building so much and we’ve got friends on Facebook from all over the world.

“As a dealer in vintage clothes, obviously my main concern is for smoke damage and water, and if it reaches the stock it will take a long time to get the smell out.

“Other people with things in cabinets might be lucky - pieces of silver and jewellery may be OK.

“But it’s an absolute rabbit warren in there and we’re all just so grateful that nobody was caught in the fire.”

Val Lock, a dealer at the Bourne Mill for the last 25 years, was in the building when the fire alarms went off and added some customers took some convincing to leave the building.

She said: “The alarms went off, all the fire doors shut automatically and the smoke was pouring out of the roof. But the funny thing was that not everyone wanted to leave and some wanted to stop any pay for things!

She added: “The dealer in the part of the building where the fire started has only been there for three months so he would have lost everything.

“It’s a very sad day. I’ve been a dealer here for 25 years and I’ve worked at the reception desk for 12 years. All those years and now it’s gone up in flames.”

The A325 Guildford Road was closed in both directions on Tuesday because of the fire, and due to the impact on the Shepherd and Flock roundabout, there was congestion on the A31 in both directions.

A spokesman for Surrey Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a salvage operation and fire investigation is now in place to work out the cause of the blaze.