Fire damages landmark Randolph Hotel in Oxford made famous by Inspector Morse

No one was seriously injured in the blaze, which started in a kitchen on Friday

Firefighters attend a fire at the Randolph Hotel in Oxford on April 17 (Reuters)

A landmark hotel in Oxford made famous by Inspector Morse has been damaged by a “dramatic” fire.

No one was seriously injured at the five-star Macdonald Randolph Hotel, in the historic city centre, but hundreds of guests and staff had to be evacuated.

The blaze started at around 4.30pm on Friday in its ground floor kitchen, firefighters said, and is not believed to be suspicious.

It took 14 engines from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service to tackle the flames as worried people gathered outside, watching smoke rise from the historical building’s roof.

Paramedics checked three people over at the scene but they did not need hospital treatment, a spokesperson said, and all rooms were search to ensure no one was inside.

Station Manager Peter Cleary said: “Although the fire was a dramatic one we did successfully manage to prevent it from spreading to large parts of the hotel.

“We've done our very best to help those who were resident in the hotel.

Firefighters tackling the blaze at the Randolph Hotel (Reuters)

“Our best wishes in particular go to the wedding party…we would also like to wish overseas visitors who became involved in this incident a safe onward journey.”

Firefighters were dispatched to retrieve the wedding party’s suits and dresses, the couple’s rings, table plans and decorations to save the ceremony planned for Saturday.

Passports and luggage were also delivered to tourists needing to catch flights and the Randolph Hotel has provided alternative accommodation while the recovery work continues.

Scaffolding was being erected around the building on Saturday morning for repairs.

Firefighters dousing the damaged roof of the Randolph Hotel in Oxford on Friday (Reuters)

Rodney Rose, the Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said: “The county council is very proud of its fire and rescue service and yet again our firefighters have responded magnificently - this time to a very high profile incident at one of Oxford City Centre's most well known hotels.

"On behalf of the community, my thanks goes to them, to all other county council staff involved in managing this incident and also officers from our partner agencies such as Thames Valley Police and South Central Ambulance Service."

The hotel was a regular haunt of television detectives Inspector Morse and Lewis, seen frequently in the two shows of the same names, and its bar has been named in Morse’s honour.

Michael Grange, the general manager, said on its website that it has “played host to world leaders, Prime Ministers and Presidents” for almost 150 years.