Manchester’s Lord Mayor, Cllr Paul Murphy delivered a defiant message to those responsible for the Wythenshawe Hall fire – “You will never defeat us.”

Cllr Murphy addressed local residents and campaigners who met at the weekend to plan how the historic building will rise from the ashes after Tuesday’s devastating blaze.

Standing room only @WythenshaweHall meeting – thanking @manchesterfire @ManCityCouncil & discussing next steps pic.twitter.com/6BoYAM0PXM

— Mike Kane (@MikeKaneMP) March 19, 2016

Following a packed meeting in the Courtyard Cafe, Cllr Murphy  told supporters gathering outside the hall: “It is difficult to understand the mentality of someone who would deliberately start a fire on our heritage. This is our heritage and it belongs to every single one of us

“Whilst this is a sad day, it’s also a very special day, because this is the day we launch the fightback. This is Wythenshawe people fighting back against people who want to pull us down, and I say to those people ‘you will never defeat us. We will not only overcome, we will produce a better hall than it was before.”

Plans are now well underway to raise cash to rebuild the hall which was badly damaged in the fire in the early hours of Tuesday morning. The building is insured, Paul Selby, of the Friends of Wythenshawe Hall, said they want to raise cash to make sure the building comes back even better than before.

A Just Giving page has been set up which has already raised £3,400

Richard Jackson, who is a direct descendant of the Tatton family who owned the hall before it was handed over to Manchester City Council, said he was heartened by the incredible support displayed following the fire.

He told the Wythenshawe Reporter: “It was a shocking experience to see the house that you love so much in such a state. The fear was that we had lost all the contents and everything inside. Having been here for the last two days it is quite heartening to see it is possible to put the house back together again and that there are large parts of it completely untouched.

“The best part of the experience is the level of support there has been – from the people who have been in touch, the people who are here today, the councillors and the fire brigade – they’ve all done a fantastic job and it has helped a great deal.”.