Work has begun to restore historic cottages which were ravaged by fire last year in a picturesque Dartmoor village.

The work on National Trust-owned Glebe Cottages in Drewsteignton could mean disruption to the local community for as much as 18 months, as each cottage is made structurally safe and then carefully restored.

Contractors have been on site since early May with the focus so far on ensuring each building is made safe to enter and then salvaging materials and residents’ belongings.

More visible repairs, including restoring the roofs, will take place over the coming months, the National Trust said last week.

The building was severely damaged by fire one night in March 2025, with the blaze quickly ripping through the terrace of four cottages which are Grade II listed. At its peak, 25 fire stations from across the region had crews at the scene fighting the blaze and preventing it from spreading.

Fortunately, no one was hurt in the fire which was later found to be accidental. The community, though, has been left devastated by the incident.

The properties have been covered in scaffolding and tarpaulin and left to dry out over the winter before the restoration could begin. The necessary approvals have been given and a specialist team appointed to do the work.

A spokesperson for the National Trust said the work to make buidings safe and salvage contents was being done in phases, one cottage at a time.

“We’ve also been keeping the local community updated, including a well-attended meeting at the end of April,” a spokesperson said.

“As the project progresses, work will begin to move into more visible repairs, including restoring the roofs over the coming months.”

Glyn Martin, one of 600 people who own shares in the Drewe Arms next door and run it as a community pub, said the cottages looked “pretty ghastly all boarded up and tarpaulin flapping in the wind”.

He said once the work started outside there would be “quite a bit of disruption”.

“They have got to do it but it will impact the community and parking will be difficult. We want it to be done as soon as possible but it could take 18 months. It’s not the pretty village it once was but we hope it will be again.”

Dating back to late medieval times, the Drewe Arms was reopened in 2024, having been shut for two years due to covid.

The then brewery-owned hostelry was under threat of permanent closure until a group of locals came together to launch a crowdfunding campaign to reopen it and raised £550,000 in just six weeks.

Mr Martin said it was “a very special place” which had been unchanged for 120 years, with no bar but hatches into the tap room where you order your drinks.

He said the pub project had brought people together. The fire had been “a real disaster” for the village but the community had rallied around all those involved.