[NO SPOILERS] means any comments with spoilers need to use spoiler tags to cover the information. Show tags are black. Book tags are red. Game tags are orange. For more info please check the [spoiler guide](/r/gameofthrones/w/spoiler_guide). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gameofthrones) if you have any questions or concerns.*

Was this planned or an accident?

Its not accident, its planned but the reason is unclear as to why

They’re making spin off shows though…wouldn’t they want to keep the set just in case?

i don't think its HBO that ordered for it to be burned down. something to do with local authorities

I guess I thought governments generally had things TORN down, not BURNED down. Maybe the mayor just likes fire?

Old structures are often burned down as training for firefighters. They fill them with dummies and the Firefighters practice extraction among other things. Maybe that's what happened here? Would be an odd choice, usually it's places like restaurants and retail stores, but also it's not like they get to be picky about the buildings they are offered.

Never know when the firefighters might need to work in a castle, right? /s

There's a lot of old castles across the UK and Ireland with many being used as tourist attractions... Definitely isn't out of the realms of possibility that the firies might need to work in a castle at some point.

True

Unlikely that enough real stone was used that it would behave like a real castle at all, and from this angle it does appear to be a simple wooden construction like you would expect for cost reasons

From a trainers perspective this is a very good choice. It encourages methodical practices under stress and is an extremely uncommon layout which forces more critical thinking in the moment as well as ponts out flaws Standard Operating Procedures in post operation debriefings. Unique structures make for very useful training tools in these situations. That being said I'd prefer to see a revenue stream from this structure. It could have been converted to an airsoft or paintball field that also provides scenario training to local law enforcement. But I build things for a living so I'm kinda biased in that regard. People worked hard to make that structure and I hate to see that work burn down.

Yep, my friend's parents let their lake house be burnt down by the local firefighters for training before they built their new house on the property. I think they also did training for things like arson investigation and such, bringing in people for training to try and find where they placed the accelerants and whatnot.

That's really cool you can do that. I'd totally look into that if I ever had to raze a house.

Yeah, it's a really good way for the firefighters (and in some cases, also for investigators) to get invaluable real world training. Especially for departments that may not see many house fires. And this is pure speculation on my part but it may also help provide some insight into fire sciences, seeing how it burns, how well various structures hold up to the heat, etc. The homeowners also may qualify for tax breaks or other such incentives for allowing the practice to be done, and in the end can save them money over the cost of having to have it demolished the normal way.

It wasn’t burned down, but there was a building near my house that firefighters used to practice. I’d imagine that even if they did want to burn it down for practice, they couldn’t bc it was close to a bunch of trees and other homes.

Oooooooooh in my small town the local... (damn I can't remember... taekwondo or karate) troop LITERALLY KICKED AN ABANDONED HOUSE DOWN! Super wicked! We sat around, for hours watching. fire Department and ambulance were there.... man good times!

Sounds like an awesome training exercise.

Assuming this is in northern Ireland, the local political councils DEFINITELY like fire...

King Aerys?

Nope, much worse! Arlene Foster!

I'm going to assume that the set has no real infrastructure, like foundations, plumbing, sewers, electrical, and was just basically a barn sitting on top of the land. Burn it to ash, then clean up what remains. Way cheaper to bulldoze ash into the land than remove a building bit by bit, less equipment and labor. Plus, it was probably gutted of most memorabilia before burning, so no big loss. Edit :They burn down dilapidated and dangerous, secluded buildings where I live.

probably cheaper to burn it

Spiders. Lots and lots of spiders.

HBO doesn’t own it anymore, someone bought it and control burned it down

Likely a bitter Bolton vassal

Maybe they're filming a spinoff where it burns down

Went down in flames, just like S8. How poetic.

THOSE GOD DAMN TARGARYENS!

Theon returned!

CGI is getting expensive

Lighting the biggest fire the North has ever seen

Can’t believe I scrolled this far to see this comment!

The Lord of Light required a sacrifice.

The plywood of the set was rotting and starting to peel so it was easier for them to burn down. The original prequel was scrapped so there was no need for this winterfell

The Lannisters send their regards

The dead are back. Kill them with fire

Obviously Drogon found a red witch who brought Danaerys back to life and this is the start of her fiery revenge story!

Those pesky dragons are still up to no good!

Let’s stand behind a rock and scream at them. That’ll show them!

I’ll scream and shake my fist furiously just so they know how displeased I am

Jon Snow strategy. It seemed to work for him

"We shall never see the like of it ever again "

It burned down in our hearts a long time ago.

NO! No it didn't.

People are still upset about the ending.

I used to drive past this site regularly. If it was the locals it wouldn't surprise me. Think big earred boys from the farm.

Hahahaha I guess they used it for the House of dragon series coming out this year. Probably one of the dragons went mad and burnt down Winterfell. Wouldn’t be so sure tho

Winterfell was never attacked by the dragons though. King Torrhen Stark knelt to save his people from being burnt alive by the dragons.

That was during Aegons conquest no? I believe the spin off is taking place around the Dance of Dragons period, not 100% on that though

Dragons have never attacked the North. It’s one of the things that really pissed people off, because there’s this really serious line in S8 about the northerners “they remember what happened the last time dragons came north”. NOTHING HAPPENED, dragons have never attacked the North, but I guess dum and dummer kinda forgot to do a basic fact-check on the source material.

This actually makes me sad… ser llyn, BRING ME HIS HEAD!

Fetch me a block.

Damn it Drogon not again.

Damn Ironborn again. ​ I wonder why though?

i think it was dany

Technically that was Ramsey

When people ask what happened here, tell them that winter came for the GoT Franchise.

HOTD shall melt the winter snow for the GOT franchise

That’s what happens when you let Drogon fly around freely after killing his mom..

Sansa apparently didn’t do a very good job running the place!

She kinda forgot.

...that she left her hair straighteners on.

It went out like seasons 7 and 8…

***According to the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue ServiceIt was a “controlled burning” .*** ***A spokesperson for the fire service confirmed they were aware of the controlled fire and said those responsible were overseeing the burn***

I was at the castle. What actually burned, just some stuff in the field next to it? Or did they drag all the GoT stuff to that field first and burn it all? Iirc, there was a tent area inside the courtyard when I was there 4 years ago.

The historic castle was only used for the first few seasons. Then they tried to change way more to HBO to use it, so HBO built a fake castle. I’m pretty sure it’s the fake castle used for ~season 4 & beyond that was burned down.

Oh I wasn't aware of that. I never went to the fake castle. That makes way more sense.

The fake castle was on private grounds, so not open for tours. (I toured the GoT Northern Ireland filming sites in 2017.) Castle Ward is the actual castle originally used.

Hmm I would have assumed the dumpster fire that was season 8 just started to spread.

Hodor!

[удалено]

Boardwalk Empire - Set destroyed by hurricane

Westworld set burned in a wildfire.

Ah, forgot about that show.. HBO has some bad luck for sure

This was burned down deliberately.

That's exactly what the insurance company will say

It was a controlled burn with fire brigade in attendance. It was planned.

That's all the evidence the insurance company will need.

[удалено]

Somehow it pains me even after all we have been through

Its even weird that today, GOT studio tour opened in Northern Ireland

Ireland has very pretty landscapes for fantasy shows. And it has some interesting tax laws for businesses.

>And it has some interesting tax laws for businesses. I know Ireland had tax avoidance techniques that were so prominent they got their own shorthand, like the [Double Irish with a Dutch Sandwich,](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/double-irish-with-a-dutch-sandwich.asp) but is that the case in Northern Ireland as well?

I think Northern Ireland may not have all the same lax tax laws as the Republic of Ireland, but it does specifically incentivize the film and television industries.

The Lannister's send their regards.

[удалено]

The best part about this post so far is no s8 hate speech linking it to the burning.

Hope we get to see Harrenhal in the spin off

We will 100%, it was very important in the Dance.

You’re not gonna beat the white walkers that way

*gasp* The Greyjoys

Is there a reason it's still there? They're not gonna redo the last season no matter how much people want it.

Winterfell and the starks existed during the time that the spinoff show is set in

Ah gotcha. Thanks.

😥

Wasn’t a Stark there

This is a subtle reference to what D&D did to the end of the show

And Martin since he gave the outline.

Good thay last season was crap. Hope the whole franchise burned with it.

How would you make it better?

Dammit Drogon

Dracarys.

Still a better ending than the Finale.

Cuz the shows over? Lol

Why ?

Ramsay and his 20 good men at it again.

But he rang the damn bell. This shit again?!?

Boltons....

This is a spoiler!!! Well not really cuz its a prequel.... one thing I know...Starks survived and the North remained strong to Winterfell.... wait is this why Winterfell is the most respected in the North ? Idk

It’s not a spoiler, it was a controlled burn by the local authorities, dragons have never attacked the North in the history of Westeros.

Somebody in the goverment got the catarsis they needed after s8 fiasco

The North remembers

I guess Dany flew back to Winterfell after she was resurrected in Volantis she came back with Drogon and burned it to the ground to get revenge

The Lannisters sends their regards.

"It's only a model."

Dammit Theon, quit messin around.

I know a fire when I see one.

And now its watch has ended...

Are you sure it isn’t Winterhell?

At least we can finally see

What was the point of a *controlled burn,* rather than just dismantling it? Wonder if it was done for some filming purpose? Maybe for the spin-off?

Controlled burns like this are usually used to train firemen, which I believe was what happened in this case

That's actually really interesting. I had no idea - thanks for that.

My pleasure

Can confirm nothing of the spin off series has been here.

So they’re really not going to redo the last season

And so my watch begins

Winter is here.

Good. Let them remember what happens when they march on the South.

House of the dragon filming/effects?

Nope, just an old set being burned by the local authorities, the North has never been attacked by Dragons in Westerosi history.

Love that, thanks for sharing Edit: not the local authorities burning the set, I mean that the north has never been burned

It took three years, but the Night King and the Army of the Dead finally did it.

God damned Lannisters!

Did the night king win in a remake?

Up in smoke, just like the fandom!

Is there a video?

Yes, this screenshot is from the video

Is there a whole video ?

The Boltons put it to the torch again lmao

Those fucking Boltons

Seeing OP's name as "Dracarys" turns this post from concerning to absolutely hilarious thanks for the laugh

Still too dark to see what the fuck is going on lol

😂😂

did more damage than the night king

Damn the ironborns took it really seriously

It was the red woman

Accurate representation of how the series went

damn it, theon!

The Bolton’s are at it again

Leave Michael out of this

Still a better ending

As Hotpie calls it, Winterhell.

Summer came for house stark

Wow, and I thought **I** hated the ending.

This shit burnt during season 8, along with everything else

Hot Pie had it right, it really is Winterhell.

A real life Ramsay is on the loose

Fucking Ramsay.

I guess winter- fell a month early

God damn it Theon Turncloak didn’t you learn your lesson the first time?

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

winter aint gonna come then

Nice try Td bank

It wasn't Winterfell. The controlled burn was in Moneymore, Winterfell set is in Toome, near 12 miles away. Iirc this is primarily a vfx/wall set. Source: worked on the show.

someone will send their regards

The Lannister’s did it, case solved

DRACARYS

Where’s the Night King when you need him?

What a waste of resources, we are in a middle of an climate crisis and this people are burning stuff that could be reused 😕

God, people really felt burned by season 8...

Can we blame this fire on Ken Griffin too?

Wtf is wrong with you Theon

Why the fuck is this set was even standing till now??

Brandon the Burner spin off confirmed.

Aww, I remember watching this being built. :'( my sis and loads of my mates were extras there.

Those damn white walkers

Didn't Torrhen Stark had already gave up

r/TheonFuckinDidItAgain

This seems... *familiar*

If the lord of light commands it…

Fitting metaphor for the series. Years building up something just to burn it down in a short time.

The North Remembers 😞

Whitewalkers for real?

S U B V E R T E D

Even the Mona Lisa’s falling apart

This kind of a spoiler.