Rare fireplaces worth £1.2 million, removed from an historic house in Brighton, were lost in the warehouse blaze which destroyed works by modern artists Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst.

The four marble fireplaces, designed by celebrated 18th Century architect Robert Adam, perished along with items from Charles Saatchi's collection when the east London premises owned by specialist storage company Momart went up in flames on Monday.

The pieces had been removed from Marlborough House in Old Steine, Brighton, as a huge renovation project began last year.

Nick Tyson, curator of the Regency Town House in Brunswick Square, Hove, who is giving historical advice on the restoration, said: "These are obviously the centrepoints of four of the major Adam rooms of Marlborough House and as such their loss is a tragedy.

"To lose these central focal points in a disaster like this is terrible."

More than 80 firefighters were called to the blaze but they were unable to enter the building, fearing gas cylinders could explode.

The warehouse contained many works of art owned by Mr Saatchi and those said to have perished include Tracey Emin's tent, entitled Everyone I Have Ever Slept With, and Hell, by Jake and Dinos Chapman.

Marlborough House - described as the second most important building in Brighton after the Royal Pavilion - yesterday vowed to replace the items with new marble pieces carved to the original design.

Built in 1765, the house was remodelled about 20 years later by Robert Adam, a fashionable high-society designer who pioneered the neoclassical style and built Admiralty Arch in London.

It passed to a succession of owners and was later used as council offices.

In October 1999 it was sold to IT recruitment business Eurolink, which is based in nearby Blenheim House, also in Old Steine.

Founder Tony Antoniades launched a project to restore the building, which he has admired for many years.

He said: "When Marlborough House began the renovation it was decided that with so much building going on it would make sense to remove architectural items of value.

"These included four original Adam fireplaces. They would have a value of £250,000 to £300,000 on the open market. It was decided to put them in secure storage with Momart.

"We did not know which particular facility they were stored in - until yesterday."

Carole Hastings, director of Momart, said: "Everyone is distraught. We have a fantastic relationship with our clients. We are very, very sad about it. We have lost probably five to ten per cent of our artwork."