The National Register. — London, England, 1808-09-26 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL R:EGiSTEIi. The most painful part of this dreadful event resnitins to be de-. scribed. At an early stage of the fire, a party of firemen broke' open the great door ander the Piazza, on the western side, and having introduced an engine into the passages in the Interior, they directed it towards the galleries, where the fire appeared to horn most fiercely, when, melancholy to relate, part of the building fell in, and buried them, :vith several others who had rushed in along with them, in the ruins. It was a considerable time before the rubbish, which now blocked up the door, could be cleared away. .O hen it was effected, a miserable spectacle presented itself. The mangled bodies of dead and dOng_ap pearing through the rubbish, or discovered in each advance to remove it. It is generally believed that there nre not short of forty woupded. A party of ruffian•, taking advantage of the general consternation and distress, began to plunder; but eight of them were apprehended and lodged in Covent Garden watch house. A gang of pickpockets also committed peat depre dations. Respecting the cause of the fire little has transpired. Accord ing to some amounts, it first broke out in one of the Scene-rooans, utijacent to Hart-ktreet, and from thence instal:fly c4inntuuicated to the stage.' Others represent it as having originated in the shilling gallery, where there had been much riot and confusion the preceding night. The value of the property saved is very inconsiderable. About forty or fifty pieces of painted trumpery were seen 13 lug on the pavement under the Piazzas, and consisted of the stars and ban ners of the mock Spanish and Peruvian processions which had amused the town with mimic show a few hours only before this real, this awful, tragedy commenced. In melancholy contrast to objects like these, porters were employed, hearing out, one af ter another, the mutilated remains of the ill-fated individuals wbo fell sacrifices to the destructive element, in the assiduous'' discharge of their duty. The St. James's, St. Clement's, Bloomsbury, St. Andrew's, and other Volunteer Corps, speedily attended ; likewise seve ral spirited young men, as constables, who prevented depre dations from being cmmuitted on the effects of the sufferers. These towards the middle of the day were relieved by strong detachments from the Life and Foot Guards. tIEPTEMIIER 2n. William Darby, one of the firemen iu the employ of the Ea gle Insurance Office, was present when the unfortunate persons were taken out of the tire. When he first ari-ived at the Thea tre, the engine worked at Bow-street side of the House. This was about six o'clock.—Afterwards, cominz, round to the l'i azza side, he heard the crash of a wall falling, this was near eight o'clock; he immediately ran up to the door, which leads to the boxes ; the outer great doors were half closed; he asSir ed in clearing away the heavy wood whic hhad fallen on the en gine, and buried both it and the persons working it in huma; ruins. Water from buckets was thrown upon the ruins; they then set about digging for the dead bodies, and half an lima elapsed hefote they could get at them; the first they thew out was a man in his shirt; in another quarter, how ever, ,they At eceded in getting nut two more bodies, and then drew mit the rit• trine, when they saw Kilby the fireman, laying alongside the engine, and then oue after another drew out, in the whole, nine dead bodies, when the Witness, from fatigue, was obligcd t., quit the place. He understood that some more were afterward, taken out. Hine unit of the Jurymen related, that he hail witnessed the shocking spectacle which occurred when the ending fell iu. Ow. man,. dreadfully scorched, made his way from under the ruin-, slink toghis head with agony, and at the instant he appear^d ca. vereil with fire, one of the iremen emptied a bucket or eater over him, to alleviate his torment. Another unfortunate sufferer rushed out with his arm nearly burnt off, and impelled by pain, he rubbed the flesh from the bones. which appeared quite bare. These men were conveyed to the Hospital ; use of them was a fireman who died on T.iesday evening. A Gentleman on the Jury. at this part of the investigation, said a report had gone abroad of a quantity of gunpowder having exploded where the lives where lost ; he thought this circutu stauce ought to be the subject of enquiry, because, if the report was unfounded, it was necessary the Proprietors of the Theatre should be released from the charge of imprudently keeping a quantity of gunpowder in a dangerous situation. The Coroner remarked, that it was not the business of the inquest to enquire into every dying report; the Jury met to discover how the tie ceased persons came by their death. The stage-carpenter, Ads dteott, was however again called to speak to the question. Addicutt stated, that the story of the explosion of gun powder was unfounded. More than one pound of gunpowder had seldom been kept in the Theatre, and Hone had been put in that part of the house where the men were killed. Witness could say positively that there was not three pounds of powder in the house when the fire happened, and the place for keeping it was in that part of the house next Hart-street. The room over the passage from the Piazza, called the Apollo room was in dames when the men first went in with the engine. Witness saw it burning, and when the eieling of this. room fell in, the floor instantly gave way and buried the firemen and others underneath in the ruins. The party wall did not fall until seine time after the men were killed. In answer to a question, whether the re port that several persons belonging to the Theatre were missing, and supposed to have suffered in the tire, was true, witness said such a report was not correct. lie did not know that any persua belonging to the house had been killed. lie described the damit4e done in Bow-street to he very extensive. He saw the porn(.) fall, and the walls, but did not hear that any - person had been hurt in consequence. The fire hail destroyed several houses from the entrance to the Pitt in Bow-street, viz. the Struggler' Cot fee-house, kept by Mr. Dunn; Johnson's, fruiterer; Sliver carpenter; Mr. M' inlay's, bookbinder, and other house in Bow-street. With respect to the cause of the fire, he could _is.! no information. The Theatre had been examined by a watch man, who was employed to go round every night. 1% hen the alarm of fire prevailed, the people without knocked several times before they could make the watchman hear, and IN 'mos supposed he was asleep; he did not, however, take upon hint to say that the watchman was negligent. Three pistols had been fired in Pip arro ; one of them was discharged across the stage, and the others in a direction which could not do any itunry. lie did not, therefore, conceive that the tire could have b,al occa sioned by that circumstance. The Coroner observed, time Pro prietors of the Theatre were the proper persons t o enquire w he the fire had been occasioned by the negligence of their servants : the Jury had no concern in that question. From the evidencc, there could not he any doubt that the unfortunate person s w , to had suffered had come by their death in consequence of the fall ing of that part of the Theatre called the Ap ollo room, and it the Jury should be of that opinion they wooild retina their %er , diet accidental death. C'ORONER'S INQUESTS. Wednesday, A. Cell, Esq. Coroner for 11Iiddlezex, held an In quest at the Beitannia Wiuc Vaults, under the Piazza, Covent Garden, on a view of twelve bodies dug out of the ruins of Co vent Garden Theatre. After the Jury had been sworn, they proceeded to York-street, Covent Garden, to examine the body of K. Davis, which lay at the house of a tradesman. They then went to the Bone-house of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, where the other bodies had been carried. The bodies exhibited a shocking spectacle; many were burnt black, others had their flesh scorched off, and one appeared in situation too horrid to describe. The first witness examined was Wm. Addicott, one of the stage-carpenters of the Theatre.—lle stated that he left the Theatre, about half past 11 o'clock and went home. About four o'clock on Tuesday morning, Mr. Camiehael, a baker, rung at his bell and informed him that the Theatre was on fire. He immediately gat up and hastened to the Theatre, which he found in a compleat blaze. Shortly after several engines arrived, and hut few persons were collected on the spot. It was fouud im practicable to work the engine belonging to the Theatre at first. The Treasury door and the Piazza door were broke open, and oae of the Ploroi v fire engines was ran up the passage, just withinside the Pizza door, where there was a large reservoir of water; upwards of twelve persons were working the engine, and just beyond theta, further up the passage, were several of the firemen s seeing that the room called the Apollo room, and the inside of the audience part of the Theatre was on fire, and like ly to fall in, the witness advised the men of their danger, observ ing, they must inevitably he burnt, as the fire was rapidly ap proaching the Garden.—Upon which the fireman told the Wit ness " to mind his own business." To avoid the danger the Wit ness instantly left the place and went round to the Bow-street door ; from what he had since untb.r.aood, the tire, as it was supposed, began about the centre of the house. He afe-rwards Eras told several men had been killed by the falling of the tim bers, whi ch happened shortly after he quitted the Piazza door. This Witnets Awed, that there was a tratchmaa regularly Ap pointed to watch the interior of the Theatre, but when the alarm was first giv4as, the people conld not make him hear, aatl it was imagilici he tuna have falleu asleep ; he huts - ever afterwards escaped. ~.~ -~,~ timmelsomt=imi