The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-07-14 00:00:00

THE DISASTER AT SUNDERLAND.

The inquest upon the bodies of 32 children who re-
sided in Monkwearmouth and were killed at the
Vlct via-hal:, Sunderland, on June 16, was concluded
on Tuesday before Mr. John Graham, Coroner. Mr.
Fay, the entertaio !r, was present.
Mr. A. Robson, solicitor, appeared for the hall pro-
prietors ; and Messrs. T. F. Brown and G. S. Lawson,
solicitors appeared for certain of the bereaved.
Frederick Bonner Cory, coachman of Dr. Potts, was
called, and described the rescue of the children from
the fatal door. On the evening of the disaster he went
and got an axe to chop the bands off the fatal door,
but the axe head came off. He afterwards went by the
dress-circle door and helped to get the children out.
One little girl died in his arms.
The Coroner, on behalf of the jury, expressed to the
witness their sense of the great credit due to him for
the prompt efforts he had wade in saving some of tte
children's lives.

Charles Hesseltine, Mr. Fay's assistant, verified the
evidence he gave at tbe Biehopwearmouth inquest.
He first discovered there was a bolt at the bottom of
the door after all the children were got out. He
worked in rescuing the children at the dress-circle door
with four others till he was exhausted, and then went
to Mr. Fay.
Robert Swan, builder, and member of the Town
Council, said it was in August, 1876, that the
dire2tors of the Victoria Hall Company had the
door fixed on the gallery stairs, He was secre-
tary and manager at the time. There were no
plans prepared. The door was erected for two main
objects—first to shut off the gallery when not
required, and a cross-bolt was fixed inside to bolt it to
the stanchion; the second object was to prevent undue
crushing on the stairs on entering. For that reason
the bottom bolt was fixed, and a socket hole was made
in the floor so as to allow the door to stand ajar in
the fixed position with an opening of 22 inches from
the stanchion. Lastly, it was to prevent a draught
going into the staircase upon nights when the wind
was easterly. The sub-committee approved the work,
and during the remainder of the time the Hall Com-
pany had the hall they never had the slightest mis-
chance through the door.

Some further evidence having been given, after an
absence of 65 minutes to consider their verdi,t, the
jury found that Florence Edith Ward and others
came to their death by suffocation on the stairs lead-
ing to the gallery in the Victoria-ball through the
partial closing of a door on the landing, fixed in its
position by a bolt p!aced in the fl )or, but by whom
the bolt was fix,3cl there was not sufficient evidence to
show.

In answer to the questions put by the coroner, the
jury replied—that upon Fay and Coates rested the

legal responsibility of taking proper precautions for
the preservation of the lives of the children while
within and on leaving the Victoria Hall ; that the par-
ticular neglect of duty which led to the loss of life
was in omitting to provide a sufficient staff of at-
tendants to keep order within the gallery and
during the departure of the children; and that the
staff provided was not sufficient fir the purpose
if the fatal door had not existed ; that the care-
taker's omission to inform Fay and his assistants
of the existence of the door was a neglect a his
duty, and his omission also to reverse the position of
the dJor and bolt it securely to the floor against the
wall on the outer side of the landing, although he
passed it twice during the performance, the last time
)ut 4 p.m., a further neglect of duty; that the
ectors of the Victoria-hall Company were not justi-
t't 1 it: erecting such an unusual door with such peculiar
,iatenings in such an unusual position without instruct.
caretaker to call the special atteni ion of
r s taking the hall to that door and its fasten-
. hat the parents, or relatives having charge of
dren, were not justified in allowing children of
age to go alone, or in company of other young
chi ken t probably crowded public entertainment
witi out firs,, satisfying themselves that some grown-
UP pe-sons were to take entire charge of
their ; tnat the masters of the various schools
wet not justified in allowing the children under their
chat 's to be canvassed by Fay or their teachers;
and i It. attendance of the children, in effect, secured
by ft 3 tickets being given to teachers, without some
arrangement being made for the proper supervision
and control of the children by teachers when at the
entertainment.

The jury further made presentments as to school-
children attending entertainments and treats, and
recommended that provision be made by statutory
power for entrances and exits of buildings being made
to open outwards, and for the inspection of public
buildings.
In answer to the coroner, the jury said the negli-
gence was not sufficient to warrant their returning a
verdict of manslaughter.