The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-08-18 00:00:00

FATAL FIRE at a LUNATIC ASYLUM.

A disastrous fire, resulting in considerable loss of
life and proverty, broke out at Dr. Boyd's private
asylum at Southall between two end three o'cloek
Oil
Tuesday morning. The house, which is situated on the
main road from London to 0 ford, and stands in its own
grounds, some 500 yards from the high road, is the pro-
perty of the Earl of Jersey, and was built in 1702 by
Serah Jenniries, Duchess of Marlborough. The
Hanwell Fire Brigade were called at three o'clock, and
arrived at the scene of the conflagration shortly
after that time, but owing to the nearest water
being some distance from the house were unable to
commence operations at once. Other engines, how-
ever, quickly arrie; ed from Ealing, Ealing Dean, Han-
well Asylum, and Acton, and endeavours were at once
made to save the building, which seemed to be en-
veloped in flames. The scene was terrible in its
grandeur_ Many of
_the patients, Of whom there
were 22 in the institution, rni thaTeand 13
female, appeared at the windows calling and
shouting for help. The firemen used every mews
in their power, and their efforts were ally
seconded by the police and civilians present,
with the resalt that, with two fatal exceptions,
the whole of the patients were rescued without injury.
The exceptions were Mrs. Cullitnore and Captain
Williams, whose bodies were buried in the debris.
The others who perished are Dr. Boyd, the prin-
cipal of the establishment, who had come from the
burning building, but who had returned for the
purpose of saving others, Mr. William Boyd, his son,
who it is believed was to have sailed on Tuesviay for
Mexico. Mrs. Elizabeth O'Lachlan, the cook. The
gardener at the establishment, Hutton was /severely
injured. Miss Brnnnette Boyd was seriously cut arid
injured while attempting to escape from the burning
building through the conservatory, the glass of which
caused her wounds Mr. H. Boyd was also much hurt
his injuries tieing of such a nature es to necessitate an
oueration beii.g performed. A large staff of medicel
men were pres-nt, among those who attended to the
j wed persons being Drs Macdonald, Forbes Winslow,
Ricnarde, Burton, and Fenton. The efforts of these
gentlemen were admirably reconded by towr sfulk,
who readily received the sufferers and others. Mr.
Ge N. Abbott, e, Southall, showed conspicuous bra-
very. The poor fellow Hutton had jumped from
a window on tee third floor of the house into an
area about four feet below the level of the lawn.
The flames wer rapidly spreading around, but Mr.
Abbott droppe I nto the area and succeeded in
reseuing two a 1 ese men from the flames, which
immediately at eards filled the area. Police-con-
stable Dalton r dyed an injury to his leg while
rescuing a young weman named Hill from the roof of
the building. Ha' fof the right wing was saved from
the fire, but the ovier portion of the house was com-
pletely gutted, nothing hut the walls being left. A
email portion of the furniture was saved, and a con-
tingent of the salvage corps are present.

Another account says :—There were about twenty
persons, including servants, in the house at the time
of the catastr gibe. Fortunately some of Dr. Boyd's
i•atients and their attendants were at Bright in,
Rarnsgate, and other heliday resorts at the time.
Dr. Boyd was a gentleman over 70 sears of age, who
had long practised in Bolton-row, Mayfair, as a con-
sulting physician in lunacy cases, and who was for
many years superintendent of the Somereetshire
Asylum. When h- was superanuated there he bought
the house at Southsll from Dr. Stewart, and he has
continued to receive patients at this place for a dozen
years. He was greatly resr!ected arid liked in the
naighboerhood. His son William was a young man
about 25, and was on the point of departure
with his cousin Robert for Texas, to farm there.
Everything had been arranged for their sailing this
week, and on the evening before the tire broke
out they were going about the village taking leave
of their friends and acquaintances. Captain Williams
was a retired army officer. Mrs Collimore was a very
old lady, who had been in the house for over twenty
years. She is a sister uf a high cignitary in the
English Church. The persona who have been
injured received their wounds not from the fire but
by their efforts to escape from it. The gardener
Hutton jomped from the roof, to which be had
been driven by the flames. No one saw him leap, but
he was found lyin; in a narrow area at the back of
the house. Hu had evidently sprung from a portion
of the roof, which ía about 35 or 40 feet high, on to
a grassy slope, and rebounded backwards from it
into the area, a further depth of five or six feet.
Elizabeth Howe, who had been with another
servant scresming for upwards of an hour at a
high window for help, met with her injuries at
the very moment of deliverance. No ladder
could be found long enough to reach from the ground
to this window, but a shorter one having been pro-
cured it was hoisted to the top of an outbuilding arid
erected on its roof, so that the young women could be
reached. Howe was being led down this ladder when,
overcome by the heat or smoke, she fell off it on to the
roof of the outbuilding. Field got her injuries by
dropping from a lower window, and Miss Boyd sus.
tamed hers by scrambling from a window over the
glass roof of the coneervatory.