The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1873-06-14 00:00:00

- It Is said that the stricture was insured in three offices to
the amount in all of 4120,000.

The following extracts are from another account, in
the Daily Nova:—

"A melancholy sight Wu reserved :for those who were
within the gates. The vand building, with its coloured rose
windows, It. gold ornmentatiths, its artistic dodges, its
airy brilliant roof, It. flowering plants, shrubs and statues,
its organs, concert hail, and theatre, and It. miscellaneous
contents, with the exception of those to be presently spe-
cified, was reduced to • skeleton. The burning of the
Alexandra Palace will be long remembered, se much for its
swiftness.. for the completeness of the wreck it produced.
The great organ already used, and the smaller instru-
ment which was to have been opened on Saturday,
were the first to go, for upon them came the great shower
of burning sheets that fell during the lint quarter of an
hour from the dome. The massive architectural arches at
the ends, and termination of the transepts remain in their
beauty. All else is ruin. Iron girders here, and black bent
rods there—half-destroyed lattloowork in one place, and
tottering walls in another—mark the desolation that has
been wrought. The four pieces of arch and column to which
we have referred alone indicate the shape of the Palace, and
horn e distance they stand out clear, like the picturesque
ruins of son, old esatle. In one corner • singed, discolorued
banneret fluttered, corwpicuour amidst the bare walls. It
was Inexpressibly sad to pass from group to group on the
terrace., and hear their lamentations and protestations of
ruin. To hundred• the fire will be a great and imme-
diate hardship. birder the trees in the hollow ballet
girls were In deep distress at the Ima of all their costumes.
Over ahuudred bad arrived to entertain the visitors with the
stood spectacular ballet, 'i A eurine, or the Spirit of the
Waters; • in an hoar machinery, properties, deem., and
scenery had vanished, and the poor ebb bewailed
their hard lot in une 'bruised grief. A number of musicians
sat disooneolate on the rough box in which a portion of their
mama uipts and insiruments had been hastily thrown—a
mere handful compared with that lost 111 the flames. Work-
ing men compared notes as to the clothing they had been
unable to fetch after the alarm was rafted. On the North
Terrace the erections for grand displays of fireworks looked
scarcely more framelike than the great palace itself. Orches.
Ira chairs on the turf formed in Improvised barrier within
which, on the ground, toys, and gewgaws and other fancy
were were deposited in • confused heap. A highly finished
model boat, one of Searle's beet, bad been rescued and thrown
upon the grass, and In it figures of gorgeously dreseed
Orientals had been tumbled, head downward.. From the
printing-office of the Messrs. Burt, otherwise wholly des-
troyed . • few things, at great risk, had been snatched The
canes full of type were piled up, making one side of an en-
closure within which tray, of jewellery and highly.p,lished
cutlery wires placed around a little baud-press. On the
West Terrace a few entire cases had been preserved. Of all
the valuable things exhibited by Mama Defiles in the Palace,
- • mere remment wes left ; they also were laid upon the grass
—dr ice Wane, dainty statuettes,lend rare I•mpes This firm had,
as the chef d'aeuvre of tither crystal court, constructed • huge
candelabra in anticipation of the promised visit of the Shah
of Persia. It was jewelled in every colour, contained sixty
lights, and was worth 2,000 guinea. and it was utterly de-
stroyed. For a while It was said that Mx Harvey, who had
charge of this deportment, had lost Ms life, but this was en.
other of the unfunded reporta that flew about during
the afternoon. Eight of the finest carriages from the
Agricultural Hall had been in the building but • few
hones before they shared in the general devastation.
The dieseter falls with peculiar heavinees upon the smaller
stall-holden, who had expended their all in an endeavour to
make a good start at the opening of the Palace, and who have
nothing to fell back upon. They are about fifty in member,
and their despondency and sorrow was not the least painful
feature of the afternoon. The extent of the loss suffered by
exhibitors cannot at present be guessed, but that it will be
immense no one can doubt.
There were some things in the Palace that, once destroyed,
could never be replaced, an-i these have been, by • supreme
effort on the part of the authorities., saved. Mr. Martin and
Major De Winton, superintendents of the interior, turned
Ito whole of their attention to the works of art, so long as hope
of preserving them remained. The best picturm, the unique
collection of tapestry lent by Mr. Attenborougb, and some of
the pottery, are happily Bata, although a narrower escape
they could not have had. The Palace servants, in their
es 4 ernes. to carry anything they could lay hands on out of ,
reach of the fire, were not to be expected to discriminate -
nicely between worthless pictures and masterpieces ; but the
gentlemen just mentioned were able by their directions to
put in • plasm of safety the admirable collection of water. ,
colours lent to the Palace. Mr. Martin, remaining in ,
one of the galleries till warned • to hasten away, ob-
served a picture lying on the floor, with the glass
smashed, and in imminent danger of being trampled
to pieces. It was Cattermole's " Baronial Hall," valued
St 4.800 • this was the last thing rescued from the
Picture dallesiee. A velaable collection of jewellery, lent
for the opening by Mr. Benson, WU luckily removed on
Saturday. Whet is saved, and how MOIL, remains to be
seen when the confusion and excitement have subsided ;
certain iii,, that the destruction hes been wholesale.
Little doubt can be entertained as to the origin of the
fire, The Alexandra Palace was burnt down in the same
way al Warwick Castle wee fired—viz, by the charcoal
burner of a workman. A plumber had been in the dome In
the morning the fire broke out during his &beenee at dinner,
and the 11411/1113191111 assertion is that the fire originated with
his work. The Palace, it will be remembered, eost
£600,004 It has been insured for £l2O 000. At the lowest
computation the rebuilding will omit £106,000.

The Directors of the Company, headed by their 'barman,
Mr. ()Mang came up during the afternoon and witnessed
the destruction of their hopes with a calm philosophy which
was quite inspiriting to observe amid such, some of deals-
ace, and which warn emulated in a renaricable degree bills.

John Kelt and Mears. Charles and Thomas Iss,ggn.-.--'ing,
pecuniary interest in this undertaking is well known ga
who, replying to the observation of an Inquiring ~,,,414,
as to what would possibly be done under
naively remarked, - Why, put it op grabs' such calumet
A correspondent residing near the p,,60,8 „rho h
the Daily News :
~ tiring In Horner's, I MO "on M"e 4.4"0l the fan
that the dome of the Palace was on tire. I hastened tg
gate, and was told that no one was to go In. I p5,,,,,,i;
At ng,
tit:
ammanwttatnllym.kinight be otkf use, &o
way at
wrainy uropuuthde,hhtiLe
d 0... ,
small tank on the top, with a hose, would have soon nn, •
out. But soon fire began to drop In large maps. 074
B tor under the dome, and a small engine wu plsying op g.
burning wood. Quickly, however, the tire tuned Me ape.;
all side., and sten we kuew that our Palace was doung,
The fire travelled rapidly. The materials of the roof -
to burn like paper. Every few minutes down came egos
fire ; and it was evident that, If anything wee to be ages
.......
quarter of an hour only remained to do It. I ran ngs" ng
-+
went from group to group, and begged the men ton-07pp
and save the precioun plot.. s. At my end were tie, goo
colours. A friend of mine fortunately Si the other sag gp,
inspired with Um same notion, and largely contributedk
saving of the oil paintings. I got together about teen,
persona and they went up and then I went up reit
to meet my men coming down with their acyg 1
In two or three minutes the rooms were eget
I took down the last-re photograph, and saw a fee go
photographs just beyond, but It wse too late to go fug.. ,
came down glair', and saw some people carrying %inn 4
value, a• pianos, and the beautiful goods of Messrs. Igkg.
and Co.; other, pulling out rows of chairs; some will egg
hands full of trifles, u bottMlis of beer, children's con, ,andg7
dm. I then hastened to the east end of the building, andi'iii,
the oil paintings standing outside, close to the inhume. ,
gentleman was near them, who wee salting the woo°
to'remove them to • distance. I got a man t . help ga
carry the beautiful Rubens which was so precious, sb-?
happily it is safe. The scene round the place WU bring
description. The property of Messrs. liertrmn and Rohe%
was to be seen everywhere. The workmen, eneninp gm
thirst, did not hesitate to seise the bottles, knack bit
heads, and drink the contents. A barge mirror wu
out, and dropped, and broken in • hundred pieces,
were arriving on all sides—not a drop of water to be
A heap of flooring hoard, lay as the east end outside
building. No ODO removed a plank; it burned for
It ii worth while to remark upon the different mums/
which the event affected the various bystanders
and there were seen serious men with grief on
countenances at the tremendous loss which London,
Indeed all England, ha. sustained. Others were smiting
the spectacle, and indulging in miserable Jests. One
lamented turns that he had paid his money and sue
but • flee. I could not restrain my acorn of mine men SW
refused to stir at my appeal for help to nave the pictures
other things, Returning home, I found. crowd at tie
and a man nearly frantic Si the lon he had sustained,
whom they would not admit." .
,
There in little to add revealing the destruction of MI j
Palace, except that there is reason for believing tkg I
one certainly, li not two men, lost their lives m its
occasion. The one who, it is hared, may have perlehg '
was the night watchman at the Palms, named Jordat
who Heed on the estate, and had been Manly ir
trusted with the care of the building for years. He we, Is
seen in the centre transept during the tire, sleuths nig
self in saving life and property, and It is supposaa pg,
he was crushed to death by the falling dgg,
He is sad to have been • stt ndy and rehab
man, and generally respected by all who kw
him. The other man who certainly haa perished lig
John Kelsey, who had charge of the plate belonging g
Mesas. Bertram and Roberta, the refreshment contra:UK
Alter the fire was extinguished and an examination el Un
MIDI had been made, so far as that was practicable, bang i
found lying on his back in the strong-room, dead, but maw I
scorched nor Mont in any way, and his masters Indians
the belief that, being • corpulent mao, he died from
lexy. Ile had been formerly a butler Ins gentlemstie he
A fellow servant, named Alfred Lloyd, is add to k
,11
been In the strong room with him while the fire wee el
worst, and the supposition le that it became a q
with them whether they should remain there or en
all the attendant risk of effecting their escape. Ilog
elected the latter alternative, and addressing Ken
told that was their only chance, suggesting at the sun Me
that they should bind wet cloths about the, heads malt
to escape on their hands and knees. They Impale to he
made the attempt. Opening the door of the stronger*
It Is said, they crawled some distance, when Kebey New
have retraced his steps to the strung-room, sod Lloyd, in
narrowly escaped with his life, remains to tell the nos
Thomas Lerner, the head smith at the Palace, who was us
much burnt, and had one of Ms legs broken during the hi,
still remains at the Gnat Northern Hospital Ins puma"
state, but with some prospect of reoovery. I

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The came of the bazaar-holders of the Palace, mostly
women of small mean., probably turnhhed by am—
Wigan,' and Meade to enable them to earn •

excites much commlieratlon among the authorttler.
have literally lost all they had by the tire, and are Id% la
pitiable state. They were too poor to insure their litl
property; the company could not, or did not, Mauve 11l
them; and the frantic Whets they made to sere whit
longed to them are said to have formed one of the
touching episodes of the disaster.

Now flai the Palace la destroyed, some of the atn...,
talk of the extreme difficulty that was for some the,
perienoed In persuading the visitors to leave the Mint
building, the fire haring a sort of fascimition for thi
Much stress is also lad on the deplorable tfiact which
baskets of artificial Rowers suspended from the gantries)
In accelerating the progress of the dames, as each •
tlre and communicated rspidly with the rest. Der
whole of Tuesday the ruins continued to smoke in

Indicating a great- amount of latent haat, and p.
them fell at times suddenly and with a great
Curiously enough, an immense marquee with slight re
roof, situated near to one of the principal satrancis in
Palace, and which was being need for a show of -* -
droll., remains intact.

ii 73676. 1

The grounds were rigidly dosed on Tuesday. much to
disappointment of a few hundred Manors who Mired
Wood-green by train, or trudged the journey from Loot
only to Out the trete, shut against them. Doilag
day numerous dark lines radiating aCrOBII the ye
fields Indicated pedestrians anxious to obtain et
don. The gloominess at the weather and the ,
nese of the ruins (which give the site the
of double its actual size), cast an air of
everything, which was not &pitmen& in the esellment
Monday. The strong wind howled through the
windows, and swept clouds of mhos
During the night manses of brickwork and
with startling noise In one or two pla*. kit
wreaths of smoke arose, but, cue rule, there was NOM
but an almost Imperceptible hes, to ,thcate that Mesabi

Loodca r
th

gab
ill 6)

ri:o=v!so

were not yet gold- there was iere ~re some risk hi
teeing but the Interior, and the police exercised &
rigour In forbidding any but thaw compelled
duty to do so from passing through. The
'age Corps and firemen were amongst these, but it
little they Could do. The eight buttresses standlre/lnis
bring out to wonderful relief the fantutic forms of
twisted ironwork and scraps of framework toppled over
au sorts ot positions. A smell of burning pervaded the
mosphere. The delicate patches of colouring 'Midi to
left an if to shoe visitors coming for the first the
what they have lost, had an incongruous look in the
dingy setting of charred timber and bleached Ira
Several slender coltun, of numonry were expected e
moment to be brought down by the wind. The butteed
an organ pipe protruded from • heap of dahlia. Them
however, nothing new for one who had gased upon the
on the previous evening toe.., and nothing new 10 15511,

At • meeting of the proprietors on Trawler. It ass _
to Instruct their architect to prepare design. for the
'traction of the building.

I•Xf

It is deeply to be regretted that, notwithstanding sull
effort had been made by the directors to effect lAN*
inaurances against lire upon the building, it had been foals
Impossible to complete more than £160,000—• small porde
of the cost of the Palace and 11. contents. The organ elm
Is said to have been worth nearly £BO.OOO. The low to lb
Individual exhibitors and others will be painfully reit