The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1881-04-05 00:00:00

Disastrous Fire at Fo,dington.
SIXTBKI4 HOLMES DESTROYED.

This (Monday) morning a man named Gilbert
wee lighting the fire at his house in liellareet, next
door to the Swan Inn, when the chimney aught
tbs. The flame quickly spread to the rat of the
boons. Information was at onoe given to Mr. Super.
intendant Coward, who is Superintendent of the
Dorchester Fire Brigade, who immediately went to
the amiss of the ire with the rail and hose. Fireman
Sopldes was already on the spot, and it was deemed
naomeary mend for to the fire-enginc Apr,lima= mai
ales made at the barracks for men to sada, and the
*Seers at *nee despatched a lama body. The engine
boo the Artillery Barracks was also quickly on the
got, with • strong form of men. Some men on their
way to broadest, hearing of the fire. raided across to
the Fordisiton engine-Imam, near the church, but
toed the doors locked. With hardly a moment's
imatutioa they forad open the don. and brought
out the Grams glue, and dragged it to the
se. By the direction of Mr. Pearce they took rip
their position on the windward side of the fire, and
ageobsally prevented the Sr. spreading to the other
me a the stream, As the sparks were flying in all
direstions on to the thatched houses opposite. The
amanitas men deserve mach praise for their energy in
itaming out this engine, it having been got out of the
doom and set to work in a renarter-of-an-honr after
ate ilea alarm. Unfortunately the mine was found
I. be in a most nrwatiefactory state, the hose,
illPedail, boring apparently been much neglected.
Mae the Vordiaiton engine wee doing its work •
mmat Judicious me wee being made of the borough
uugine. The one from the Barracks was unfortunately
anew* dilliieS at first, bet with the assistance of
wirmein Mopldns and Mr. Meader, it was erit to
wort.

In a very short time the whole of the houses in the
wmagreeins• were in llamas, and although the mem el
esolnes wafted steadily and well, it was fossil
Mapossible to save any of these, and strenuous efforts
more lima made I. is.. the adjoining houses. The
yea* was torn oil several of the houses, which
thrabiless saved many other. from the tames, Inc the
beat eras intim" and their panth . was at times
sitesmillr eritioaL Mr. T. A. Pearce and P.O.
Geoid and others were particularly eowspicsoeni In
their Worts. new= Hopkins, foremast if Me
Inked., worked hard and did good service.
The fig spread so rapidly that it was with great
dillirmity that the inmates of the houses weld save
any thebr fundlaro, and the hovels, wretched end
Culeteelds.looking is they always ars, fp their WI.
Wei samt half-trewneil state looked simply dreadful.
The eleartnashe oompaats were pictures at claspidro
kr, weseoNsi am the honer were, it was yet home,
mg the wetly mewed to know where to turn lor
Rewseg. dolt hidihhotts 4ly toys the=
*Mee, mg we belige thill as. ail !surd for the

The Swan Inn was in imminent peril at age time,
ace man, a soldier, having discovered that the fire had
@Prod to the roof, under the alias*. With great pluck
several men wrenched off the slates, and hundreds of
buckets of water were passxl on to the roof, and with
the help al the hose it was effectually checked.
Severa men acted with great courage. One man, •
militiaman, stood in the river for nearly an hour
for the purpose of filling the buckets, until
lat last he was coral sl'el to leave the water.
whereunen his piece wae taken by another.
, The soldiers worked extremely well, and the officers
I also kindly assisted. Mr. Superintendent Coward
Perttrularly energetic Lad exercised much tact and
judgment in his arduous duties as Superintendent of
the Fire Brigade. Ifs was ably assisted by Mr.
Thomas, the Borough Surveyor. Several gentlemen
of the town including the Mayor, W. Darien, Esq
I 260 worked with a will in passing the buckets
I or to any Possible way assisting the work of extinction.
I The fire raged with more or less force till 12 o'clock,
when the engines ceased working. The Borough
I Surveyor thee set to work to pull down all chimney
stacks and other parts of the housnwhich appeared to
, be unsafe.

Fortunately no lives were lest, ani very few mishaps
occurred. Ose, the most serious, happened to Mr.
Masters, who had been very energetic in assisting the
working of the Fordington engine As we had said
this engine was directed t)warls preventing the
thatched houses opposite fr catching fire. It was
observed that a large piece of burning thatch was
blown across I,n to the roof of a house, which
at 011C0 took ire. A ladder WM procured, and Mr.
Masters with great agility ran up and extinguished
the burning thatch with his han.le. Hackett; of water
were passed tip to him, ant fears of fire there were
allayed It kappene I there were three peraons on
the ladder at one time, and whilst descending the
ladder snappel in two places, precipitating the three
to the groom. Mr. Masters was at the top, and
fell a distanxi of 151 t, but happily he fell on
his back on b another man, which somewhat broke
his fall, or vs fear the accident would have been
a most serious one. One of the others, named
Frederick Medway, was also slightly hurt, having
sprained his thole. He managed, however, to go to
Dr. Norton, who attended to his injuries. Dr.
Norton soon afterwards examined Mr. Masters,
and found that, although there were no
bones broken, his arm was badly sprained, and
he had sustained • severe shock. Besides this we have
heard of no accident worth mentioning. One poor old
fellow, • confirmed Invalid, was rescued from one of the
houses with no injury but the loss of his" physic,"
which appeared to trouble him as much as anything,
but he was oomforted by being told that he would get
some more at the Hospital.
Altogether there are 16 houses totally destroyed.
Ten of those belonged to Mr. George Pitfield, who
fortunately is insured. Mr. Thomas Lester, who owns
three, is also insured, but Mr. George Lester, who
owns the other three, is unfortunately uninsured.
Mr. George Mutford had • house considerably dam.
aged, but we understand he is Insured.,

Mr. ;oho Avery deposed that be was present in the
hall when this man was brought in. He was so drunk
that witne.s thought him quite insensible did not think
he knew anything that was done; he was almost
insensible. witneas ilil sot see the purse opened, but
ptisoner was not capable of seeing whether a sovereign
was in his muss or not. Be was hennaing and bellowing,
and even if he .aw the money was not in a condition to
know what It
Mr. R %lens : You have been robbed, there is no doubt;
but you have charged the wrong people.
Again questieeed by the U lOT. prisoner now said: I
said I came to the etation with three sovereigns inside
my purse. I did not see them.
The Superintendent: He lay en his face, and cried
like a great child. He was crying deo .k.
The Mayor wished to hear the Superinteadent's
evidenee, and
Mr. Vickery said he warn at the station when the man
was brought in, and saw hint in the cSargesroain. He wee
brought in by three or four m to, and laid out on the floor,
helplessly drunk and crying, his far, covered with mr, id.
Sergeant Delmont, Carter, Sullen, and Salon were toms,
and witness gave orders foe them to search him and put
him in the mill. Saw the purse taken out of his pocket. li,
should like t , say this those two men had searched men
with scores and scores of pounds in their petwation.
The Mayor: Oh, not a doubt about It; it might have
happened t'lat this poor nonentity% had searched him
when there was nuSody there; but it so happeawl there
were six or seven.
The prisoner had no question to ask the superint:ndent,
or farther statement to make.
The Msyor : In consequence of the observation+ you
have made, the gross awl unfounded eh tree against •
Policeman who bears a good character in the free% the
magistrates have fully enqiiired into this case. Not only
the polic • but an independent witness was mown I. nnti
your unfounded charge makes it worse for You. The
Bench have determined to tine you 10s. and 6s. c wok and
It will he a lesson to men when they are brought b.'', not
to make unfounded charges against the police. No doubt
If you bad been in charge of the police before you would
have hod that money in your possession now. In default
seven &sirs' hard labour.

reached Noise, who, hot for thew lends unpretending
aersores Think, wer, tee to airs. Gs idly for a supply of
laneke„,,and traet. f tub hull avid the young I.dies at
*lea aiieuton's Co'leg, Swd-dreet, :or wsrui end useful
elothine. and tthers he'd enahled the mistion.ry te cteist
the decoying pine. The sale of rl.l us serials i. on the
ina %MI. and it is h lest these supersede the worthless
'ligature which he to a lametdable extent tensed the
mental feLd to the pow. There I. malted dinaboitien of
eases of open drunke.•nes._ In conclusion the couttoittee
strongly recommended toe Mil el n to ell etati.ni, .4 the
Christian Church. Tu treaaurer's c telt oce.ent showed
that the aim or 5548.101. wa, due t • him."
'1.120 'WV. F. j. AtpiTire moved the ad ,ptdm of tho
report, and doing so tens p1e.1163 to Nee W. Clarke
I there. and congratolated hint up the success et .ndl-
ing his effortn during the p.st 19 yes..; •luili this
time not the lightest slur bad hero esat upon hie
I clause' sr, for hews, spoken of well by all. Mr. Austin
said that tha with in which Mr. Cis. ko was engaged
hardly needed rectum .ndatim, for he went slimiest
these who were prejudiced &goblet the truth, the
' amount of ignoranoe he had to meet with WAS
positively appalling, for it was ignorance even of the
must elementary truths of God', word, and there was
• deal of indifference t 4 the :Sabbath, the Bible ant the
Immortal interests of the goal : *titmice arose t I a
large extent from scepticima fostered by a Clll.l of
literature having a tent • ticy towards atheism, deili
agnosticism, and the error •n.I falwho sl was inaldh
almost imperceptibly ; ignorance ale., arose from a love
of 'demure of a vines generally atsociatel with a low
, form of religion, and as Christians they should be care-
ful how the amusements of the people were reminded
Anti sanctioned. Superstitio also was the effect of
indiffereees—superstition died a hard death in the
' West of Kngland, but there was superstition foatered
by ritualistic 'Yet-thaw. and forint not aids to, but
subditotes for spiritual life; the more reli :ion Wall
separated from form, the more acceptable to God. Mr.
Clarke went with no i.riesti -an to hin fell men, but
at a simple man, and an I mg as he laboured regardless
of meet .o party they would wish him Go.l-speed.
The liev. W. H. NANTLII eteresded the adoption of
the' but wlshe,l ;her It be e• lbecrilwea.
_

..1 ITV oldb. c ripme
and that the deficit •vould be hut temporary, for be
ksew the value of a Liithfid scripture reader who wee
al-e.ei Ale t th we wh wers inaccessible to clergymen.
Mr. Clarke was engaged in a work of au gametal-ism
character. and he warmly commended it to all.
The forowing resolu i,t, wee moved by the Rev. A.
MUMS :—" Th at the followl g gentlemfn canatitute
the c namittee for the ensiling rear :—Superintmdenta
—Hoy. P. J. ‘iptin and Item.. A. Newton : treasurer
—M. W. H. Chick : hon secretary—Mr. C. Wilson:
committee—M.(9.on. J. Beac",, Key. It. P,ancis, H.
Howell, J. H. Diiiihum, J. M. P. Mouteg 1, J.
Kingston, J. Hare, C. Edmonds, T. H. Miaow's,
J. Monteith, A. Crocker, G. A. Samson, S. Wbetham,
J. A. etradlirg.
Mr. Clarke, observe Mr. Nfewrois, was held in high
esteem by all denomination+, and that night he had
gathered a force social, clerical, moral and religious.
and there wa an universality about Mr. Clarke and
his work, and all were glad at his success. The visite
of Mr. Clarke often resulted in restoration, and many
had been braught again to pellsOe• Indeed, his services
could not properly be estimated. There was a deal of
firmness about their rni,ionary, which served him