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 to 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 persons w ,
to
had suffered had come by their death in consequence of the fall-
ing of that part of the Theatre called the Apollo room, and it
the Jury should be of that opinion they wooild retina their %er-
, diet accidental death.