The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-15 00:00:00

FALL OF THE ATLAS IRONWORKS.

'NW
Yesterday afternoon the inhabitants of the Borough-road
and Newington-causeway were greatly alarmed by a most
calamitous occurrence, in which nearly 20 persons were se-
riously, if not fatally injured, and a vast amount of property
destroyed, which, it is feared, will prevent a very important
contract with the Government from being finished at the spe-
cified time—viz., shells for the Crimea.
The premises in which the disaster took place belonged to
the Atlas Ironwork Company; and were situate immediately
facing the racket-ground of the Queen's Prison, in the
Borough-road, and stretched as far as the back of the houses
'in Newington-causeway, The place was originally built for
carpenters' workshops, and was four floors high, being built
of timber, covered with heavy sheets of slate, the support of
the roof being long horizontal girders, braced together. phi,
, uprights, it appeared, were too weak for the weight of metal
gforthe engineeringp trade,oses purposes
required in such premises
or as a foundry, al
for which they were originally intended.
mishouegshas surilciuesneldly in
strong
The building which has fallen was, probably, 90 feet long
and nearly 70 feet high ; the lower floor being used as the
drilling and casting houses, the drying shops were on the
next floor, over which were the carpenters' shops, and on the
floor above were deposited all kinds of iron work, the whole
being of great weight.
from
Shortly after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the various
workmen, numbering upwards of 100, had returned
dinner, and had taken their respective places at their lathes,
drums, and benches, when, of a sudden, some persons,
who were in the top part, had their attention directed to
one of the sides rocking to and fro. They raised an imme-
diate alarm, and at once made an attempt to gain the street.
Others in the lower floor, also seeing the building move,
made an attempt to leave,
and fortunately several were suc-
cessful, but before the whole number could get out, the roof
fell in, and in an instant afterwards the top floor fell, and the
lower floors, being pressed by the additional weight thrown
upon them, also dropped to the ground.
As soon as the dust had in some measure cleared away, the
exact amount of the injury
and the cause became apparent;
and the cries which proceeded from the ruins proved that
several persons were imbedded.
Messengers were despatched to the Stones-end Police-sta-
tion for the aid of a strong muster of police, and Inspectors
Moore and M'lntosh, with nearly 100 officers, repaired to
the scene, and found men almost in a state of frenzy,
rushing about, and begging the officers to allow them to
assist in rescuing the less fortunateworkmen who were
under the ruins. The request was, of course, readily granted,
and the police assisted the men in digging the poor fellows
out. The neighbours also showed every
willingna
assist-
ing in getting the rubbish away, and, after somes in
time, two
men were got out by Mr. Day, of the Eight Bells Tavern, in
Cross-street, Blackfriars-road, who removed them in a cab,
and they were driven off to St. Thomas's Hospital.
The state of the premises having been made known to the
authorities of the hospital, and the great number of persons
who were buried alive in the ruins, the following medical gen-
tlemen connected with the institution proceeded to the scene
in order to render immediate assistance as the men were got
out :—Messrs. Penberthe, Wootton, Fowler, Hodges, Elwin,
Gratham, Warwick, Crofts, and Carpenter. These gentlemen
attended the sufferers as they were extricated, while Mr. Le
Gros Clark and Mr. Croft, the chief surgeons in attendance,
waited at the hospital to attend to their injuries.
Several persons were, by dint of great exertion, removed
from the rubbish ; and they were found to be very badly cut
and injured by the fall of timber and ironwork ; two were
taken to the surgery of Mr. Odling in high-street, Borough,
and Mr. Charles Smith, his assistant, strapped up their
wounds. One man had received a contused wound at the
back of the head and the other had his leg severely cut.
Tackling having been obtained, and the assistance of some
200 men, the stones, after about two hours, were raised, and
a man liberated. He was taken to St. Thomas's Hospital,
but he is in a very dangerous condition. Another man,
named Joseph Giles, was also extricated after much time
and trouble, with his skull fearfully fracture& A man
named James Holden was next brought from the ruins,
and was taken by the police to St. Thomas's Hospital. Chas.
Pryer was likewise got out, with his leg fractured by a mill-
stone falling on it, and he was also removed to the same
institution. Another man, whose name could not be ascer-
tained, owing to his being perfectly insensible, was removed
to the hospital, but not the least hopes can be entertained of
his recovery. A man named John Regan was extricated
from the broken timber and forthwith removed to Guy's
Hospital.