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

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PALL OF TEE ATLAS IRONWORKS

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Yesterday afternoon the ineabitants of the BorOugh4tad—'' -
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and Newington-eansewav were greatly alarmed by;ti LOst, , :0
irap`ortp.nt - ';"•
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calamitous occurrence, in which nearly SO persons Iverake- r 7
i not feabt:t lil[ :sr] jfeuarieedd
willpvracsvteralrent of proliestbk• • .74
destroyed,l3'if
contract with the Government from being finis st_lhe Vol
cifiTehcietime—viz., shells for the Crimea.
premises in which the disaster took plaotattlinigtet \,'411/4'
the Atlas Ironwork Company, and were situate immediately
facing the racket-ground of tho 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. The
uprights, it appeared, were too weak for the weight of metal
required in such premises as are used in the engineering trade,
or as a foundry, althoagh sufficiently strong for the purposes
for which they were originally intended.
The bUilding which has fallen was, n
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
aext 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.
Shortly after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon, the various
workmen, numbering upwards of 100, had returned irons
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.
Lion3fo for the aid of a strong muster of polite and Inspector*
theh.nscene, and found men almost in -a state of frenzy, ,
rushing about, and begging the officers to allow them to
assist.i rescuing the less fortunate workmen 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 wi willingness in assist-
ing in getting the, rubbish away, and, after some time two
,
men were got out by Mr. Day, of the Eight Bells Tavern m
Cross-street, Blackfriars-road, who cab
removed ,
and they were driven off to St. Thomas's
The state of the omas, thems
Hospital.
in a c
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 ware, by, dint. 4 great exertion, removed
from the rubbish ; and they were found to be very badly cue
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 bad 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 fractured. A man
named James Holden was next brought from the rules,
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.
During the time lost in searching the ruins one part of the
premises was in such a dangerous condition that if was feared

it would topple over and kill those engaged iilencle:VOurini
to save life ; but Mr. Coxhead, the builder, who had been
engaged on the premises, procured a number of ropes,
and so tied it as to allay all fears of any further extension of
mischief.

Up to 9 o'clock last night it was found iupracticable to
turn over the whole of the ruins on account of the great
weight of timber, iron, and millstones lying there, and it
will be impossible to tell at present with certainty whether
any other workman may not be under the ruins and crushed
to death.

The total number of sufferers taken to St. Thomas's Hos-
pital was 17, twelve of whom had .their wounds dressed and
were able to be removed home, but the other five remain in
a very dangerous state, as does also Johu Regan, who is still
in Guy's Hospital.

f .I.RKET NE RCS-(T.111.9 DAY.)

HAY MARKETS.

SMITHFIELD.—Meadow hay, 2/ 16s to -5/ Os Od ; clover
ditto, 31 Os to 6/ Os ; and straw, 1/ 5s to 1/ 10s per load. .
A moderate supply and a steady trade.
CIIMBEULAND. - Meadow hay, 21 18s to 5/ Os ; cloves
ditto, 3t Os to 61 Os ; and straw, 1/ 6s to 1/ 12s per load.
Trade tolerably firm. •
WHITECHAPEL.—MeadOW hay, 2/ 17s to 5/ Os; clover
ditto, 3/ Os to 610 s ; and straw, 1/ 5s to 11 108 per load.
Supply tolerably good, and trade firm.