The Sun.
London, England, 1864-02-13 00:00:00

Fire at Hillfield-hall, Warwick.

One of those ancient manorial buildings which
are the pride of the county of Warwick, says the
Birmingham Gazette, was yesterday morning de-
stroyed by fire. Hillfield-hall is well known to the
antiquarians of Warwickshire as a fine specimen of
the good old homesteads of Old England. It was a
building of the most pure Elizabethan style of archi-
tecture, and is said to have been built in the year
1576. There is a tradition, and by many believed
to be true, that " good Queen Bess," when on her
journey to pay her memorable visit to Kenilworth
Castle, passed a night in a room in the house. The
room in which Elizabeth did or was supposed to
have slept, could at any time have been shown to
the curious or the antiquarian lover of such tradi-
tions. The glories of the old hall have, however,
now departed, and nothing remains but the
remembrance of what the place has been.
About four years ago the hall was completely re-
stored at an expense of about £3,000, and was held
on a seven years' lease by the present tenant. About
four o'clock yesterday morning it was discovered to
be on fire by the gardener, who lives at the lodge.
The inmates, who consisted of Mrs. Beard and her
two sons, the governess and four servant maids,
were quickly aroused, and they all succeeded in
making their escape, dressed only in their night
clothes. The Birmingham district fire engine was
fetched from Solihull, but when it arrived it was
was found to be useless. Although there was
plenty of water the engine would not work, and
the fire, which probably might have been kept
under, soon began to make headway, and extended
from the drawing-room to the other rooms in the
vicinity. Messengers were despatched to telegraph
for the fire-engines from Birmingham, but here
another delay occurred, the telegraphic machine
at Solihull station was found to be out of work-
ing order, so a man was despatched to
Birmingham for the engines. In the meantime
the people assembled set heartily to work in
rescuing as far as possible the valuable
furniture of the hall, and succeeded in
saving a considerable portion of the valuable pro-
perty. The flames had now extended all over the
rear of the house, and could be seen for many miles.
About seven o'clock the fire-engine of the Royal
Insurance Company arrived, and, finding there was
no chance of saving the rear of the building, began
to play upon the front, and luckily prevented the
fire from extending any farther in that direction.
Soon after the engines of the Birmingham, Norwich,
and district offices arrived, and began to play on the
burning portion, and after many hours succeeded in
reducing the fire, but not until the greater part of
the hall was completely gutted, nothing but the bare
walls being left standing. At mid-day the fire was
not completely subdued, and several of the beams
that supported the walls were still burning. With
the exception of the castellated part, the hall is a
complete wreck. The origin of the fire is, as usual,
a mystery. A great many rumours were current
about it, but the probable reason was that the pip-
ing from the stoves had become heated so much that
it set fire to one of the beams. Neither the hall nor
the furniture, it is believed, was insured.

SEXAGENARIANS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.—
The following members claim to be wholly excused
from serving on Election Committees, on account of being
more than 60 years old :—Mr T. Alcock, the3Hon. General
Arbuthnott, Lord Athlumney, Mr. W. H. Barrow, Mr.
G. W, P. Bentinek (West Norfolk), Mr. T. T. Bernard
(Aylesbury), Mr. A. Black, the Hon. P. P. Bouverie
(Berke), Mr. T. W. Bramston, Mr. J. I. Briscoe, Mr. J.
Brocklehurat, Mr. R. Brooks, Major C. Bruce (Elgin),
General Buckley, Sir M. J. Choluteley, Mr. J. C.
Cobbold, Mr. Alderman Copeland, Mr. M. E. Corbally,
Mr. E. Divett, Mr. J. S. W. S. E. Drag, the Right
Hon. Sir D. Pandas (Sutherland), Sir De Lacy Evans
(Westminster), Mr. G. C. Glyn (Kendall), Mr. S. Greg-
son, Mr. C. P. Grenfell (Preston), Mr. B Gordon, Mr. G.
Hadfield, Mr. T. C. Haliburton, the Right Hon. Sir W.
G. Hayter, Sir W. Heathcote (Oxford University), the
Right Hon. J. W. Henley, Mr. R. Ingham, Mr. J. J.
Hope Johnston (Dumfries), Sir J. Johnstone (Scarborough),
Right Hon. Sir W. G. H. Jolliffe (Peter,field), Mr. J.
Kershaw, Sir H. Leeke, Mr. W. Long (North Wilts), Hon.
Colonel Lowther (Westmoreland), Mr. W. J. Lysley, Mr.
J. M'Cann, Mr. W. A. Mackinnon (Lymington), Mr. W.
Marshall, Mr. O. Morgan (Monmouthshire), Mr. W. Mur-
ray, Mr. W. Nicol, the Right Hon. R. M. OTerrall, Sir
H. 0. Owen, Mr. C. W. Packe (South Leicestershire), Col.
Packe (South Lincolnshire), Viscount Palmerston, Mr. 0.
Ricardo, Mr. D. Robertson (Berwickshire), Mr. G. P.
Scrope, Sir F. Smith (Chatham), Mr. R. Spooner, Hon. W.
0. Stanley (Beaumaris), Mr. J. Steel, Mr. G. Trail, Mr. J.
A. Turner (Manchester), Sir W. Verner (Armagh county),
Sir H. Verney, Admiral Walcott, Sir J. Walsh, Mr.W. B.
Wrightson,