The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-07 00:00:00

DREADFUL CATASTROPHE IN NEW-
CASTLE AND GATESHEAD•

From a Third Edition of the Newcastle Chronicle of
Friday, October 6.
About 20 minutes to one O'clbck this morning, a fire
broke out in the worsted manufactory of Messrs. Wil-
son and Son, in Hillgate, Gateshead, which spread with
inconceivable rapidity, and in less than half an hour
the place was from top to bottoth one immense sheet of
fire.
The manufactory, it will be remembered, was burnt
down, just about three years ago, and has only been re-
cently rebuilt in a most substantial manner, but the
large quantity of oil which was upon the premises offered
Such food to the flames that= no part of the stock could
possibly be rescued.
The adjoining premises were of a most substantial
character, having been built for a bonding store a few
years ago. The contents were chiefly sulphur, and the
intense heat soon caused that substance to melt. It
then escaped in a burning state from the window, and
had a most remarkable effect.
About two o'clock Messrs. Wilson's manufactory was
a total wreck, and the flames had nearly spent them-
selves on its contents. The firemen, accordingly, turned
their attention to the stores ; but, in spite of every exer-
tion, they were wholly unable to stay the progress of the
flames, which gradually spread over the whole premises.
The warehouses were fully 80 feet in length, by 20 in
width, and six stories high ; and about 3 o'clock, when
the whole range was one body of fire, the sight was one
of the most awfully magnificent which can well be ima-
gined.
But we regret to add that far the worst remains to be
told. It is unnecessary to say that such a fire natu-
rally attracted the affrighted inhabitants of both towns
to the banks of the river, and about ten minutes past
three a vast crowd was assembled. Suddenly a tremen-
ens explosion—such an explosion as we never heard
before and never wish to hear again proceeded from the
burning mass ; and ignited materials, bricks, stones,
metal, and every article near was thrown into the air
with tremendous force, only to fall again upon the dense
masses of people all around. A prodigious quantity
was thrown entirely across the river, and scores of spec-
tators upon the Quayside were thrown down and in-
jured, many of them being rendered insensible. The mass
of burning embers set fire to the ships, and crossing over
the Quay, entered into the houses opposite ; and in a mo-
ment the shops of Messrs. Spencer and Sons, Messrs.
Smith and Ormston, and Messrs. Smith and Co., were
in a blaze, while the uninjured standers by rushed off in
all directions in search of safety ; several endeavoured
to assist their more unfortunate neighbours ; but as no
one was left to endeavour to stop the flames, of course
the new conflagration raged with frightful vehemence,
and the shops above-rnentiened, the offices above them.
the public houses of Mr. Teesdale and Mr.' Batey. and
many private dwel;inge, were consumed in, compara-
tively speaking, a few minutes. At the same time the
worksbcps*of Mr. Edgar, at the head of the George's
Stairs, ignited by the same cause, were blazing with
fearful rapidity, and being situated in one of the densest
perts of the town, teemed to threaten wide-spread de-
struction.
About four o'clock, the are, having wrought its way
amongst the closely -piled houses situated at the heel; of
the Quayeide, broke through irtu the Butcher Bank, at
Mr. Temple's paper warehouse. This was soon one
sheet of flame, and in little•more than half-art-hour the
hon-e was an entire ruin. By this time the flames had
also broken into the Bank at a furniture warehouse occu-
pied by Mr. Piper, a little further up, and with so much
violence that attempts to check it would have been Vain,
even if the means hf doing so had been at hand. As it
was the explosion had put the fire-engines entirely hors
de combat at Gateshead. the stand-pipes and many of the
men having been belied in the ruins.
Six o'clock a.m.—The frontage of the Quayside for
more thr.n fifty yards from the Grinding Chare, is en-
tirely levelled. and a clear view presented of the rifled
and rained lanes and chares between the Quay and the
Butcher Bank. In these the fire s still in some places
burning with violence, and in others only smouldering.
Parts of the framework of houses are still standing
amongst the smoke, but as a whole the buildings have
fallen into a shapeless mass of smoking debris. The
house 'nc.' to Mr. Snowdon's bonded store is entirely
in the power of the flames,. and must soon fall. An
interval of two houses then .oecurs,- in which there is
little fire, and as their walls and interior have been
well wet, it is barely possible that they may yet escape.
The fire has, however, got hold of the next house,
occupied by Mr. ltiorrison, sail-maker, and others,
and indicates that behind it the ravages of
the devouring element are in progress. As a last
resort to check its progress down the Quay an
attempt is being male to pull down a house a few doors
above the Custom-house, in order to make a clear space
which the fire may not be able to overleap. A strong
cable, passed round the upper part of a house, has been
affixed to a steamer, which is endeavouring to pull it
down. At the upper end of the quay, the railway fire-
engine has been brought into operation, and may pro-
bably prevent the fire extending in that direction.
In the Butcher Bank the fire has been slightly got
under, and by maintaining the chief supporting posts of
Mr. Piper's shop, the framework of the house has been
prevented from falling. Many houses are, however,
completely gutted. The third house from the foot of
Pilgrim-street has fallen down, entirely destroyed. The
water from a hose-pipe has prevented the flames from
extending further on either side of the street-frontage,
but the mass of buildings between the George-stairs and
the Butcher Bank is still burning furiously. A pipe,
apparently with a good supply of water, has been got
down the stairs, and may have some effect in arresting
or limiting the work of destruction.
GATESHEA D.•

The explosion here, besides doing immense damage,
naturally helped to increase the extent of the fire. The
old houses in Hillgate were left one mass of ruins ; seve-
ral of them took fire together, and being already heated
by the flames, they fell a ready prey. In great measure,
however, the destruction has been confined to the ware-
houses on the river side, and these to an extent of more
than one hundred yards are totally destroyed, some cf
them continuing to burn fiercely up to eight o'clock.
LOSS OF LIFE AND PERSONAL INJURIES.
As yet it is impossible to learn the extent of the loss
of life caused by the explosion. Two soldiers were, we
believe, killed on the spot at Gateshead ; and on New-
castle-quay two spectators, who were thrown down,
like many others, by the concussion, were also choked
by the sulphurous vapour which was borne across the
river. This occurred, it is to be recollected, itt a dis-
tance of at least one hundred and fifty yards from
the scene of the explosion ! In the police station at
Gateshead there were ten dead bodies lying at eight
o'clock ; one of these was an infantry soldier. One
woman was known to be buried in the debris of the
houses on Church-walk, part of her body, being exposed,
but at the time it was impossible to reach her from the
accumulation of material upon her. One family in the
same place was completely overwhelmed, but were for-
tunately got out without any serious damage. The
amount of slight wounds and bruises it would be impos-
sible to compute, literally dozens of persons were going
about with bruised limbs or wounded heads. Among
the dead is Ensign Paynter, of the 26th Cameronians.
He was buried amongst the ruins of a house in Hillgate,
and his body was not recovered till some hours after
the cccurrence.
At the Infirmary, between 40 and 50 woneded people
have been received, and others aro being brought. Most
of them are very severely bruised, but others have only
required their irjuries to be dressed, and were then
enabled to leave.
In the bond warehouse of Mr. C. Bertram was depo-
sited a quantity of nitrate of soda, naptha, sulphur, and
other highly inflammable material, but as far as can be
ascertained there was no gunpowder in the place. The
articles enumerated, though of a highly combustible
nature, are not explosive, and it is supposed that some
combination of gases, generated by the fusion of the ma-
terials, had made the explosion which has been so dis-
astrous. The force of the shock was distinctly felt as
far as Dunston, and one gentleman was awoke by it in
that village. As an instance of the immense force of
the explosion, a piece of timber of about nine feet long
and twelve inches in thickness was thrown from Gates-
head to the roof of the Ridley Arms, in Pilgrim-street.
Into one place, at least 200 yards from Hillgate, a
stone, which would weigh about half a hundred weight,
was hurled by the force of the explosion, but happily it
fell in a yard without doing any harm. A smaller stone,
however, fell a little beyond this and broke in the roof
of a house, and a bar of red hot iron was blown into the
High-street.
Scarcely a house in the middle and lower part of New.
castle has escaped from damage by the explosion. On
the Sandhill nine out of ten shop fronts and house win-
dows were completely blown out. In Dean-street, Mos-
ley-street, and their neighbourhoods, the same effects
are'observable and many of the old housen on the Quay
are_, left little better than wrecks. Even in Grey-street
windows and gas-lamps have been shattered. In all
parts of the town the sleeping inmates of houses were
roused. In St. Thomas's Crescent—three-quarters of a
mile from the Place of the explosion—the people awoke
under the conviction that a piece of ordnance had been
fired in close proximity to their windows, and some of
them lighted candles and searched their houses.

The following are a few random particulars, collected
subsequent to 10 o'clock this forenoon
:-
10 o'clock am.—lnvpector Little was struck by a
flying missile, and had three ribs, hie arm, and ancle
broken. Police-constables Bates and Fiddas were more
or less injured. An unfortunate member of the Gates-
head force, named Scott, was killed on the spot. The
sight at the Gateshead station is most horrifying. Ten
bodies were stretched on the floor ;one in the attitude
of shielding his face with his arms ; another with his
hands at his heart. One body was a mere calcined
mass, and the leg of another was burnt off. A. barber
named Hamilton was among the number. The inhabi-
tants of the vicinity are still running about in a state of
tearful distraction. Every hour only adds to the general
consternation, as fresh discoveries of loss are being
made. The sight presented by one poor woman was
truly heartrending. She had lost four children in the
debris at Hillgate. The surgery of Mr. S. W. Rayne
• in Westgate•street was crowdedly the injured members
of the police force, to whom he is surgeon, and every
attention was paid to them.
On the Newcastle side the fire still rages. The pro-
perty in this locality is now nearly all in ruins. The
provision Mrs.
shop of Shiel, with a row facing All
Saints' Church, including Mrs. Male's-premises, are
totally destroyed. Within the sacred edifice the de-
struction is most complete. The beautiful stained glass
windows on each side of the pulpit representing the arms
- of the Corporation and Trinity House, are irreparably
de hshed ; the doors are torn from their fastenings,
and the body of the church is strewed with the splinters
and fragments of glass. Daring the conflagration, .I`slr.
' Dunne, the police superintendent, had a narrow escape.
• ;SS-vras standing ou a burning building, from which