The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-11 00:00:00

oESTRUCTION BY FIRE

OF THE

ROYAL EXCHANGE.

For many years London has not been ♦isited by co ca-
lamitous a fire as that which broke out last night at the
R )yal Exchange. Of the whole of that noble building
there remains standing this morning nothing but the charred
and ruined skeleton ! The structure itself is totally de-
stroyed, and we fear the value rather than the actual
amount of property consumed is beyond calculation.
We found it quite impossible, even upon the most dili-

gent inquiry, to ascertain anything of the origin of this dis-
astrous occurrence upon which reliance can be placed. In
the extreme confusion which prevailed—amid the variety
of rumours and accounts that were afloat, it is not easy to
fix upon any particular detail which can be regarded as
strictly trustworthy.
We believe, however, that about half-past ten o'clock
one of the watchmen of the Bank discovered the fire in
Lloyd's Coffee-house, in the north-east corner of the quad-
rangle which constitutes the Royal Exchange. An alarm
was immediately given, but before any engines had arrived
(and they were on the spot, we learn, with very little delay),
the fire had caught the northern side of the Exchange, and
was burning with great fierceness and rapidity. It was a
considerable time before any supply of water could be pro-
cured, and even then there seemed to be great difficulty in
reaching the fire, except from within, which we may term
the court-) and of the Exchange. For a considerable time,
as we were informed, it was found impossible to effect an
entry. The gates were closed, and it was not until the
fire had burnel its way into the very heart of one side of
the quadrangle that admittance was obtained into the Ex;
change, and then, unhappily, the admittance was of no use.
The Lord Mayor, some of the Aldermen, and many of the
most respectable citizens, were able to enter the court ; but it
was only to look upon the progress of the ruin which they
were unable to arrest. Our readers are aware that the apart-
ments of the Exchange, at least the upper story, were
separated from each other by nothing more than thin par-
titions—the whole constituting a quadrangular gallery of
the extent of the building. It may be easily imagined that
the fire, when it had once caught hold of a portion of such
a structure, spread with the most ruinous rapidity. At
twelve o'clock the flames had acquired such an ascendancy
that it was obvious that the whole structure must fall a
prey. In the meantime Threadneedle-street was broken
up, and the engines at full play ; but the fire seemed to
defy the exertions of the brigade and the staffs of the dif-
ferent insurance companies. The western side of the
quadrangle was already enveloped in flames, which were
spreading with so much rapidity as to justify the precautions
of the inhabitants of Cornhill, who were removing their pro-
perty and effects to places of safety. The military from the
Bank had been called on at 'an early hour of the night,
and though assisted by a large force of the City police,
they were found insufficient to preserve anything like
order in such a scene of fearful confusion. Not that the
crowd displayed the slightest disposition, either in their
eagerness to gratify their curiosity or through a worse mo-
tive, to embarrass those who were engaged in the dis-
charge of their very arduous duties. On the contrary,
we have never seen so large a concourse of people assem-
bled upon such an occasion behave with more propriety or
decorum. It was found necessary, however, to send a
messenger to the Tower for an additional military force,
and after their arrival, about half past twelve o'clock,
the utmost order and regularity were preserved. At that
hour the fire bad reached the southern side of the
quadrangle, and the gallery of the façade was one blaze.
In Cornhill an abundant supply of water was obtained, but,
even though thrown in the immense quantities in which
it was, it. seemed to produce not the slightest effect in
staying the progress of the fire. At one o'clock two sides
of the quadrangle might be said to be totally destroyed,
and the flames were rapidly mounting to the beautiful
spire that rose over the entrance from the centre of the
southern side. The bells of the clock chimed half-past
one, while the very faame-work in which they were set
was on fire. At this moment—if one's mind could be
divested of a feeling of deep dismay and regret—the ap-
pearance which the whole edifice presented was grand and
imposing in the extreme. Three sides of the square
were one mass of fire, while the flames were rapidly ga-
thering round the cupola of the belfry. To the immense
mass of people, who were literally wedged in in the
street, the fall of these old and well-known bells was a
matter of exciting interest. The whole octave of them—
we believe there were so many—were distinctly visible,
and no little alarm was created by the prospect of their
fall, it might be, into the very centre of the street.
By a judicious,' though not very legitimate, use of the
engine hose, the populace were kept at a prudent distance
until the iron frame-work of the bells, reddening in the fire,
broke from their stauncheons, and the whole came thun-
dering through the building like the discharge of a park of
artillery. One, however, remained swaying to and fro,
until one of the granite pillars of the belfry was forced into
the street with a tremendous crash. The whole of the
buildings under the arcade at the south side were in a few
moments enveloped in flames ; and at half-past three
o'clock the eastern, the only remaining, side of the qua-
drangle was on fire. From the impossibility of getting
any of the engines into Sweeting's-alley, it was useless to
attempt to preserve this portion of the building ; and in
less than five hours from the outbreak of the conflagra-
tion there remained but a smoking mass of ruins in the
place of that Exchange Which, since the reign of Charles
11., has been one of the most beautiful specimens of our
metropolitan architecture.

It would be quite impossible to farm any idea of the
quantity of property which has been destroyed. From its
nature and extent we fear the greatest and most compli-
cated embarrassments must be produced. Nor can we
indulge a hope that any portion of it has bees rescued.
Of the owners many reside in the country, and all were too
distant to be available upon so sudden a notice. At one
corner we observed the men of the fire brigade exerting
themselves to burst open a door which for a considerable
time resisted all the efforts of bars and hammers. At
length the door gave way, and a moment afterwards the
roof was in--one mass of living fire.

We hate heard but of one serious accident. A man was
much injured from some of the ruins hating fallen on him.
The following accounts we hate received from different
corrc ondents

An event, which may be regarded as a national calamity,
occured last night—the Royal Exchange is a heap of ruins
—a destructive fire has laid waste this extensive commercial
building, one of the most magnificent in Europe. Soon
after ten o'clock last night the fire broke out in Lloyd's
Coffee-room, at the north east corner of the edifice, oppo-
site the Bank of England. It was first discovered by one
of the Bank watchmen, who gave the alarm at the gates, and
the Bank engines were immediately brought. A strong
body of the City police and night watchmen, and the sol-
diers on duty in the Bank, immediately repaired to the spot,
and expresses were sent off in all directions to the fire-en-
gine stations, at which period no signs of any fire could be
seen from the street. Considerable difficulty was experi-
enced in obtaining any entrance to the building, and
when this was accomplished the flames broke through
the windows with great fury, and drove the people back.
The scene which ensued was a most extraordinary one :
the whole neighbourhood was alarmed, and the tradesmen
who held the small shops around the exterior of the build-
ing instantly commenced the removal of their goods. It
was at once predicted that the whole building would be de-
stroyed, and this foreboding was realized too correctly.
The Jefferies-square, Whitecross-street, Farringdon.street,
Southwark-bridge-road, Holborn, Chandos-street, School-
house-lane, and Wellclose-square engines, with those be-
longing to the West of England, the Countyk)ffiee,
several others, were all on the spot, with 63 of the fire-
brigade men, within an hour after the fire was discovered.
Before any water could be thrown on the building, it was
necessary to thaw the hose and works of the engines bY
pouring hot water upon them, and this caused some delay.
For some time afterwards, owing to the intense frost, there
was great difficulty in working the engines, and the fire con-
tinued extending in a south-west direction, consuming
the
whole of the long range of offices belonging to the Royal
Exchange Assurance Company.
At twelve o'clock these, and Lloyd's establishment, the
coffee-room, the captains' room, and the offices of tke un-
derwriters, presented one body of flame, which shot up to
a fearful height, illuminating the Bank St. Bartholomew's,
St. Michael's, and St. Mary's churches. Every object was
as visible as at noon-day, and the people had assembled in
such large numbers that the police and military experienced
great difficulty in keeping them beyond the reach of danger,
which was very great, owing to the large quantities of
burning timber falling every minute into the street. At
this period it was found necessary to clear the interior of
the area of the Exchange—Where for centuries our mer.
chants have daily met—of the people collected there,
owing to the density of the smoke and the rapid progress of
the flames ; but many would not leave the covered walks
until they were half suffocated, and a few were expelled vi
et ar»zis for their own safety. The gates had been forced
open with crow-bars at the commencement of the fire.
At one o'clock the north and west sides of the Exchange
were consumed, and the fire was rapidly approaching the
new tower, which was erected about twenty years ago.
The efforts of the firemen appeared not to have the least
effet ; the flames ran over the building, mocking their ex-
ertions, although not less than twenty engines were at work ;
indeed, for what good they seemed to do, they might as well
have been unemployed. The Lord Mayor and a great