The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-31 00:00:00

THE S N, LONDON, JIDNEStAV EVENING, MARCH 31, 1858.

THE LATE DISASTROUS FIRE AND LOSS
OF LIFE IN BLOOMSBURY.

[The following appeared in a portion of our impression
of yesterday :

This morning at 11 o'clock Mr. Wakley, coroner for
the Western Division of Middlesex, opened an inquiry
at the Fox Tavern, Duke-street, Bloomsbury, into the
cause of death of the unfortunate individuals who lost
their lives at the late calamitous fire in Gilbert-street,
Museum-street, on Sunday morning.
Previous to swearing the jury,

The Coroner addressed the gentlemen summoned,
saying he intended sitting to-day until 3 o'clock, and if
they did not conclude the enquiry by that time he should
adjourn it till Thursday morning and sit till 3 o'clock.
If not then concluded, he should adjourn the enquiry
over for a week or ten days. It may be a very brief
enquiry, or it may be a very protracted one, and he men-
tioned it that no gentleman might be sworn on the jury
and bound over to appear day after day to whom it might
be inconvenient to attend. If any gentleman was likely
to be out of town, or wished, or was likely to be called
away by business engagements on Thursday, or the early
part of next week, he would advise him at once to name
it, in order that he might be excused from further attend-
ance, because it would be awkward for gentlemen to be
bound over to appear and incur heavy penalties for not
attending.

Mr. Cooper asked if the enquiry extended over a
month or six weeks the jury would be bound over to
attend ?

The Coroner said—Yes. His knowledge of the cir-
cumstances was at present limited, and he could form no
opinion until after he had heard the evidence on oath.
It was an awful calamity, and it was one of the most
horrid sights he had ever reen. No time would be mis-
spent to endeavour to discover the naive, and to pre-
vent, if possible, the recurrence of a similar calamity,
Mr. Cooper said he believed tho whole of the proposed
jurymen were tradesmen, and it would be exceedingly
inconvenient for them to attend for three month?. He
instanced the protracted inquiry in Tottenham-court-
road.

The Coroner said even in that case the jury would be
bound to attend. Ile took it there were no gentlemen
summoned on the jmy connected in any way with the
proprietor of the premises.
The jury were then sworn, Mr. Marv, churchwarden
of St. Giles's, being relented as foreman.

The Rev. Horace Roberts, and several of the pa-
rishioners were present during the enquiry.
Mr. Sampson Low and Mr. Inspector Badderley at-
tended to watch the proceedings on behalf o[ the
Society for the Protection of Life from Fire.

The jury then proceeded to inspect the premises, and
aho to view the bodies of the unfortunate sufferers,
fourteen in number, which were lying in the dead house
of St. Giles's Workhouse. Their appearance has already
bee❑ minutely descnbed. The young man Smith, who
jumped out of the window, is lying at University College
Hospital.
The names and ages of the 14 persons on whom the
inquiry was held were—Richard Smith, 40 ; Harriett,
his wife, 41 ; Alfred, 15 ; Harriett, 13 ; Harvey, 11 ;
Walter, 9 ; Thomas, 7; Maria, 5 ; and Jesse, 2 years of
age, children of the first two named ; Jas. Hedger, 53 ;
Eliza, his wife ; William, 20 ; and John, 13 years of age,
children of Hedger and his wife.
On the return of the jury, the Foreman and others re-
marked they had never witnessed such a horrible sight,
and said to the Coroner, " Did you ever in your expe-
rience witness such a horrible sight ?”
The Coroner—l certainly never did.

A Juryman—Covent-garden Theatre was burnt down
without a single life baing lost, and here a miserable
hovel takes fire and all these lives are lost.

The Coroner —I really cAnnot understand it.

The first witness called was

Alfred Chilman, No, 6, Graham-street, Walworth-
road, porter, who deposed he was brother to the de-
ceased Mrs. Smith. He identified her body and that of
her husband and children, now lying at St. Giles's Work-
house. His brother-in-law was a porter. He was a poor
labouring man, and ho and his family were in great
distress,. He never knew him or his sister.attempt or
threaten to commit suicide. At times, he regretted to
say, he was given to drink. He was not aware
if any of the children were in burial clubs,
The last time he saw his sister alive was at
his house at Walworth ; she then complained that
the house was unfit for them to live in, and that as soon
as she could get apartments she should leave; she wai
then looking out for apartments in Pied Bull-yard ; he
knew nothing of the fire except from general report. He
had been to the house where they occupied two rooms,
a front room and a back room on the second floor. Tha
rooms adjoined and opened into one another. There
was no back window to the house, and the family had
to come from the hack-I-a-ma to the front-room before
they could get to the landing. There was a skylight ;
but he did not know if there was a means of egress from
it. There were four rooms on each floor. He did not
know who else lived in the house. There was no venti-
lation or light for the back-rooms but that borrowed
from the staircase.

By a Juryman—His sister's reason for wishing to leave
was the dilapidated state of the house, the rain came in
from the skylight and made the room so damp that it
wai unfit for the children to sleep in. Ills brother-in-law
had not been in constant work for some time. His
sister had complained of a carpenter's shop under the
dwelling which she considered dangerous and that she
would leave. Her reason for not leaving was that she
could get no one to take her in. The shop was opened
about Christmas last. There was an outlet from the
back-gimund floor before it was turned into a carpenter's
shop. The deceased Smith and his family had resided
in the house about six years.

Eliza Sarson, 10, Richards-place, Haggerstone, wife of
a labourer, deposed—l am the daughter of William and
Elie s Hedger and sister to the children. I identify three
of the bodice,. My brother John is so much disfigured
that I cannot identify him, My father was a journey-
man biscuit baker and confectioner ; he lodged on the
second floor and occupied two rooms. lam not aware
if my father and mother had attempted suicide ; they
were not in distress. I last saw them in the house
last Sunday
,week ; they had lived iu the house nearly
three years.
The Coroner—Do you know where the fire broke out ?
Halo (the beadle)—Yes, sir, in the carpenter's shop.
The Coroner—And where then ?
Hain—l have a witness who knows all about it.
Witness continued—They had a front and back room.
By the Jury—l don't know anything that compelled
them to live there ; they only owed a fortnight's rent.
She never heard them make any complaint about the
house ; but her father frequently said that if a fire took
place they would all be burnt to death. They had never
exp,rieneerl any fears as to the stability cf the house.
James George Fleming, No. 11 Fire Brigade, deposed
—I belong to the Cleandos-etreet Fire Engine Station ;
I was at the fire, and got there fourth, arriving at
about half-past 3 o'clock. After the fire was over I
assisted out the whole of the bodies. The
young man in getting
man was found
found near the front wall, and near the
window at tee east of the building on the second floor.
The floor ha I fallen, and the front wall before the bodies
were found. From the position of the body I cannot
say where it must have been. When I arrived there
I saw the front would fall, and I gave an elem. It
then immediately fell, roof and all, and we bad a narrow
escape. The walls, floor, roof, and all fell in a second.
After cooling the ruins, and whilst the ruins were still
burning, I went by direction of my foreman into the
ruins, where I found a young man near the front wall of
the east end ; his father was underneath him.
We then cleared away the ruins further, when
we found eight children, males and females.
Then we f and Mr. and Mrs. Smith—they
were all one on top of each other, as it were.
By a Juryman—The Smiths were in the back part.
Some of the children had fallen with their heads down-
wards, and I had to pull them up by the legs. I took
out 14. The first we found about 10 minutes past 4.
'ley were all dead. Toe pressure was enough to kill
any one. They had only their night cloches on, which
were much burnt. One body had his trousers pertly on,
and he must have been in the act of pulling them on
when the house fell. He was least burnt of all. I heard
no cries nor saw any person at the windows when I
came up with my engine.
By a Juryman—The house was in flames from the
bottom to the top when I arrived. The alarm of fire
was given at the station by a stranger. I saw the
breseemer giving way in the centre, which dre v the ends
from the wall. I saw it bend and the wall gave way.
I gave an el em.
By the Cs,roner—We are supposed to be called by
the police, who we give a trifle for doing so.
Mr. Goff, of the brigade, said he was called by a
policeman on Rleckfriars-bridge before the last witness
was called ; the policeman on the bridge was attracted
by the light.

By a Juryman—I have:seen hundreds of houses on
fire and seen them fall. I never saw a hou,e fall so
quickly as this. Since the fire I find the timber had
not much hold. If the front bressemer had not given
way I think the frost wall would not have given.
Police-constable 34 E, Daniel Brown Sulli van, I gave
the first a'artn of fire by springing my rattle at a quarter
past cr 20 minutes past 2 o'clock on Sdnlty morning
the 23th.

The Caronsr—Are you sure of that ? Because the
Chandos street men did not get there with the engine
till half-past 3 o'clock.
A Juryrcan—l saw it at half-past 2 o-c1,:c1;.
The Coroner—Yes, but the Chandos-street man was in
the imuudiate neighbourhood.
Juryman--yes, and thus was there before him.
Tue Curoner—lt seems there is no organised system
f ,r calling the engines.
Witness—When at the o ,rner of Montague and Rus-
sell-streets, I heard a, cry and ran towards the house ;
just as I turned the corner I saw the fire rushing out of
the window on the basement. The door, I believe, was
fastened, but the fire was so strong I could not approach
the door. I looked up to the front of the house, where
I saw a man at the second floor f ont window on the
west side over the shop, above where the flames were
gushing out. Ire cried out, and I to!cl him to hold hard
where he was. At this moment flames ruched out, and