The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-06 00:00:00

DREADFUL FIRE IN OXFORD-

STREET .
SIX LIVES LOST.
(From our Evening Edition of YeAerdly.)
OR Thursday night, shortly before twelve, a fire,
attended with great destruction of property,
and loss of life, broke out in the extensive
range of premises belonging to Mr. Williams, situate
at 287, Oxford-street, the corner of Gilbert street.
arid known as the Crown and Cushion Wine-vaults.

The premises were four floors high, and had a corsider-
able depth and frontage. The fire broke out in the count-
ing-house adjoining the bor, in, which was deposited
a vast quantity of spirits. Police-constable 98 C, who
was on duty near the spot, had his attention directed
to the house by hearing a loud cry of " Fire." Upon
gaining the front of the building, he perceived that

the counting house was one complete burning mass.
The office.r, seeing it would he useless to try to ex-
tinguish the fire without the help of engines, imme-
diately sprung his rattle, which brought other assi,t-

ance to the spot, and then started off to the various
engine-stations with intelligence of the calamity. At
that time three children were sleeping, in the upper
part of the building. There were also two female and
three male servants in the place, as well as Mrs.
Williams and her sister. Such was the fury of

the flames that in less than three minutes they
had extended to the bar amongst the spirits.
which once on fire spread with the most surprising
rapidity to the upper apartments. The excitement
which followed was most painful. At the, second
floor front a young female, named Fritchby, made
her appearance ; and with such fury did the flames
travel, th it before sufficient time had elapsed to pro-
cure a ladder, she was compelled to throw herself to
the ground to escape suffocation. Fortunately the
only injury she received was a few burns about the
knees. By this time the St. Marylebone parochial
engine arrived, and was drawn in front of the blazing
premises, and an abundant supply of water was flow-
ing from the water-works belonging to the Grand
Junction Water-works, from which the engine was
set to work. No sooner had the firemen got this

engine into operation, than one of the immense. va
of spirits burst, and the liquor becoming ignited,
rushed forth through the windows with terrific vio
lence, burning Mr. Bridge; the engineer, about the
face very badly. The King-street brigade engine
was the second to reach the spot, followed by others
from Wells-street, Baker-street, the' County station
in Regent-street, the Chandos -street, Crown-
street, and Holborn stations. The West of England
fire••engine, with Mr. Connorton, next reached the
scene. As the different engines arrived, they were
taken to the best positions, and were, all set t
work—those of the London Fire Establishment under
the direction of Mr. Fogo, the foreman of the dis
trict. By the time, however, they were got into full
play, the flames had reached nearly every room in
the immense building, and they were rushing through
the various windows, and also the roof, extending
half way across the street, causing the most fearful
apprehension to be entertained for the safety of "the
contiguous buildings ; in fact, it was greatly feared
that the whole of Grosvenor-market would have fallen
a victim to the fury of the devouring element. Three
fire. escapes, belonging to the Royal Society-for the
protection of Life from Fire, w ere remarkably quick
in arriving at the scene of conflagration, and it is re,.
ported that they were instrumental in saving the rfe
of one or more persons. At the time the reporter left,
Nlrs. Williams was still missing, and it was greatly
feared she hal perished in the flames. Such we hope
is not the case. The fire continued to blaze fiercely
until a quarter past one o'clock this morning, when it
became evident-to the firemen that they had 'got the
complete mastery over it, and no further destruction of
property occurred. In the course of another half hour
it was entirely extinguished; not:hoWever, until almost
every part of the building and its valhablh contents
were destroyed. The total damage must amount to a
very serious sum. Yr. Williams is insured in the
Licensed Victuallers' Fire-office, but we understand
nothing near the amount of his loss. A great number
of other buildings are dimaged, more especially the
following Treehick, potato:-merchant, ad-
joining, 1, Gilbert street, and Mr..Godfried, tobacco-
nist, opposite. Both premises are extensively damaged
by fire, and the stock by removal, &c. The pre-
mises of Mr. Mash, 2 and 3, Oxford-street, and of
Mr. Cook, baker, 286, in the same street, are like-
wise much scorched by the heat of the fire. The
origin of the fire could-not be precisely ascertained.
The police were of the greatest service to the-firemen
in keeping back the many thousands of persons who
bad beeri-dravvri together to witness the progress 01
the conflagration.
THREE o'cnOcK.-e-The firemen, in searching the
ruins, have just discovered the lifeless body of a
youth, apparently aboutl2lor 14 years of age. The
unfortunate individual, who. 1.15. thus premature:y
been hurried into eternity is supposed to be the
potboy.
Mrs. Williams and another persen are stillo,nissing,
and there are strong grounds to fear that they have
likewise fallen a prey to the fury of the devouring
"element: -•
HALF-rAstr THREE.-It is now distinctly ascer-
tained that six. persons have
_perished in the flames.
About ten minutes after three, the firemen, on prose-
cuting their 'search amongst the riibhish,•came in con-
tact with another body, -making the fourth. they have
found. From the dreadfully mutilated state of the
remains it was hardly possible to recognise ally traces
of humanity, but the'probability is, that it is the body
of one of the servants of the .establishment who slept
in an upper floor, in front of the premises faeing'Ox •
ford-street. The utmost danger is apprehended from
the fearful state of the walls, and from the superin-
cumbent masses of brickwork, &c., which overhang
the interior of the building, the task of exploring-the
ruins is rendered highly dangerous. Every credit is
due to the officers connected with the-brigade and the
police who are most diligent in their joint endeavours
to explore every part of the ruins.. The house is in
a most desolate state, and the anxiety of the populace
to view the scene of devastation increases as the dawn
of miming advances. •
LATEST PARTICULARS.
The fire is reported to have originated from, the
following circumstance.' One of the servants was
pumping some gin from the cellar, in doing whien
it was supposed the spirit ignited, and soon corn-
'inuniCated to the building',7 At the time of the di:is
astrous calamity, 'Mr.-Williams was away front home
it is said, at Exeter-hall, vhere an 'oratorio was being
performed. He parted with a friend he was wit:,
some time after, when onhis way home he heard of
the destruction of his valuable property, With 'the 10es
of his wife and' family. ''lt is almost unnecessary tc
state, that he is now in the most distracted state ol
mind, at the house of a friend in the neighbourhood.
The following are the names of the sufferers, as
given to our reporter by :Mr. Coole :—Mrs. Eliza
Williams, Eliza Williams ''(between four and fir:
years of age, William Williams, an infant in arms,
'Sarah Woolgsen, and Charlotte Fish, female servants,
and the barman, known •by the Christian name of
Jacob. The walls of the house still remain standing
;o •

PRESERVATION. OF GREENWICH HOSEITAL FROM
FIRE.--1-c:sterday (Thursday) a Considerable number of
workmen 'were employed within the boundary wall of Green-
wich Hospital, laving clown iron piping, for the purpose of
more speedily extinguishing firei.should it at any time break
out in that national edifice, without the aid of fire engines.
The principle .is similar to that which has been for some time
urged upon the Government, and tried in the streets of the
metropolis: The water is conveyed in pipes of- nine-inch
bore, laid from the capacious reservoir in the domain of her
Royal Highness the Princess Sophia, immediately above the
observatory. Thence it passes along the de2livity, supplies
the Naval School, crosses the Wool rich-road; and enter::
the Hospital at the western "gate. The piping is to te
laid throughout the • whole •of the exterior, it
is calculated upon hydrostatic principles that the pressure 0.
water will be sufficient. without the aid of machinery, tr.
-force its way through lengths of leathern hose sufficient -to
reach the highest part of the building. It has been prove('
by recent-experiments made in town, that, though water bc
conveyed through 5,300 yards of - iron- piping, consisting 0.
4,220 yards of 20-inch main, 550 yards of 1:i-inch main, am:
500 yards of 9 inch main, the force was sufficient to drive it
through two lengths of 40-feet hose to a height of 60 feet.
gwing a delivery of 100 gallons per minute. At Greenwict
Hospital it is intended to erect standcocks, so as to commanc
every portion of the extensive pile, and from the diameter es_
the piping and the height of the fall, there can be no ques-
tion but that the plan, when tried upon a large scale,
prove eminently successful. The men are working long
hours, in order to complete the work as soon as possible.
FIRE AT KINGSTON.—On Wednesday night last.
10 and 11 o'clock, a fire broke- out in the extensiv:.
malthouses of Mr. Robinson, but occupied by Mr. Michael
Wells, maltster, situated at Townsend, Kingston, Surrey
The fire was first discovered -by Some persons accidentally
passing. The policeman on duty went instantly fur • the.
borough engines, and, a plentiful supply of water being
obtained from the river, as well as from a well on the pre-
mises, these and other engines 'continued to play - on- the
flames until nearly three o'clock, when the fire was extin-
guished, and no further danger was to be apprehended. The
building has been very seriously damaged, and it will cost a
large sum of money to put it again in thorough repair.
- Two brothers, named Jean and Francois Braud,
were tried a few days ago at the assizes of the Ilaut Loire
for the robbery and murder, in 1843, of a carrier named
Chauchat, of Aleyras. Amongst the witnesses for the prose-
cution were four convicts, to whom, when in the Same prison
with the accused, theyhad confessed their crime. They
were both found guilty. Jean Brand was sentenced to death,
and his brother Francois to fifteen years' imprisonment with
hard labour.
A newspaper has noticed that the word "Ireland"
resolves itself into the ibllowing imperial title, " Daniel R."