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

THE LATE FATAL CONFLAGRA-
TION IN OXFORD-STREET

No event has occurred for many
.) ears to the western
portion of the metropolis which has produced so painful
a sensation in the public mind as the deplorable fire that
took place, at a late hour on Thursday night, at the Rose
and Crown wine-vaults, occupied by Mr. Williams,
No. 287, Oxford-street, and which, as stated in The Sun
of yesterday, was attended with the sacrifice of six hu-
man lives, as well as a great loss of property.
It appears that the premises had been but recently
erected, and were fitted up by Mr. Williams in a most
gorgeous style, and at a vast expense, for what is gene-
rally termed " a gin palace." The bar occupied nearly
the whole of the ground floor of the building, and was
handsomely appointed. A number of large vats, sup-
ported by stone columns, extended almost to the second
floor, and were well stocked with spirits of every de-
scription.
It has since been ascertained that at the time of the
alarm being first given Mr. Williams was from home,
he having left the premises in charge of two of
his barmen, of the names of Charles Goodwin and
William Robinson. Mrs. Williams, with her two chil-
dren, one of the age of four years and a half, named
Eliza, the other named William, and aged about
eight months, with the female domestics, one named
Charlotte Fish, the other Sarah Hudson, and a sister of
Mrs. Williams (Miss Fritchley), had retired to rest at
the time. The other inmates were the porter, named
Henry Parker, and Jacob, the pot-boy. It seems that
some of the customers, of whom there were a great many
standing in front of the bar, observed a body of flames
to break out suddenly from the top of one of the gin
vats, containing a large quantity of that spirit. Such
an unusual circumstance, as might be imagined, spread
the greatest alarm and terror among all around. One
man instantly ran to the street door, and shouted out
" Fire ;" another flew with all speed to the engine-house
in Marylebone-lane.
Many of the persons who were in the bar tendered
their assistance, and used every effort to prevent the ex-
tension of the flames, but before many seconds had
elapsed every soul was obliged to make a precipitate re-
treat into the street. The spirit in the vats ran over in
a flaming stream, setting the whole of the bar, counting-
house, and spirit stores in a general blaze.
The scene that followed was of the most heart-rending
character. It having been ascertained from the barman
that his mistress, with her two children and the rest of
the domestics, were in the upper part of the building,
the most bitter lamentations were raised, accompanied
with loud cries of " For God's sake save them," and
" Send for ladders." One or more humane persons vo-
lunteered to rush into the house to rescue them, but no
sooner did they enter the premises than they were driven
out by the heat of the blazing spirits, which poured forth
from every quarter of the building, and ran down the
pavement into the gutters and carriage-way in a river
of fire.
The only person who was observed to leave the pre-
mises was the sister of the unfortunate Mrs. Williams,
and she, it will be recollected, escaped from the counting-
house window. She was assisted by a person living at
Mr. Watling's, a butcher, residing exactly opposite. Her
preservation is considered truly miraculous, for she had
hardly gained the pavement before the whole building,
from the bar to the roof, became enwrapped in one cem-
plete vivid sheet of flame, whilst, at the same moment,
the sky was illuminated to such an extent that the fire
was discernible from all parts of the west of London.
It was then about a quarter to twelve, and for upwards
of an hour afterwards the work of destruction continued
with unabated fury, destroying everything the place con-
tained. Seven large engines of the London Fire Estab-
lishment, and those of the County and West of England
Companies, with one belonging to the parish, arrived in
quick succession, and were all brought into active ope-
ration, and were the means of checking the progress of
the conflagration.
As soon as the ruins were sufficiently cooled, the bri-
gade men got over the roof of the adjoining houses,
and by raising the ladders reached the party-wall of the
premises, and, upon looking over it, saw what appeared
to be the body of a man lying on the floer of the second-
story front. At first the ruins appeared in such a tot-
tering condition as to render it dangerous to approach.
Ladders, however, having been placed over the most
dangerous portion of the- floor, the firemen found
the body to be that of the poor pot-boy Jacob,
who appeared to have died from suffocation, for his
hands covered his face, and he was lying flat on the
floor, not much burnt. The firemen having lowered the
remains down the front of the building into the street,
they proceeded to make further search, and in the
course of another hour and a half they found the re-
mains of five other persons—three women and two chil-
dren. They were discovered entangled in the burnt
rafters in the back floors, but it was impossible to re-
cognise them, all traces of human form having been de-
stroyed. It was a frightful sight, and many of the fire-
men, in removing what they supposed to be the bodies
of the two servants, were actually moved to tears. Each
servant had a child clasped in her arms. The body of
Mrs. 'Williams was subsequently found dreadfully burnt.
The police, upon being made acquainted with the dis-
covery, sent intelligence to Mount-street workhouse, and
the authorities there sent shells, in which the black-
ened remains were placed, and they were then handed
over to the custody of the beadle. Upon Mr. Williams
reaching home, his state of mind on learning what had
befallen his wife and family can be better imagined than
described.
Notwithstanding the vigilance of the police, a number
of daring depredations were committed; among them
was the robbery of 50/. in gold from Mr. Truelock, who
resides next door to Mr. -Williams. Much discussion
has arisen among the inhabitants as to the efficacy of
the fire escapee. Had they been standing under the
window when the fire broke out, in all probability they
would have been of no greater service than they were,
owing to the vast quantity of spirits which became
ig-
nited at the same moment, and which entered every room
in the place simultaneously.
We have received the following statement from one
of the survivors, Henry Parker, the porter, concerning
the cause of the fire. He states, that as was his custom,
he left the bar at about half-past ten o'ciock to go to
bed. On his way up stairs he went into the kitchen,
which was on the second floor, for a lighted candle, and
whilst there he saw Mrs. Williams, her sister. and the
two female servants, who were preparing to retire to
bed, and the youngest child was in the cradle. He
wished them all " Good night," and proceeded to his
bed-room. Shortly afterwards he heard Mrs. Williams
and the rest of the family go up stairs to bed. Mrs.
Williams and the oldest child slept in the front room,
second floor. The two servants' sleeping-room was the
one above, and they had charge of the infant. The
sister of Mrs. Williams slept on the same floor. and the
pot-boy in a room adjoining. He had not been, he
thought, more than an hour in bed when he was sud-
denly startled, and upon getting out of bed found a great
quantity of smoke and heat ascending the staircase, ac-
companied by a loud noise as of persons calling, " Fire !
fire !' in the street. He could not tell whether any
person called him, but he directly ran down stairs, and
upon reaching the landing into which the counting-
house opened, he found he could get no further on ac-
count of a great body of fire being at the bottom of the
staircase. In consequence of that he went into the
parlour, where he saw Miss Fritchley in her night clothes,
and trying to get open the window. He opened
it for her, and called out for help and for a ladder. He
then saw the carman, Charles Goodwin, who was on the
staircase, and called out to him to come down, but it was
impossible, for the fire had got hold of one portion of the
staircase, and was rapidly extending upwards. Having
seen Miss Fritchley safely secured, he attempted to fol-
low her example by getting out of the window, but in
an instant he was prevented from so doing by a body of
flames bursting from the windows beneath. He then
turned back and resolved to hasten to his room at the
top of the house, and on running up-stairs he was nearly
deprived of his senses ; in fact, he fell several times from
the oppressive heat and columns of smoke that rose up
the staircase. He distinctly heard Mrs. Williams and
her servants scream for help. He called to them to
know where they were, and the screaming still con-
tinuing, he tried to get at them, but he became so
alarmed, that he made to' the top of the house with all
speed and got into his room. He then snatched hold of
a pair of trowsers, and jumped out of a small window on
to the roof of one of the adjoining houses, where he
remained until discovered. When informed where the
bodies of his mistress and the other unfortunate crea-
tures were found, he said that they had endeavoured to
make their escape, but had taken the wrong room, out
of which there was no means of egress, and this opinion
is confirmed by Tozer, the fireman, who had to tear
away some iron bars in front in order to lower the bodies
down. He further add?, in respect to the origin of the
calamity, 004 Goodwin told him (which has since been
ascertained to be the case) that it arose from the spirits
in one of the vats flowing over into the counting-house
on to the gas-light beneath. This it seems was occa-
sioned by Goodwin pumping the spirit from the cellar
into the vats in the bar as previously mentioned, and
over-filling them. Goodwin has been ever since the ac-
cident almost distracted.
The damage done by the fire is detailed in the sub-
joined list, which is a copy of the official report as sent
in yesterday morning to the different insurance-offices :
" The fire which broke out in C section of the brigade
on Thursday night at the premises of Mr. W. Williams,
sign of the Rose and Crown, corner of Gilbert street,
Oxford-street, consumed the whole of the furniture and
contents. It extended completely through the house to
the roof, part of which, together with part of the floors,
is standing. Much damage done to cellar stock by
water. Six engines belonging to the brigade were in
attendance, with the parish engine and those belonging
to the County and West of England Companies. The
building, with stock in trade and furniture, is insured in
the Licensed Vietusllers' office. Six lives are lost.
o No. 288, Oxford-street, Mr. C. Mash, potato dealer
_building damaged by fire, and roof injured ; furni-
ture extensively damaged by removal. Insured in
the
ic Sun.
e. 286, Mr. Cook, baker—shop front extensively
scorehed. Insured in the Union.
N 0.44, Gilbert-street, Mr. Mitcham, tailor—a similar
damage to building.
No. 1, Gilbert-street, F. Trulock, potato dealer, front
of shop burned, and furniture damaged by removal and
water. Insured in the Sun."

THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF HARBOROUGH V. KENDALL.
This was the last cause, and stood appointed for nine
o'clock this morning. It was an action of debt to re-
cover a small toll, but really to try the right of the
noble plaintiff to a toll-traverse claimed by him in the
High-street of Market-Harborough, lying on the high
road from Leicester to London. It had been tried at a
former assizes for the county of Leicester, before Mr.
Baron Gurney, and now came down for a new trial.
Mr. Hill, Queen's Counsel, Mr. Whitehurst, and Mr.
Waddington, appeared for the plaintiff ; Mr. Humfrey
and Mr. Mellor conducted the defendant's case.
This was an action to try the right to a toll through
the town of Market Harborough, situate in the manor of
Great Bowden. The declaration set up a toll-traverse.
The existence of such a toll was denied, and an exemp-
tion was also claimed by the defendant as one of the in-
PERILOUS JUMP.—On Monday last, when the up_ habitants of Great Bowden. A toll-traverse was where
train which arrives at the Barnsley station, on the North the way was over a man's soil, and might of course
Midland Railway, about two o'clock, was within two miles exist without any duty being to be performed by the
of that place, a person in one of the second-class carriages owner of it. A toll-thorough was a toll for going
lost his hat, and Immediately jumped out for the purpose over a common highway, and no person could effectually
of recovering it The train was going at the speed of 30 set up this without there having been a considera-
miles an hour. On this being made known to the driver, the
train was stopped, and was backed in search of him. He wasthe •
tion for it at some ancient period. In olden times
the right of making such
picked up in an all but senseless state, had one arm broken, Crown had exercised
and was very seriously injured. He was removed from the stance, as suggested in this case, the keeping of a bridge
in repair, or the like. Now, the first question here was,
medical assistance was procured as quickly as possible. His
whether there had been a toll-traverse, or only atoll-
hat had the name Wheelhouse written inside it, and he ap-
i peared to be a working man.—Derby Reporter. I thorough, for "it was impossible," said the Learned