The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-18 00:00:00

i FIRE ,AT NEW FERRY

=A LADY BURNT TO

DEATH

In our second edition of Friday last we gave a short ac-
count of a fire at New Ferry, Cheshire, by which an interest-
ing young woman lost her life. The following account,
abridged, with some amendments, from the Chronicle, con-
tains the particulars more at length; and we append to it the
evidence given at the coroner's inquest on Saturday :—Yes-
terday morning (Friday), at an early hour, a fire was found
to have broken out in the house of Miss Sankey, of the Post-
office, at New Ferry. The house is the first on the right-
hand side of the new hamlet or village, about three-quarters
of a mile from the New Ferry landing-place, on the high road
fr6m Tranmere to Chester, and as yet known as New Ferry,
or Lower Bebbington, though not adjoining the landing-
place The house is detached, of two stories in height, and
within a railed inclosure, or' small garden, on its east and
south fronts. About half-past two o'clock in the morning
an alarm was given in the neighbourhood, and Mr. Hayes,
of the Liverpool Custom-house, who resides opposite to, and
close by, the premises, was one of the first at the spot.
There were in the house at the time Miss Sankey, an elderly
person, a little girl of from thirteen to fourteen years of age,
and a young gentlewoman, stated to be Miss Mary Anne
Cowper, who had been a lodger for about two months, and
occupied the best bedroom and sitting-room, both on the se-

WIIOSC name we could not learn, immediately on learning
thrt a fire was going on, ran from house to house, with the
most praiseworthy anxiety, and knocked loudly at all the
doors. Amongst the first who were roused after Mr. Hay's,
were Mr. Ostle, joiner, and three of his young men—Thomas
Storey, Robert Heckle, and Robert Dixon—the last two ap-
prentices. These and others who had run to the spot found
the upper part of the premises, on the north-east corner of
the house, in a rapid state of combustion. The flames were
issuing from the bedroom window of the young lady, facing
the Mersey, and such was the heat and smoke in every room,
even below, that precaution was required to approach the
immediate scene of destruction. Everything that courage
and humanity could effect was done to save the life of the
young lady ; but the aid, though prompt, was unavailins•_

The room in which she slept waieniirely'birrnt out, and die.
floor fell to the apartment below. The landlady states that
her lodger (the deceased) had gone to Liverpool on the pre-
vious evening, at about five o'clock, and returned at eight.
She then took supper, and shortly afterwards went to bed,
taking her candle with her. Miss Sankey and her girl soon
afterwards went to bed. Between one and two o'clock Miss
Sankey heard a crackling noise ; and hearing it a second time
became somewhat alarmed. The clock struck two and she
rose. On approaching the room of the young lady, she saw
the flames bursting out from under the door. In a state of
alarm, she and the girl ran out of the house, and roused the
neighbourhood. Every one present exerted the utmost energy
to subdue the flames, but the bed-room of the deceased, the
floor, ceiling, windows, doors, cupboard, bed, and furniture,
fell a prey to the fire. Mr. Hayes first burst open the door,
with a view to save the young woman. He was instantly
driven back by the force and intensity of the flames, and all
hopes of rescuing the poor creature were at an end. The
remains of the deceased fell through the floor when the
boards, bed, &c., were consumed, and were afterwards found,
with the face down, reduced to a black and carbonized mass.
Part of the skull was entirely gone. Only three beams of
the floor are left, from wall to wall, and these, with a few
stumps of the others, are reduced to charcoal. What re••
mained of the body was placed in a back parlour, after being
removed from the rubbish. The deceased passed for a Miss
Mary Anne Cooper, and stated that she was in the expecta-
tion of being shortly married ; and that she would, in January
next, come into possession of £6OO a-year. We have since
heard (though not from her own relatives) that she was mar-
ried, and on terms of the greatest affection with her husband;
but that from some cause of a private nature, a temporary
separation had taken place. She had lodged with two re-
spectable persons, at Woodside and Birkenhead, for some
months before going to New Ferry, and both there, at her
last residence, and at the Ferry-houses, where she was known,
she is spoken of as a pretty, most interesting, kind, and lady-
like young woman. She dressed in a handsome but not gaudy
style, and, it appears, had an extensive wardrobe. In the
sitting-room adjoining her bed-room, and of which she had
the use, was found the fancy basket she usually carried, and
in it was• 44 sovereigns and some silver, her watch, &c. It
appears that she had changed, in this town, a £5O note on
the afternoon of Thursday, and had gone from Woodside to
her residence in a car a few hours before her death in all the
bloom of youth and health. The deceased was fond of read-
ing, and the probability is (as before stated) that she had
fallen asleep, leaving the candle burning. She is said to be
from Nottingham.

It may be added that Mr. Newton, the chief constable of
the township, was on the spot immediately after the alarm
was given, and to his exertions and his encouragement of
others is mainly to be attributed the preservation of the pre-
mises from entire destruction.

On Saturday, an inquest was held at the house of Mr. Wm.
Oxton, of Lower Bebbington, before Faithfull Thomas, Esq.,
coroner for the county, on view of the body of the deceased,
whose name, it appears, was Mary Ann Cutts, and who was
married. She was the daughter of Mr. Steel, of Park-hall,
Littlewood, near Mansfield, in Nottinghamshire, a highly-
respectable gentleman farmer.

After viewing the body, which was dreadfully burnt, the
following evidence was taken :

A respectable gentleman, of Lower Bebbington, said :—" I
became acquainted with Mary Ann Cutts, now deceased, in
consequence of my wife having known her at school, and her
accidentally meeting with her at the house of Miss Mary
Sankey, of the Post-office, in Lower Bebbington, with whom
she lodged. She has been repeatedly at my house, and I
have seen her at her lodgings."

Miss Mary Sankey, of Lower Bebbington, postmistress,
said : Mary Ann Cutts, now deceased, came to lodge with me
in May last, under the name of Mary Ann Cooper. Her let-
ters were always directed to her in that name. She frequently
went over to Liverpool. When she returned, I never saw her
bringing liquors with her. She first occupied a parlour and
bed-room on the ground floor,--and on the drawing-room
and bed-room opposite becoming vacant, she took and occu-
pied them instead. She was at Liverpool the day previous to
her death. She went at five in the evening, and returned
about half-past eight. She brought some articles of new
wearing apparel with her. I thought she was a little disguised
in liquor. She had her supper in the parlour about nine
o'clock, and complained of being sleepy afterwards, and asked
for a-candle to go to bed. A candle was provided for her,
and she went up stairs to her bed-room, which fronted the
turnpike-road. I afterwards, with the girl, went to bed about
ten o'clock. The candle she took to bed was rather more
than half a one. I think it would burn about two hours.
The candle-stick used to stand either on the chimney-piece
or on the table in a morning after she got up. The table was
about two yards from the bed, and the chimney-piece about
a yard. The curtains of the bed were of chintz, and she used
to draw them on both sides. About half-past one o'clock
yesterday morning, the 14th August, I happened to awake,
and listened to hear the clock strike, to know what time it
was; and as soon as it had struck two o'clock I. thought I
heard somebody had got into the house. I kept listening for
some time, and it continued ; on which I went to her room
door, and saw the fire coming from under it, and heard the
furniture and wood crackling within side. I tried the door.
It was locked in the inside. I tried to open it but could not.
I immediately called the girl up to go to alarm the neighbour-
hood. We both went out, and called out fire, and very soon
many of the neighbours came, and they began to use their
exertions to get the fire out. I went to a neighbour's house.
Mr. John Newton, of Lower Bebbington, being sworn,
said :—I was returning by the Post-office in Lower Bebbing-
ton about eleven o'clock at night, on Thursday last, when I
discoveued a light in the front bedroom up stairs, as if from
a candle. I went home. About or near half-past two o'clock
the following morning (Friday) I was alarmed by a person
rapping very loud at the door, and calling out, " The Post-
office is on fire !" I went there immediately, and found a
deal of smoke coming out of the lower part of the house ;
and directly afterwards the flames burst out of the bedroom
window in which I had seen the light. I called up the
neighbours, and sent for the fire-engine from Birkenhead.
The neighbours came and did all they could to extinguish
the flames, by carrying water and throwing it into the room.
A Mr. Burland had a small engine for forcing water there,
which was of great service. The fire was got under before
the fire-igine arrived from Birkenhead, about four in the
morning. It was generally known that the bedroom floor
had fallen down into the parlour below. About five o'clock
the fire was extinguished, and I went into the parlour,
where, on looking about, I saw the r' mains of some person
amongst the rubbish, burnt as black as a coal, and having
the same appearance as it has now. I ran across the road
and fetched a door, partly burnt, and got some men to re-
move the rubbish, and got out the body, which we placed
upon the door and carried into the other room, where it now
lies. The upper part of the head was completely burnt
away, and one of the legs—the right. The muscles were
burnt away.

This being all the evidence, the jury returned a verdict to
the effect that the deceased was accidentally burnt to death.
It appears that the unfortunate deceased, who was 21 years
of age, was married at the early age of 16. She is said
to have an uncle, who as well as her father, is a highly re-
spectable and wealthy individual. It appears, too, that the
deceased had received a good education, and was clever and
accomplished, as a drawer and scholar. The following verses,
written by herself, in a neat hand, were found amongst many
other pieces of manuscript in her room :

STANZAS

Oh ! never another dream can be,
Like that early dream of ours,
When the fairy Elope lay down like a child,
And slept amid opening flowers.
Little we reeked of our coming years ;
We fancied them just what we chose,
For whatever life's after lights may be,
It colours its first from the rose.
M. A. C:

There is in life no blessing like affection ;
It sooths, it hallows, elevates, subdues,
And bringeth down to earth its native heaven.
It sits beside the cradle patient hours,
Whose sole contentment is to watch and love
It bendeth o'er the death-bed and conceals
Its own despair with words of faith and hope :
Life has nought else. that may supply its place ;
Void is ambition ; cold is vanity,
And wealth au empty glitter without love.

_
M. A. C.
Too much praise cannot be given to those who exerted
themselves at the fire, and who saved the house from falling
a prey to the flames,—though their endeavours to rescue the
deceased were in vain. The probability is that she was suffo-
cated, and her sufferings at an end at an early period of the
fire. Several females were exceedingly active, and one lady
stood in a pit close by, and continued to hand water in buckets
to the neighbours. The furniture in the house was nearly
all got out, with the exception of that in the bed-room of the
deceased, and in the parlour below. All the wook-work of
the door, and window in the upper room, also a cupboard-
door and a partition were consumed. The premises were
insured, but not to their value; and Miss Sankey's loss will
be considerable, as she cannot let her apartments after they
'are repaired, for some time, the season being so near a close.
A quantity of wearing apparel, &c. belonging to the deceased
was burnt. All the windows of the house were taken out
on the south side, with a view to save them, and the breakage
is consequently considerable. No loss was sustained in the
poiss Sa st-offinkey cede when she got up. the letters, &c. being secured by
M

PERKINS'S CELEBRATED STEAM GUN.--This extraordi-
nary warlike engine (which we noticed on Friday) is now be-
ing exhibited at the Shooting Gallery, in Tarleton-street and
has already been visited by many scientific gentlemen, engi-
neers, mechanics, &c. The mode of generating the
steal,
and of applying it to gunnery, is exceedingly interesting, and
we strongly recommend an early visit, in the assurance that
those who visit the machine, and witness its terrific powers,
cannot fail to be gratified and astonished.
THE WEATHER.--We regret to say that during the night
of Sunday, and nearly the whole of yesterday, heavy down.
falls of rain were experienced in this town and neighbour-
hood, accompanied by strong winds from the north-west.
The streets and roads are in many places flooded ; and we
fear that damage has been done to some extent to the grow-
ing crops, and particularly to the wheat, which is generally
heavy both in straw and grain. Should it, how
i however, soon
become dry and fine, the corn, which is approaching to ma-
turity, will again rise, or at least be but little injured. Yes-
terday morning, and, we may add, yesterday evening, it blew
very fresh from the N.W.,—aniounting indeed to a gale,---50
that, it is to be feared, we shall hear of some disasters on the
coast or outward banks. At noon yesterday, the barometer
stood at Holyhead at 28 deg. 61 min., and at Liverpool at
the same time at 28 deg. 94 min. The wind here last night
Varied between N.W. and W.N.W.—blowing in occasional
squalls, accompanied by torrents of rain.