The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-09-27 00:00:00

sing of the neighbouring warehouse wall on the west, the
-.41,,!1eve materials of which rolled at their feet.
n '4' next proceeded down Formby-street, which is very
was crowded in the middle part with lofty ware-
both sides. Mrs. Bark's house, at the south
ehs rrirrs iOas: d
preserved ; also the row of dwelling-houses oppo-
2aes, recently built, and the upper or second story of which
' approached by an uter balcony or gallery accessible by
an inclined plane fromo Great Howard-street., These houses
!!_e, however, much injured by the fire. Opposite the lower
Part of the ran
( ge in the same street, stands a small portion
;)!1!Y of the stone-, built shed, out of which a quantity of flour,
'tlbarrels and bags, and some tallow, were yesterday saved,
"Plgh much injured.
si,rnmediately below the row of houses noticed, on the north
t ge of the street, stood a tall warehouse, which was the first
(.„„Ignite in that quarter, from the flames originating in
6,;`..;n3pton-street, further north, and driven upon it at the
r„',' Yesterday morning by a W.N.W. brisk breeze, or
r-wer gale.
Mr. Whitty and Mr. Hewitt had another nar-
ti: escape from a falling wall a little below, and soon after
gable end, or front wall to Formby-street, of the ware-
t'a'e next the dwelling-houses noticed, fell upon poor
aSamuel Hodgson, who held the branch pipe of No. 1 engine,
re"" K'lled him instantaneously. The precise spot where his
remained
now are, about 50 yards down the street, was
tirted out to us by Mr. Highton. who was close by at the
to—e' Mr. H. flung a stone upon the ruins, which were yet
ni° hot to admit of approach. over the site. He is of opi-
lit; that the remains will be found, much mutilated, hut
'e burnt, as a great quantity of water has been thrown
41)0
Unfortunaten :lee ewahsiecdh are heaped eight and ten feet on the
•
f_ Mary thousands of bricks must, however, be removed be-
if.e_is remains can be reached. Police-officers Fish and
"`" had here a narrow escape at the time of the accident.
un4n the top of • Formby-street we returned into Great
inviard-street and looked into " Pooles" large cotton shed
ta(ilreediately north of and adjoining the row of dwelling-
ustlees noticed. The cotton, which yesterday (Friday) re-
busunl:'consumedrnine masses of
into the rock ove the
but height of the
st!r.,e,et, had above
cellars preserves
_it the same appearance of black ledges of rock, with the
interstices glowing with a red-hot intensity.
~fletween Great Howard-street and Crompton-street was
wB"nated the yard of Messrs. E. and W. Nlallineux. wheel-
nghts, in which a quantity of timber and tools were de-
Stroyed. The whole area further west, and extending north
Crompton-street, is strewed with the wreck of tge fire.
firem this point were seen, amidst tottering walls, two or
three immense piles or " hills" still emitting flame and
tB„rneke in Formby-street, two of them. on its north side.
hese, yesterday (Friday) afternoon, showed like burning
Mountains," hut, since that time, they have sunk con-
tderably. Bricks were chiefly prominent, though bags or
ales of cotton were to be seen, somewhat preserved in form
hut reduced to tinder. The ruins on the south side ol
4,',oreaby-street, its particular, bore a frightful aspect. Hail
1.(!e tire been absent, they would have represented the ruins
(.1.,a Congregation of castles forming a citadel or strong-hold.
,`,e observed a large quantity of iron hoops in alinost regu-
lar piles, as if they had been laid in bundles for sale. These,
We learned were the hoops of a large number of palm-oil
casks, which had been piled up to a considerable height in a
Places and the wood being consumed, the hoops took their
"'ea with curious regularity below. Mr. Peniston's bone-
grinding factory, where the fire is stated to have originated,
and Mrs. Isaac's paint and varnish stores, were on this
ground, and were entirely consumed.
From this now almost vacant space, fronting north to
iornpton-street, we passed down that street to Waterloo-
,,t°,!d• The premises below Mr. Isaac's, which comprise a
4,4°n-slied and some smaller buildings, did not ignite, but
.I.)' of them have sustained considerable damage, from the
hrieTotions taken during the height of the alarm, water hay-
°een extensively used and goods removed.
i„..,he buildings fronting Waterloo-road, consisting of boat-
niders' yards, &c., are uninjured, but some loss of property
Tta been sustained-by removal of articles thought to be in
"anger.
•
(tYrcHn this street we entered the bottom of Formby-street,
bontetomiddle of which is impassible.) The warehouses at the
warehto on the north side,and also " Sudlow s ' fine fireproof
here ouse, a little. higher up on the other side, are secdurei
which are
saw engine No. 3, three wheel? and the body ot
servi re so much smashed as to render it of no immediate
, indeed it can be repaired. Another engine, No
,:)'‘as broken up in the same manner—both while playing
ut,etnka warehouse immediately opposite to Sudlow's, (on the
" side of the street.) Police-officer Shannon was cap-
of No. 6, and Nelson, No. 99, was with the other. They
their both present on our visit to the ruins this day—and
They eyes were much reddened by the heat of yesterday.
'3? state that the warehouse alluded to came down by the
ran,narrow
while they were playing upon it, and they had a very
within escape. Some unfortunate men were probably
(1, lin at the time. Several of the tire police were struck
w wn' and fixed among the ruins. Mr. Superintendent Riding
brais.llragged out when up to the middle crushed among the
Vs ; he had his ankle-bone broken.
p may here mention that the daring exertions of the fire
that
force was beyond all praise ; indeed, no recompense
and
Can be awarded to them would be adequate to their toil
i,,,lendeaeours to save property, and the perils they braved
eir efforts in every quarter.
i'epl the foot-path, opposite Messrs. Grayson and Bennis-
of ,eh,iPwrights, a quantity of boards, &c., were in danger
ignition. There were three engines employed.

,kNo,
":"1 AND UNKNOWN QUANTITIES OF MERCHANDISE

DESTROYED.
(From
cotton. the Albion of yesterday.)
45)908 bales of
250 casks of tallow.
8,500 barrels of turpentine.
800 sacks of flour.
2,209 brls. of flour.
Rice 60 tuns cod oil.
134 and sugar the cargo of the ship Bland, from Calcutta.
b nilwn quantities of flour, India rubber, sperm oil, tallow,
hal!, Indian corn, fustic, and other foreign produce.
impossible to form anything like an accurate estimate the total loss entailed by this disastrous event. The
Pinions hazarded on the subject have been various, the
igeatest amount being £700,0U0, sums, te least £lOO,OOO.
Arsh:na a mean between these two which would give
v'°°°' may.. be near the mark. The quantity of cotton
destroyedto resches..nearly 45,000 bags and bales ; in addition
thandh anick
rice
turpentine, and other articles of tiler-
Ise have been consumed.. The value of the warehouses
Ishestimated at4:32,000, exclusive of the small sheds, work-
-3 °PS, aid other erections which have been involved in the
tetieral ruin..
1:0n Saturday,:at one o'clock, a meeting of the agents rp-
,rsesetiting the different Fire Insurance Offices took place in
t,'e Underwriters' Committee-room, N. D. Bold, Esq., in
"e Chair. After " comparing notes" on the engagements
N
Of
st eaell office having liabilities in connexion with this de-
etive event, the following was reported as the result :
The Sun £17,000
Globe 40 OOO
Royal Exchange 30,000
Phoenix 30,000
London Corporation
Liverpool . . • . ,
York and London . • - . . .
Imperial 20 OOO
Scotch Union • • • 20 OOO
West of England
Alliance 13 OOO
Atlas
Manchester
Guardian
Yorkshire
Norwich Union
County
Nortli British
London Union

,So m, Total Liabilities • £350,900
littie uncertainty, however, exists as to whether all the
called have have been ascertained, the meeting having been
tvo,aee, ,80 soon after the conflagration. No doubt, there
tneet"; be much property uninsured : so that the result of the
ivhat"ng 'tends to prove, that the loss cannot be tar under
an we have stated. In the Manchester office, we learn,
xeiusurance was effected on M`Knight's bonded warehouse,
rine-street, on Monday last.
roar.
ae have received from an intelligent and accurate gentie-
ti estimate of the quantity of produce destroyed, aloch
vose'ls drawn from sources likely to be correct, we are dis-
rtln' to place more confidence in it than in any of the
estio,"'s which we have heard on and off'Change. This
beet, ate makes it appear, that 45,908 bales of cotton have
ttle..l consumed. We also learn, from the same source, that
berirei were in the warehouses 250 casks of tallow, 2,209
l'arreeis and 800 sacks of flour, 60 tuns of cod oil, 8,500
tarp,„2,9f turpentine ; additional unknown quantities of flour,
sperm `"lne, and tallow ; besides India rubber, Indian con),
ts an" Oil, rustic, rice, sugar, and bark, Amongst the cotton
abl.:'°nsiderable quantity of Sea Island, which is very valu-
,o` It is considered a low estimate to value the cotton at
tt'otfter bale, all round. This will yield a loss, in that corn-
utheitY, alone, of £362,264. The loss in merchandise of
abo„r,uescriptions, with the smaller buildings, is taken to be
age` £95,000. Add to this £32,000 for the warehouses,
ao,„;!e have tit,estimtd total loss of £489,964, or, in round
ruers, of LF A MILLION
LivtlepsaYing that this is the greatest fire that ever occurred in
by ~spool we spoke advisedly, as even the great conflagration
did.:nleh the Goree warehouses were burned down in 1802,
fro trot destroy so vast an amount of property. We find,
thettl the brief record of that event in Gore's Directory, that
I,2estirnated damage was, in warehouses, £44,500 ; grain,
ando 'WO; sugar, £60,000; coffee, £8,500; cotton, £30,000 ;
scat £60,000 ; total, £323,000. The ruins, it. is
continued burning above three months. The tire
'en ranks next in destructive effect was that in Launcelot's.•
.Y, kl • dew Quay, &c., in 1833, by which fourteen warehouses
tune dwelling houses were burned down. The damage
ho. estimated to be. in warehouses, £28,000 ; dwelling-
Op tih~s 4:9,000 ; and Merchandise, £168,000 ; total £198,000.
,Property insurance was effected to the amount of
'"uu.

ace4ee'nrveyed the whole field of the fire, so far as it was
co,jsthle, yesterday morning and afternoon. The. menhad
we IswThoed. at work incessantly since the preceding day, and
hor,,,' gar several, dressed in the tattered, burned, and dirty
Nts which, equally with their haggard and altered looks,
witness to the arduous services in which they had been
the et„ed, who had only taken about four hours' rest since
the -c,"rw, mencernent of the fire. The Head Constable and
aeii.7nailman of the 'Watch Committee, to whose great
how.„ltY and zeal we can bear ample testimony, took care,
not :ver, that, after the fire began to subside, the men should
rest ant needful refreshment, though any long interval of
atainw„th such an immense field of fiery matter to contend
was out of the question.
littlere was but little appearance of fire yesterday, and what
there there was burnt internally, and found vent, here and
,rhea ,1,111 flaring, curious-looking cones of lambent flame.
ertisuole area, wherever cotton had been, was covered with
4ltte t of dun-coloured, almost impenetrable, fioculent
red e • The pyramids and precipitous fiery masses, in which
Itilae:evelos yawned and passages of flame opened, had dis-
wore appear
the material was consumed into powder, and all
shed, the disagreeable dun-colour above alluded to. The
,Yikt Priring Great Howard-street, which, wlin we saw them
ivove exhinited a mass of red hot material several yards
;eet i"e level of the street, were now empty to as many
eve! shalt a'w it. The cotton had burned down gradually to a
-11„,trace and the whole mass of ashes was not above
"el:Bo,,l'd deep, while it was possible to trace the shapes of
ariftin; that had subsided, shrunk almost to half the
At till uirnensions.
~hi „e top of Forbstreet the broken rwer was still
`,Y i',-,411,1 Carryingamongst the ruins an immense quan-
,savel.f,,`"ailal water. Numerous sacks of flour had been
the she'd.", beneath the ruins of the warehouse adjoining
workt,;: at the back of Mrs. Bark's house.. A. bout.twenty
eotto, -11, were i‘uriy clearing. away and pickingbthe loose
thhe:ri,:to"votliuterh,,(liad only escaped being consumed y
up with bricks from the warehouses. Even
l'ext d",?„,d,W,lling-houses on the north side of Formby-street.,
swoi sset r
tio%vard-street owe their safety to this. othei
ward circumstance. The warehouses which fell
so as to' choked up the street, and one piece of wall fell
Yard a barrier, which, with an interval of about
"Mich de, LU the shape of an entry, was all the pr9tection
.ese small tenements had, though the wind "as
.
now e
vglieercely in their direction. The bricks, however, it is
forme,,l ot, smothered up the tire, on the one hand, and
the otilearbarrier which aided the efforts of the firemen on
where HI any bricks had been cleared away near the spot
masses kdson was overwhelmed ; but, owing to the heavy
but suoiul materials of the fallen warehouses on each side,
Progress had been made. On one of the pyramids
the pr "I_!. a few fathoms further on, stood two or three of
lon firemen, playing a branch on the smoking anti