The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-09-23 00:00:00

THE NEW TOWN OF FLEETWOOD.

We feel happy in being enabled to extract the following
from the '✓Manchester Courier, from its account of the Preston
Guild, as doing justice to the new and beautiful watering
place—Fleetwood. Fleetwood is two hours and a half ride
by railway from Liverpool and Manchester :
" We find we have omitted to state in the proper place,
that of the 5,514 children belonging to the National and
other public schools, who were entertained and promenaded
during Friday, 190 were sent down by the Preston and Wyre
Railway to the new and elegant marine town of Fleetwood,
where they were entertained in the most liberal manner, at
the North Euston Hotel, by Mr. Kilner, the house steward,
in the absence of Mr. Vantini, the spirited lessee. Mr.
Kilner considerately extending the same attention to his
humbler visitors, so scrupulously observed towards all who
visit the hotel for pleasure or sanative advantages, adorned
the tables laid out in the assembly-room. with some of the
magnificent plate of the establishment, and the children' were
in other respects permitted to enjoy a most delightful visit.
All this, owing to the admirable regularity and judicious
arrangements which mark the internal economy of this vast
and truly magnificent hotel, was effected without the slightest
inconvenience to the other inmates.
" Fleetwood is indeed one of the wonders of the north.
Within some five or six years, by the energy and enterprise
of the honourable baronet whose name it bears, seconded by
agents of integrity and ability, a barren waste has been con-
verted into a populous and elegant town, that will already
vie with any of our English watering places, in point of salu-
brity and beauty of situation, combined with taste and
grandeur of construction, with a prospect of becoming, at
no distant day, highly important in a commercial point of
view. The single line of the Preston and Wyre Railway—
constructed with a view to add another pair of rails when the
traffic-of the place shall call for it—is of itself a singular
specimen of those triumphs of art over the difficulties of
nature that have distinguished the present age, and reflects
high credit upon the skill of Mr. Bidder, the resident civil
engineer. For three miles at the Fleetwood end, the line is
constructed on piles across the low lands of the Fylde, being
washed on each side by the waters of the Irish channel when
the tide is at the flood, and presenting the singular appear-
ance of a railway through the sea. Yet, from the massive
character of the works the transit is perfectly safe. The next
object of attraction is the North Euston Hotel, a truly
splendid structure not surpassed, if indeed it is equalled, in
extent, accommodation, comfort, or elegance, by any similar
establishment in the kingdom. With every luxury that per-
tains to the most recherche of the London hotels, it has the
additional advantages of repose from the bustle and din of a
populous city, coupled with a fresh and salubrious atmosphere,
and an adjacent country &bonding in attractions to the ad-
mirers of fine scenery.
" We were happy to learn from Mr. Jones, the intelligent
and active scenery of the Fleetwood Company, that Sir
Ilesketh Fleetwood, with a generosity and disinterestedness
that do him honour, has voluntarily given up his family seat
of Rossall Hall, for the purposes of the proposed Fleetwood
Colleges. This is a noble example, worthy of emulation by
the public : and we hope soon to be enabled to announce the
establishment of an institution that promises such valuable
advantages to the rising generation."

THE BLACK CROw.—The above bird is the most mis-
chievous of all the feathered tribe throughout India. lie is
a most daring thief, and will enter the dining rooms of
families when they are engaged at their meals, and cat ry off
some choice dainty that he may have set his eye upon. lie
will battle with the " Kammßears" (dinner bearers,) and
seldom sustains a defeat before he has kidnapped some
delicate morsel from the plates they are sustaining. If any
missile is dismissed at him, he will, by using a vocabulary or
signal, collect together some hundreds of "birds of his own
feather" around the premises, and mob the whole house with
a deafening clamour which is truly intolerable. When cows
or oxen are swimming a river, he is sure to be with them,
and, hitching his black effigy upon their horns, keeps striking
with his horny beak at the animals eyes, which causes them
to immerse their heads under water, so that in some
instances, when the rivers are broad to cross, the animals
are drowned:
_ PARISIAN GULLIBILITY.—A few days since, a lady
dressed in the first style of fashion, and followed by a nurse
bearing a young infant, entered a fashionable shawl depot
and requested to be shown some of their most expensive
Cashmeres. After some time she fixed on two, amounting
together to about 3,000 f., and, putting her hand in her reti-
culee
for. the amount, expressed well-feigned surprise at not
She drew
finding.. her pocket-book. With great sang froid howeve
out the key of her s.eeretaire, and, handing it to
:
the serdviarnete,ti told her to return home and bring her pocket-
book,foun, she inbglier in what part of the secretaire it would be
At the therequest mean time would take charge of the child.
the shawig with i„
of the lady, the servant was allowed to take
affected to become impatient, After sonic time had elapsed the lady
net
°impatient, and saying that the stupid girl
surely could
Peenl the secretaire, requested one of the
young shopmen to i+
old the inlant while she went to see what
had become of her.
I
was also allowed. It t will be scarcely credited that this
The child
was needafterwards
not be told that she never
thre-
turned. eerwards found to have been stolen
a few hours before from garden of the Tuileries, doubt-
less expressly for the purpose
Noliert Siter-nevoTioN.---A ee
vereen and Roberts, were at work weeks ago two miners,
in
South Cr:radon new
shaft, (which is intended to hesnnk pt.rnendicularly, through
._t_aidepth of 110
the
a' granite cou.nhteryp,retsoegilltrtdeerspetebtistlniebott lode a
fathoms.)
The
hail prepared a hole for blasting, the fluos:inserted, tampedms, and they
tlremceninara
erildowlieerceadn' only
up, and all ready for firing. On these oeacraesloon4yo,
; dia“.; and as they "
fuse, drawn up by• a w‘n •-,
corpse, there is only one man at the brace,
draw up one man is drawn up and the kibble
to receive the last man, who has to put fire to the
then both men at the windlass draw him up at the utmost
speed, ie. order that all may get out of the way when the ex_
plosion takes place, which is some times so violent that large
stones are thrown up at the top, carrying with them part of
the roller and windlass to a considerable height. It nolo?._
tunately happened that as the safety fuse with which the
hole was charged was longer then was necessary, they incon.
siderately took a sharp stone to cut a piece of it off, and ig-
nition• instantaneously commenced. They both flew to the
and cried out to the man at the brace to " wind up ;"
but alas ! after trying with all his might he could not start
them. At this awful moment (when the furious hissing
of the fuse assured them that their destruction was within
half a minute's march of them) Verran sprang out of the
kibble, exclaiming to his comrade Roberts, " Go on, bro-
ther, I shall be in heaven in a minute !" consequently, Ro-
berts was drawn up, and Verran threw himself down, and
placed his poor devoted head under a piece of plank in one
corner of the shaft, awaiting the moment when he should be
blown
to atoms. Just as Roberts got to the brace. and was
looking down with trembling :reprehension on the fate of
poor 'r ran, the whole went cif with a tremendous explo-
sion, and a small stone struck Roberts severely on the fore-
head as he was looking down the shaft. To the inexpressible
surprise and joy of the
cry out, " Don't be men at the brace, they heard Verran
afraid, I am not hurt!" Roberts -imme-
diately descended, and found that the great burden of the
blast was thrown in every part the shaft except the corner I
where poor Verran was
cir-
cumstance has produced a considerable
This extraordinary
erable sensation throughout
the district. Not only they' 1
- view the-escape as:a miracu-
lous interposition of diyine providence; bat of
Verran as a noble inttance of what a%eecat-chrritiVti will do in
the moment of extremity.--/Ifining Jeurnal.
•j• s:7 vaii.) ,
• • "' '41114 etkiAd , •

Standard-qffice, Eleven o'clock.

FURTHER PARTICULARS

OF THE

GREAT FIRE THIS MORNING.

(FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.)

We have the painful duty to'record:a calamity which, whe-
ther as regards the loss of life or of property, is calculated
to excite the most painful feelings at the present moment,
and will form a sorrowful page hereafter in the annals of the
town. As'the fire is still raging over many acres of ground,
it is impossible to give, as yet, a correct account of the de-
struction en masse, much less in detail; but we shall supply
throughout'the day, in succeeding editions, such particulars
as we may be enabled to gather.
The fire originated in Crompton-street, formerly-Wood-
street, at the north end of-the town near the docks. The
three principal streets affected—namely, Crompton-street,
Formby-street, and Neptune-street, all nearly opposite the
Borough Gaol, 'tun east: and west, between Great Howard-
street-(in-which the prison stands,) and Waterloo-road, close
to the docks. The three streets and their boundaries, east
and west.'occupy an area of from six to seven acres, and the
whole of that space is even now in, with few exceptions, a
mass of fire. It appears that at three o'clock precisely, a
watchman named i3arnard Coyle, who was employed to
guard the premises of Mr. Pennington, bone grinder and
drysalter during the night. He found that fire had broken
out in the engine-house, precisely at three o'clock—the fire
having'been kept in all night to keep up the steam. He im-
mediatelygave the alarm to police-officer No. 2-1, who ex•
erted himself to the utmost, but before the engines could be
brought up an immense quantity of warehouses, and three
yards were on fire in Crompton-street. The combustible
nature of the premises was such, together with a strong
breete from the north-west, that Mrs. Isaac's oil and colour
store soon took fire, as well as many small crowded work.-
shops of mill-wrightsi smiths, .5c.c., in that immediate
locality. The fire next got to " Poole's" bonded cotton
sheds, in Great Howard-street, and finally swept to Formby-
street. The whole of the warehouses in that street were
successively ignited, and are burnt to the ground, with a vast
destruction of property, and, we lament to say, several lives.
The fire-police officer, Samuel Hodgson, of No. 1 Engine,
was killed and crushed in the ruins of one of the walls, which
fell upon him while he was holding the pipe. 2of the engines
were also smashed, and we fear a considerable number of the
firemen and others were killed. Several men were carried
to the hospital badly burnt or hurt—some of them mortally.
From eight to half-past:nine o'clock the fire in Formby-
street, and in the adjoining cotton sheds (Poole's) in Great
Howard-street, raged with an intensity that heated- the at-
mosphere to a great distance round. Great exertions were
made to save the top houses in Formby-street, but those on
the north side, dwelling-houses, caughti fire chiefly by the
intensity of the fire just below of the burning warehouses,
the ruins, and burning materials of which, were piled to the
height of 80 to 90 feet—throwing up immense volumes of
flame and smoke. From time to time the high
walls of the warehouses fell with a thundering
crash, and shortly after nine o'clock one man
was killed outright by the falling materials. The wall of a
large warehouse in Formby-street, which had been on fire
some time, and had reached, with the cotton within, almost
a white heat, at length fell upon some of the sheds on the
south in Neptune-street ; and the consequence in a short
time was, that the whole range of sheds at the top part of
that street, used for bonding cotton and as cooperages, were
ignited. A. great quantity of staves, pules, hoops, &c., were
carried out, before and after the ignition, to the neighbour-
ing vacant:ground.
The flames during the whole of the fire were throughout
most intense, and at intervals terrific. They rose, on some
occasions, apparently to the height of 150 feet, or even
higher. The heat and sparks were such that the eyes of the
parties near were so much affected that they were obliged
frequently to turn away and procure water to wash before
they could distinctly see. The whole of the police, including
Mr. Whitty, head constable, ;and Mr. Hewitt, of the fire-
police, were so covered with dust, mud, water, flour, and
other materials, and their faces so begrimmed that they could
scarcely be recognised by their most intimate acquaintances.
At ten.o'clock the sheds and cooperages in Neptune-street,
some of them new buildings and full of goods, were in a state
of rapid combustion, and little of the property would be
saved from them. There was a report that about 30 indi-
viduals connected with .the engines had perished ; but this
will, we hope, be found to be greatly exaggerated. At pre-
sent no comet account of the loss of life can be obtained ;
and even' in the end, the probability is, that some of the
bodies, if found at all, will be so burnt and calcined that
they may not be recognised. One of the fire-police, John
Rogers, (No. 215,) was close to poor Hodgson, of Engine
No. 1, when he was struck down by the ruins and killed on
the spot. The hose was cut off, as if by a hatchet, by the
materials ; and the piece near the pipe (which Hodgson held,
and which is buried with him), was scorched to theihardness
of bone.
Amongst the warehouses, sheds, &c., burned down, were
Poole's two sheds (before noticed) in Great Howard-street,
both filled with cotton,lthe:massesi of which, in a burning
state, and closely compacted, resembled immense broken
*rocks in a state of red beat at every interstice. In Formby-
Street there were five warehouses belonging to Mr. Maw,
two to Mr. J. H. Rayner, and others belonging to Mr. H.
Horseley and Messrs. Waterhouse and Son. In one of the
kind warehouses there was:said to be a quantity of saltpetre, and
a
the of explosion in the falling of one of the walls favoured
supposition. Amidst the destruction in Neptune-street,
besides the cotton sheds, were the cooperages and timber-yards
of Messrs. Chapman and Dean, and Mr. Lythgoe. The
vac
fillies,
tsect sidegcr.o, ground
e saved
ethed street,
frbetweenom
the
the prison and the canal bridge,
the e
yardswa was covered
shedswith;
bsut at vtehse,
greaterho o
opsn,
part of the property, as well as the buildings, were com-
pletely destroyed. It is stated, but we know not as yet with
what accuracy, that the Cotton destroyed amounted to about
3:000 bales. Cotton, we may state, formed the great bulk
of the property destroyed.

Notwithstanding the nne weather experienced durin;, the
harvest, which raised the hopes of the farmer from deep'des
it has continued equally favourable for the preparing the
ground e
ground for next seasons culture. Seldom bits such weather
been known. The harrowing operations are forwardly ad-
Varieed, and everything itt present bears the brightest pros-
pects..----Kentide Gazelle.
. .

Standard-office, Twelve o'clock,

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

The following is, as near as we can ascertain, a statement
of the buildings destroyed, and the goods supposed to be de-
stroyed

Rayner's A 309, B 315 ; ditto, C 309, D 315 ; Maw's 4
warehouses, no numbers; Grey's E 228; Grey's C 229;
Taylor's 233; Rodgers's 256, two ; 'Rayner's shed, 252 ;
Gregson's 319, two; Florsley's two sheds; WE:night's 1 do. ;
Poole's two sheds ; Taylor's cooperages and other timber
yards. The whole is assessed at an annual value of £3,500.
The value of the buildings, exclusive of the land, probably
from £35,000 to £40,000. The property which they con-
tain may be estimated at the value of £300,000 to £lOO,OOO.
The principal contents are cotton, turpentine, flour, Sce.
The brokers can add up to 20,000 bales; but there must
be more. The following is an estimate :
£250,000 in cotton.
150,000 in other goods.
35,000 in buildings.

£435,000

The following is a correct statement of the buildings burnt,
for which we are indebted to the courtesy of Mr. Samuel
Holme, who was for a long period on the spot :-
4 warehouses (Gray's) North. Burnt
1 ditto (Taylor's) do. do.
2 ditto (Rayner's) do. do.
2 ditto (Poole's) do. do.
4 ditto (Maw's) South do.
1 ditto (Roger's) "tire proof," now on fire.

2 ditto (Ray-iees) Burnt
1 shed (Rayner's) do.
2 sheds (Horsley's) Neptune-street, now al-
most burnt.
1 shed (M`Kniglit's) west of the above, on fire.

Taylor's cooperage -I
Burnt.
Molyneux's timber-yard I
Cart-houses, stables, a row of about IG houses, and a large
mass of property of various descriptions.
Seventeen men have been carried to the hospital, one of
whom is dead, and three more supposed to be dying, and,
probably, 18 to 20 more are buried under the burning piles,
together with one of the engines.
Mr. line states it as his opinion that the value of the
buildings alone which are burnt will exceed £30,000; and
we have been informed by several brokers on 'Change that
the quantity of cotton alone which has been destroyed ex-
ceeds 40,000 bales, together with an immense quantity of
other foreign and colonial produce.