Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead
Encyclopedia
The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead was a tragic and spectacular series of events starting on Friday 6 October 1854, in which a substantial amount of property in the two North East of England
towns was destroyed in a series of fire
s and an explosion
which killed 53 and injured hundreds.
and Gateshead
sit opposite each other, on relatively steep slopes leading down to the River Tyne
. On the north side is Newcastle, the quayside
of which was — at least by local accounts — one of the largest in the kingdom, with much shipping and the concentration of town's business and commerce. Gateshead had similarly dense development opposite the quayside with manufactories
, mills and warehouse
s built down to the water's edge, behind which and running up the hill were numberless densely occupied tenemented dwellings.
The towns were linked by two bridges, built no more than 100 feet (30 m) apart. The older was a nine-arched stone bridge, built in 1771, the third to have been constructed on the site. Slightly upstream was Robert Stephenson
's new High Level Bridge
, completed five years previously in 1849, an ingenious double-decker design allowing railway
traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower.
On the Gateshead riverbank, a few yards downstream of the old bridge, stood the splendid new mill premises of Messers Wilson & Sons, worsted
manufacturers. This large gaslight
-lit building had been erected after a fire which destroyed their previous premises, on the same site, three years before the events of this great fire.
At half past midnight
on Friday 6 October 1854, the mill was discovered to be on fire; the cry was raised and immediately the streets crowded with people hurrying to the scene of the growing conflagration
. The fire being confined to the upper stories of the building, efforts were made to salvage stock on lower floors; but the great quantities of oil
in the premises, used to treat wool
, added fuel to the fire and quickly curtailed the attempts. Despite the prompt attendance of the North British and Newcastle fire engines
, within an hour the building was one mass of flame and within two the roof fell in and the building was a total wreck.
built twelve years previously by Charles Bertram, and generally known by his name. The building was extensive, reaching to seven storeys, and capable of holding an immense amount of goods. It was at the time used to store thousands of tons of sulphur
, nitrate of soda
, and other combustible
s. It was in part "a double fire-proof structure", with massive metal pillars and every due precaution against fire for the time.
Despite this, from its proximity to the worsted factory, the intense heat caused the sulphur to ignite, melt and stream in a burning blue flame liquidised state from the windows. The authorities, abandoning the mill, sought to save the warehouse, directing all their efforts on it, and were reinforced by the military with their fire engine. This effort was thwarted by the wide scattering of burning brands from the fallen factory roof, which gave additional stimulation to the burning sulphur. By 3 am, the entire warehouse was one body of flames "most awfully magnificent". The sulphurous blaze illuminated the river and its shipping, the High Level Bridge, the Castle, the steeple
s of All Saints', St. Nicholas' and St. Mary's churches, and every prominent object, with a lurid purple light. From the various floors of the warehouse the sulphur flowed in torrents like streams of lava
, and the building resembled "a cataract on fire". Yet at this point the occurrence had borne no aspect other than that of a fearful blaze, a tremendous firestorm
sufficiently serious of itself, and altogether unprecedented in the annals of the district.
used in former times for loading coal
, which for a time shared with the warehouse the attention of the thronging multitude.
A slight concussion warned the crowd that there was something more perilous than sulphur alone in the burning pile. A second slight explosion
did not warn the firemen and surrounding crowds. A third passed unheeded even.
After a few minutes, the final explosion occurred. The vaults of the warehouse were burst open with a tremendous and terrific explosion, heard 20 miles (32 km) away. Vessels on the river lifted as if lashed by a sudden storm. The old bridge shook, and the new quivered. Massive walls were crumbled into heaps, houses tumbled into ruins. The venerable parish church
, on the hill, was shattered to a wreck. Gravestones
were broken and uplifted. The hands on the dial of its clock stood at ten minutes past three.
Thick black smoke rose as a "pillar of cloud"; temporarily all was silent; and then the scene was lit by falling burning debris from the warehouse, the noise of falling dwellings and then the cries of the injured.
blocks forming the tramway for carts outside the warehouse were flung over the church for two and three hundred yards into neighbouring streets and buildings. One is recorded as falling 400 yards (365.8 m) away through the roof of the Grey Horse pub. A stone of 20 stone weight damaged property in Oakwellgate. Large blocks of wood and stone were projected widely over Newcastle, reaching the west end of the quayside. The Courant newspaper
office in Pilgrim Street was hit. A stone weighing 18.5 pounds (8.4 kg) fell through the roof of an opticians in Grey Street; when workmen discovered it in the morning it was still too hot to touch. A huge beam of timber, six feet long, was found on the roof of All Saint's Church. Another, ten feet in length and weighing 3 cwt
(150 kg) landed on the Ridley Arms in Pilgrim Street; and others on the roof of a house in Moseley Street.
The reverberation of the explosion was heard at North Shields
, 10 miles (16 km) distant, where residents thought the shock was an earthquake. Gas lights in a Jarrow
paper mill
were blown out. Light debris from the fire was scattered across 6 miles (10 km) of Gateshead and environs. Miners in Monkwearmouth
colliery, the deepest in the country and 11 miles (18 km) away, heard the explosion and came to the surface, concerned as to the cause. 20 mile westward at Hexham
; 35 miles (56 km) north at Alnwick
; and 40 miles (64 km) south at Hartlepool
the explosion was heard distinctly; and for 20 nautical miles (37 km) out to sea. The light of the flames could be seen, reflected in the sky, 50 mile away at Northallerton
. And whilst the report of the explosion travelled so far, people on the scene were insensible of it. They describe themselves as having been lifted from their feet and dashed down, the violence completely stunning them; and when they awoke in a stupor they had only the dim idea of a rolling sound in their ears.
The explosion crater
was measured to have a depth of 40 feet (12 m), and a diameter of 50 feet (15 m).
s, with assistance from men of the councils; members of the Board of Guardians; two fire brigades, and officers and men of the local garrison
.
As soon as the area's telegraph
wires, damaged by the explosion, could be made good, calls for assistance went out to the surrounding towns and cities. Fire engines were sent by the most expeditious means from Durham
, Hexham
, Carlisle, Morpeth
and Berwick
. Floating fire engines from Shields
and Sunderland were dispatched, as were another three engines from the latter town. Owing to the serious injury to the military of Gateshead, detachments were sent from Tynemouth
, Sunderland and Carlisle, which arrived by the earliest trains. This combined effort through the early course of the day appeared to be checking the progress of the flames.
, a task quickly accomplished by parties of sapper
s and miners. By this means, and by the action of the powerful floating engines, the fire was confined and at length consumed and extinguished.
Besides the less serious damage to property in the outskirts of the town, the force of the explosion left its marks in blown off roofs, thrown down walls and gable
ends, broken staircases, shattered doors, demolished window
s, framework and sashes
, making complete havoc of properties it did not entirely destroy. So widespread was the damage that scarcely a house in the lower and middle part of Newcastle escaped unscathed. On Sandhill, nine out of every ten shop fronts was blown in. In The Side, Dean Street, Mosely Street, Collingwood Street, Grey Street, Market Street, Pilgrim Street and even in Clayton Street west, the same effects were to a considerable extent observable. In Gateshead the same effects were produced in Pipewellgate, Bridge Street, Church Street, Bottle Bank, Canon Street, Oakwellgate and streets beyond.
The area was thronged as if on a fair
day, throughout Friday and for the rest of the weekend. It is estimated that 20,000 people arrived by train on Saturday; special trains were laid on, running every hour.
; Charles Bertram, owner of the exploding warehouse; and William Davidson, scion of the mill-owning family. Figures for the injured are less reliable, but it is supposed that from 400-500 people were injured, some horribly, and many receiving treatment at the Gateshead Dispensary and the Newcastle Infirmary. At the latter hospital, the beds of the existing in-patients were given to the newly injured, and the existing in-patients—where able—tended the new charges in their beds, under the direction of the medical staff.
Two hundred families "of the poorer classes" were burned out of their houses; amongst which were several orphans and widows. Each was calculated to have lost, on average, £15 of property.
contributed £100, and later, on a visit to Balmoral
had the royal train stop on the High Level Bridge so she could observe the damage. The inhabitants of Alnwick succeeded in raising £300, including a donation of £100 from the Duke of Northumberland; several other towns contributed in a similar liberal way. The Bishop of Durham subscribed £150, the Earl of Carlisle £200, and so on, down to collections from workmen and the militia.
Upwards of £11,000 were subscribed and no less than eight hundred families applied for assistance from the funds. Altogether £4,640 was paid for the loss of furniture. In February, 1857, the benevolent fund committee stated that they had expended £6,533, and reserved £3,044 for widows and orphans, with the remainder of the fund distributed to the Newcastle Infirmary, £1,190; Gateshead Dispensary, £314; Ragged Schools, £195; other charities, £50.
Banks of tenement housing on the hill behind the mill and warehouse were variously levelled, greatly damaged and consigned to the flames.
On the Newcastle side:
The estimated loss, calculated some months after the event, and taking account of foregone rents, was not less than £500,000. Much of the property was insured
- well in excess of £130,000 of claims were documented to have been made within the year, with more private insurance claims going unrecorded in the official history. Equally, many firms and individuals were uninsured or underinsured.
to attend on the government's behalf, and dispatched Alfred Swain Taylor FRS to investigate the chemical causes of the explosion.
The inquest juries found that no direct evidence as to the origin of the fire was presented. Mill hands responsible for various of the upper floors gave testimony that at the end of the day, all gas lights had been extinguished, and the gas supply isolated at a main tap; no cause was suggested and no progress made in this line of enquiry. The Gateshead jury found that there must have been "some want of caution displayed" at the mill to occasion the fire.
Evidence in respect of the explosion was of more interest. A statement of the contents of the warehouse was given, the most interesting features of which were 2800 tons of sulphur and 128 tons of nitrate of soda. These goods lay on various floors, and in the vaults, arranged so that in the event of a destructive fire, they might mix. Evidence given suggests that there were no other obvious candidates as fuel for the explosion; no oils, no naphtha
nor oils of vitriol
. Great lengths were taken, including the posting of a reward for information, to ascertain whether gunpowder
was stored in the warehouse; but all evidence pointed against it. A number of chemists, including the government chemist, tested residues found on the scene, as well as black dust which fell on the spectators, looking for the remains of combusted gunpowder; but none was found.
A mixture of sulphur and nitrate of soda is not considered to be explosive, although the addition of carbon
to the two forms black powder.
Two scientific theories were advanced to explain the cause of the explosion. Hugh Lee Patterson, a partner in a chemical company at Felling and Washington
examined the evidence and ran tests; and offered a theory that a sudden water inundation onto burning sulphur would have had sufficient energy to cause the explosion. His theory, meticulous in its calculations, estimated that 52.5 cubic feet (1.5 m³) of water would have been necessary, having a power equivalent to 8 tons of gunpowder. However no satisfactory mechanism was advanced for the sudden ingress of such an amount of water, amounting to a couple of tons. Neither were victims of the explosion scalded, as might have been anticipated.
Professor Taylor offered a gas theory of the explosion, in which he contended that deflagration would cause a pressure of gas to build up sufficiently quickly in the vaults - the entrance to which was small and through the roof—to cause the explosion. The difficulty with this explanation was in believing that the vaults were well enough sealed as to result in an explosion, when a more gradual forcing up of the cellar roof might more reasonably be anticipated.
The Gateshead jury found that the explosion was caused by the interaction of sulphur and nitrate of soda, but were unable to determine a mechanism. They did make the recommendation that the two should not be stored together in future. They found a complete want of evidence for gunpowder.
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
towns was destroyed in a series of fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
s and an explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
which killed 53 and injured hundreds.
Newcastle and Gateshead, 1854
The towns of Newcastle upon TyneNewcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and Gateshead
Gateshead
Gateshead is a town in Tyne and Wear, England and is the main settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead. Historically a part of County Durham, it lies on the southern bank of the River Tyne opposite Newcastle upon Tyne and together they form the urban core of Tyneside...
sit opposite each other, on relatively steep slopes leading down to the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
. On the north side is Newcastle, the quayside
Quayside
The Quayside is an area along the banks of the River Tyne in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in the North East of England, United Kingdom....
of which was — at least by local accounts — one of the largest in the kingdom, with much shipping and the concentration of town's business and commerce. Gateshead had similarly dense development opposite the quayside with manufactories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
, mills and warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s built down to the water's edge, behind which and running up the hill were numberless densely occupied tenemented dwellings.
The towns were linked by two bridges, built no more than 100 feet (30 m) apart. The older was a nine-arched stone bridge, built in 1771, the third to have been constructed on the site. Slightly upstream was Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
's new High Level Bridge
High Level Bridge
The High Level Bridge is a road and railway bridge spanning the River Tyne between Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead in North East England.-Design:...
, completed five years previously in 1849, an ingenious double-decker design allowing railway
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
traffic on the upper deck and road traffic on the lower.
The worsted manufactory
Worsted
Worsted , is the name of a yarn, the cloth made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from the village of Worstead in the English county of Norfolk...
manufacturers. This large gaslight
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
-lit building had been erected after a fire which destroyed their previous premises, on the same site, three years before the events of this great fire.
At half past midnight
Midnight
Midnight is the transition time period from one day to the next: the moment when the date changes. In the Roman time system, midnight was halfway between sunset and sunrise, varying according to the seasons....
on Friday 6 October 1854, the mill was discovered to be on fire; the cry was raised and immediately the streets crowded with people hurrying to the scene of the growing conflagration
Conflagration
A conflagration or a blaze is an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, health, or property. A conflagration can be accidentally begun, naturally caused , or intentionally created . Arson can be accomplished for the purpose of sabotage or diversion, and also can be the consequence of...
. The fire being confined to the upper stories of the building, efforts were made to salvage stock on lower floors; but the great quantities of oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
in the premises, used to treat wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
, added fuel to the fire and quickly curtailed the attempts. Despite the prompt attendance of the North British and Newcastle fire engines
Fire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
, within an hour the building was one mass of flame and within two the roof fell in and the building was a total wreck.
Bertram's warehouse
In the immediate neighbourhood of Wilson & Sons was a bond warehouseBonded warehouse
A Bonded warehouse is a building or other secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. In the latter case a customs bond must be posted with the government...
built twelve years previously by Charles Bertram, and generally known by his name. The building was extensive, reaching to seven storeys, and capable of holding an immense amount of goods. It was at the time used to store thousands of tons of sulphur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
, nitrate of soda
Sodium nitrate
Sodium nitrate is the chemical compound with the formula NaNO3. This salt, also known as Chile saltpeter or Peru saltpeter to distinguish it from ordinary saltpeter, potassium nitrate, is a white solid which is very soluble in water...
, and other combustible
Combustibility
Combustibility is a measure of how easily a substance will set on fire, through fire or combustion. This is an important property to consider when a substance is used for construction or is being stored. Special precautions are usually required for substances that are easily combustible...
s. It was in part "a double fire-proof structure", with massive metal pillars and every due precaution against fire for the time.
Despite this, from its proximity to the worsted factory, the intense heat caused the sulphur to ignite, melt and stream in a burning blue flame liquidised state from the windows. The authorities, abandoning the mill, sought to save the warehouse, directing all their efforts on it, and were reinforced by the military with their fire engine. This effort was thwarted by the wide scattering of burning brands from the fallen factory roof, which gave additional stimulation to the burning sulphur. By 3 am, the entire warehouse was one body of flames "most awfully magnificent". The sulphurous blaze illuminated the river and its shipping, the High Level Bridge, the Castle, the steeple
Steeple (architecture)
A steeple, in architecture, is a tall tower on a building, often topped by a spire. Steeples are very common on Christian churches and cathedrals and the use of the term generally connotes a religious structure...
s of All Saints', St. Nicholas' and St. Mary's churches, and every prominent object, with a lurid purple light. From the various floors of the warehouse the sulphur flowed in torrents like streams of lava
Lava
Lava refers both to molten rock expelled by a volcano during an eruption and the resulting rock after solidification and cooling. This molten rock is formed in the interior of some planets, including Earth, and some of their satellites. When first erupted from a volcanic vent, lava is a liquid at...
, and the building resembled "a cataract on fire". Yet at this point the occurrence had borne no aspect other than that of a fearful blaze, a tremendous firestorm
Firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires...
sufficiently serious of itself, and altogether unprecedented in the annals of the district.
The explosion
Such a large fire naturally attracted many spectators, who occupied every spot on the bridges, boats, quayside and surrounding buildings. The fire spread to a wooden staith or jettyJetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
used in former times for loading coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, which for a time shared with the warehouse the attention of the thronging multitude.
A slight concussion warned the crowd that there was something more perilous than sulphur alone in the burning pile. A second slight explosion
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
did not warn the firemen and surrounding crowds. A third passed unheeded even.
After a few minutes, the final explosion occurred. The vaults of the warehouse were burst open with a tremendous and terrific explosion, heard 20 miles (32 km) away. Vessels on the river lifted as if lashed by a sudden storm. The old bridge shook, and the new quivered. Massive walls were crumbled into heaps, houses tumbled into ruins. The venerable parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, on the hill, was shattered to a wreck. Gravestones
Headstone
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. In most cases they have the deceased's name, date of birth, and date of death inscribed on them, along with a personal message, or prayer.- Use :...
were broken and uplifted. The hands on the dial of its clock stood at ten minutes past three.
Thick black smoke rose as a "pillar of cloud"; temporarily all was silent; and then the scene was lit by falling burning debris from the warehouse, the noise of falling dwellings and then the cries of the injured.
Force of the explosion
The force of the explosion was immense, and heavy debris was thrown as much as 3/4 mi from the seat of the explosion. Huge graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
blocks forming the tramway for carts outside the warehouse were flung over the church for two and three hundred yards into neighbouring streets and buildings. One is recorded as falling 400 yards (365.8 m) away through the roof of the Grey Horse pub. A stone of 20 stone weight damaged property in Oakwellgate. Large blocks of wood and stone were projected widely over Newcastle, reaching the west end of the quayside. The Courant newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
office in Pilgrim Street was hit. A stone weighing 18.5 pounds (8.4 kg) fell through the roof of an opticians in Grey Street; when workmen discovered it in the morning it was still too hot to touch. A huge beam of timber, six feet long, was found on the roof of All Saint's Church. Another, ten feet in length and weighing 3 cwt
Hundredweight
The hundredweight or centum weight is a unit of mass defined in terms of the pound . The definition used in Britain differs from that used in North America. The two are distinguished by the terms long hundredweight and short hundredweight:* The long hundredweight is defined as 112 lb, which...
(150 kg) landed on the Ridley Arms in Pilgrim Street; and others on the roof of a house in Moseley Street.
The reverberation of the explosion was heard at North Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
, 10 miles (16 km) distant, where residents thought the shock was an earthquake. Gas lights in a Jarrow
Jarrow
Jarrow is a town in Tyne and Wear, England, located on the River Tyne, with a population of 27,526. From the middle of the 19th century until 1935, Jarrow was a centre for shipbuilding, and was the starting point of the Jarrow March against unemployment in 1936.-Foundation:The Angles re-occupied...
paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
were blown out. Light debris from the fire was scattered across 6 miles (10 km) of Gateshead and environs. Miners in Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth
Monkwearmouth is an area of Sunderland located at the north side of the mouth of the River Wear. It was one of the three original settlements on the banks of the River Wear along with Bishopwearmouth and Sunderland, the area now known as the East End. It includes the area around St. Peter's Church...
colliery, the deepest in the country and 11 miles (18 km) away, heard the explosion and came to the surface, concerned as to the cause. 20 mile westward at Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
; 35 miles (56 km) north at Alnwick
Alnwick
Alnwick is a small market town in north Northumberland, England. The town's population was just over 8000 at the time of the 2001 census and Alnwick's district population was 31,029....
; and 40 miles (64 km) south at Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
the explosion was heard distinctly; and for 20 nautical miles (37 km) out to sea. The light of the flames could be seen, reflected in the sky, 50 mile away at Northallerton
Northallerton
Northallerton is an affluent market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of Mowbray and at the northern end of the Vale of York. It has a population of 15,741 according to the 2001 census...
. And whilst the report of the explosion travelled so far, people on the scene were insensible of it. They describe themselves as having been lifted from their feet and dashed down, the violence completely stunning them; and when they awoke in a stupor they had only the dim idea of a rolling sound in their ears.
The explosion crater
Explosion crater
An explosion crater is a characteristically shaped hole formed when material is ejected from the surface of the ground by an explosive event just above, at, or below the surface....
was measured to have a depth of 40 feet (12 m), and a diameter of 50 feet (15 m).
The Newcastle fires
The projectile power of the explosion scattered burning debris widely across Newcastle; and the blast peeled off roofs as if to receive this flaming rain. One hundred yards of street frontage—offices, shops and warehouses—were in a short time in flames, the conflagration running up the hill, Butcher Bank, to Pilgrim Street. A second conflagration, in a triangle bounded by Pilgrim Street, Butchers Bank and George's Stairs took hold. The entire combined strengths of the local fire brigades had been directed on the Gateshead properties and were, besides, buried beneath the rubble. So quickly did the fire move through the packed buildings that it was impossible to put out.View from the High Level Bridge
The High Level Bridge provided an excellent elevated platform for observation of the twin fires, as they extended in Gateshead and Newcastle; the lower portions of the towns "took on the aspect of a burning cauldron". A mass of onlookers thronged the lower bridge watching the flames which rose from left and right, towering up and leaping from house to house, lane to lane, street to street.Exertions and efforts
The night was spent in terrible anxiety and extraordinary human effort. The fires, from hour to hour progressed rampantly, irresistibly bearing down everything which came within range of their power, checked only providentially. The authorities moved, throughout, with all speed at their disposal, directed by the two MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
s, with assistance from men of the councils; members of the Board of Guardians; two fire brigades, and officers and men of the local garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
.
As soon as the area's telegraph
Telegraphy
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
wires, damaged by the explosion, could be made good, calls for assistance went out to the surrounding towns and cities. Fire engines were sent by the most expeditious means from Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
, Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
, Carlisle, Morpeth
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
and Berwick
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Berwick-upon-Tweed or simply Berwick is a town in the county of Northumberland and is the northernmost town in England, on the east coast at the mouth of the River Tweed. It is situated 2.5 miles south of the Scottish border....
. Floating fire engines from Shields
North Shields
North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...
and Sunderland were dispatched, as were another three engines from the latter town. Owing to the serious injury to the military of Gateshead, detachments were sent from Tynemouth
Tynemouth
Tynemouth is a town and a historic borough in Tyne and Wear, England, at the mouth of the River Tyne, between North Shields and Cullercoats . It is administered as part of the borough of North Tyneside, but until 1974 was an independent county borough in its own right...
, Sunderland and Carlisle, which arrived by the earliest trains. This combined effort through the early course of the day appeared to be checking the progress of the flames.
Renewal of the Gateshead Fire
After noon, a renewal of the conflagration on the Gateshead side arose as a stream of blazing sulphur made its way east along the riverbank, setting light to Mr. Davidson's flour mill, which had hitherto merely been ruined by the explosion. It was quickly alight, and for several hours afterwards the fire travelled east from building to building. This mass of buildings was still alight at midnight, at which point the flames were licking at St. Mary's church; but this was saved by heroic effort. In the emergency, it was resolved to demolish by explosion some of the already shattered houses to the east of the fire to form a firebreakFirebreak
A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...
, a task quickly accomplished by parties of sapper
Sapper
A sapper, pioneer or combat engineer is a combatant soldier who performs a wide variety of combat engineering duties, typically including, but not limited to, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, demolitions, field defences, general construction and building, as well as road and airfield...
s and miners. By this means, and by the action of the powerful floating engines, the fire was confined and at length consumed and extinguished.
Effects: the ruins
The High Level Bridge once more provided a first-class platform for the observation of the effects of the explosion and fire. Looking east from it the eye could span the whole sphere of devastation, taking in the still-smoking wreckage of property levelled to the ground.Besides the less serious damage to property in the outskirts of the town, the force of the explosion left its marks in blown off roofs, thrown down walls and gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
ends, broken staircases, shattered doors, demolished window
Window
A window is a transparent or translucent opening in a wall or door that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent material like float glass. Windows are held in place by frames, which...
s, framework and sashes
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
, making complete havoc of properties it did not entirely destroy. So widespread was the damage that scarcely a house in the lower and middle part of Newcastle escaped unscathed. On Sandhill, nine out of every ten shop fronts was blown in. In The Side, Dean Street, Mosely Street, Collingwood Street, Grey Street, Market Street, Pilgrim Street and even in Clayton Street west, the same effects were to a considerable extent observable. In Gateshead the same effects were produced in Pipewellgate, Bridge Street, Church Street, Bottle Bank, Canon Street, Oakwellgate and streets beyond.
The area was thronged as if on a fair
Fair
A fair or fayre is a gathering of people to display or trade produce or other goods, to parade or display animals and often to enjoy associated carnival or funfair entertainment. It is normally of the essence of a fair that it is temporary; some last only an afternoon while others may ten weeks. ...
day, throughout Friday and for the rest of the weekend. It is estimated that 20,000 people arrived by train on Saturday; special trains were laid on, running every hour.
Loss of life and injury
The scale of injury and loss of life was smaller than might be imagined from such an infernal night. Some 53 people were accounted as having died, including Alexander Dobson, the 26-year-old second son of the renowned Newcastle architect John DobsonJohn Dobson (architect)
John Dobson was a 19th-century English architect in the neoclassical tradition. He became the most noted architect in the North of England. Churches and houses by him dot the North East - Nunnykirk Hall, Meldon Park, Mitford Hall, Lilburn Tower, St John the Baptist Church in Otterburn,...
; Charles Bertram, owner of the exploding warehouse; and William Davidson, scion of the mill-owning family. Figures for the injured are less reliable, but it is supposed that from 400-500 people were injured, some horribly, and many receiving treatment at the Gateshead Dispensary and the Newcastle Infirmary. At the latter hospital, the beds of the existing in-patients were given to the newly injured, and the existing in-patients—where able—tended the new charges in their beds, under the direction of the medical staff.
Two hundred families "of the poorer classes" were burned out of their houses; amongst which were several orphans and widows. Each was calculated to have lost, on average, £15 of property.
Benevolent efforts
A single benevolent fund was established, though the greater number of sufferers was on the Gateshead side. Gateshead Council commenced the collection with a donation of £600, and opened a subscription list for donors. Newcastle Council held a public meeting in the Guildhall and opened a list, headed by the Mayor, who donated £100; subscriptions from those at the meeting passed the £1000 mark. Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
contributed £100, and later, on a visit to Balmoral
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
had the royal train stop on the High Level Bridge so she could observe the damage. The inhabitants of Alnwick succeeded in raising £300, including a donation of £100 from the Duke of Northumberland; several other towns contributed in a similar liberal way. The Bishop of Durham subscribed £150, the Earl of Carlisle £200, and so on, down to collections from workmen and the militia.
Upwards of £11,000 were subscribed and no less than eight hundred families applied for assistance from the funds. Altogether £4,640 was paid for the loss of furniture. In February, 1857, the benevolent fund committee stated that they had expended £6,533, and reserved £3,044 for widows and orphans, with the remainder of the fund distributed to the Newcastle Infirmary, £1,190; Gateshead Dispensary, £314; Ragged Schools, £195; other charities, £50.
Property destroyed
In Gateshead, beside the less serious damage to windows and property generally, all that part of the town from the Church and Church Walk to the river, lying east of Bridge Street and comprising Hillgate was more or less destroyed. The whole of Canon Street, situated on the south side of St. Mary's Church was a mess of ruins. The houses on Church Walk were so shattered and demolished as to be no longer safe for human habitation. As to properties on the waterfront, the following were destroyed:- Singer's vinegar factory
- A clump of tenements
- The bond warehouse
- Carr's timber yard
- Wilsons Worsted manufactory
- Bulcrauig's engine manufactory
Banks of tenement housing on the hill behind the mill and warehouse were variously levelled, greatly damaged and consigned to the flames.
On the Newcastle side:
- The Custom House roof and every window was removed, every door ripped from its hinges
- Broad Garth entry - property damaged fronting the Quay
- Fenwick's entry - much injured by fire and partially destroyed
- Plumbers chare - nearly all of the warehouses burnt down
- Hornsby's chare - property completely destroyed
- Colman's chare - Totally burnt down
- Pallister's chare - Ditto
- Peppercorn chare - Ditto
- Grinding chare - considerably burnt down, property at front destroyed
- Dark entry - front property much injured
- The Exchange & Town Clerk's Office - shattered roof and windows, thrown completely into disarray.
The estimated loss, calculated some months after the event, and taking account of foregone rents, was not less than £500,000. Much of the property was insured
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
- well in excess of £130,000 of claims were documented to have been made within the year, with more private insurance claims going unrecorded in the official history. Equally, many firms and individuals were uninsured or underinsured.
Judicial enquiry
Two inquests were held into the events, one on the Gateshead side and the other on the Newcastle side. The main points of consideration for both were the causes of the fire, and the cause of the explosion. Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister appointed one Captain Ducane of the Royal EngineersRoyal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
to attend on the government's behalf, and dispatched Alfred Swain Taylor FRS to investigate the chemical causes of the explosion.
The inquest juries found that no direct evidence as to the origin of the fire was presented. Mill hands responsible for various of the upper floors gave testimony that at the end of the day, all gas lights had been extinguished, and the gas supply isolated at a main tap; no cause was suggested and no progress made in this line of enquiry. The Gateshead jury found that there must have been "some want of caution displayed" at the mill to occasion the fire.
Evidence in respect of the explosion was of more interest. A statement of the contents of the warehouse was given, the most interesting features of which were 2800 tons of sulphur and 128 tons of nitrate of soda. These goods lay on various floors, and in the vaults, arranged so that in the event of a destructive fire, they might mix. Evidence given suggests that there were no other obvious candidates as fuel for the explosion; no oils, no naphtha
Naphtha
Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. It is a broad term covering among the...
nor oils of vitriol
Sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
. Great lengths were taken, including the posting of a reward for information, to ascertain whether gunpowder
Gunpowder
Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
was stored in the warehouse; but all evidence pointed against it. A number of chemists, including the government chemist, tested residues found on the scene, as well as black dust which fell on the spectators, looking for the remains of combusted gunpowder; but none was found.
A mixture of sulphur and nitrate of soda is not considered to be explosive, although the addition of carbon
Carbon
Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
to the two forms black powder.
Two scientific theories were advanced to explain the cause of the explosion. Hugh Lee Patterson, a partner in a chemical company at Felling and Washington
Washington, Tyne and Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland in Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it joined a new county in 1974 with the creation of Tyne and Wear...
examined the evidence and ran tests; and offered a theory that a sudden water inundation onto burning sulphur would have had sufficient energy to cause the explosion. His theory, meticulous in its calculations, estimated that 52.5 cubic feet (1.5 m³) of water would have been necessary, having a power equivalent to 8 tons of gunpowder. However no satisfactory mechanism was advanced for the sudden ingress of such an amount of water, amounting to a couple of tons. Neither were victims of the explosion scalded, as might have been anticipated.
Professor Taylor offered a gas theory of the explosion, in which he contended that deflagration would cause a pressure of gas to build up sufficiently quickly in the vaults - the entrance to which was small and through the roof—to cause the explosion. The difficulty with this explanation was in believing that the vaults were well enough sealed as to result in an explosion, when a more gradual forcing up of the cellar roof might more reasonably be anticipated.
The Gateshead jury found that the explosion was caused by the interaction of sulphur and nitrate of soda, but were unable to determine a mechanism. They did make the recommendation that the two should not be stored together in future. They found a complete want of evidence for gunpowder.
External links
- The Great Fire Of Gateshead And Newcastle 1854 from Pictures of Gateshead.co.uk
- The Great Fire 6th October 1854 from GENUKI
- Explosion and Fire at Gateshead and Newcastle on Tyne from TynesideHistory on freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com