February 2022

18 Buckden Roundabout February 2022 The Needingworth Fire tance to his friend, before his own house was in flames, and he was constrained to cry for aid for himself. The villagers who dwelt in the middle of the village and those who dwelt at the north - east, the part most remote from the extremity where the fire broke out, hearing that there was a fire at the other end of it, naturally ran, some from curiosity to see the fire and some to give their aid to extinguish it. But while they were running in the direction of the fire, the storm was blowing the flames and burning thatch and brands, more swiftly to their own habitations than they ran from them; and before they could return to their dwellings they had left in such fancied security a few moments before, the roofs of their own houses had caught the devouring element. Then universal terror and consternation succeeded. Every house that caught fire added its burning embers but as fresh fuel to the storm, and spread dismay and despair amongst all the inhabitants of the village. Each expected or feared that his house and property must soon fall a sacrifice; and from the houses that were not on fire, as well as from those that were in flames, everyone was drag- ging out their furniture to save it. Bedsteads could not be un- screwed, so they were cut and broken to pieces to try and save them from being consumed. Some laid their property in the street, some carried it into the yards or outhouses of their neighbours, where they hoped it might be safer than their own; and the very spot which some selected as a place of secu- rity, proved to be the very furnace where their property was consumed. Many carried their furniture and all that they could snatch from the flames into Mr Thorpe ’ s malthouse, which being tiled and detached, they considered perfectly safe, but this soon fell prey to the flames, and all that had been so confi- dently consigned to it was speedily consumed. Several, whose houses escaped the fire, lost their property in their efforts to preserve it, by carrying it out from terror to the street, or to a place where it was burned. It is impossible adequately to describe the scene, – the fury of the flame – raging of the storm, and the terror and dismay on every countenance. Fire engines were useless. The wind blew their jets of water spray before they could reach the spot to which they were directed. The poor men who had gone out to labour, instead of returning to their dinner, only came to be- hold their cottages in flames or in ruins, or in a state of peril from which it was impossible to rescue them; some who had gone out to see their friends at a little distance, as they came back, beheld a village on fire, and ran with trembling hearts, not knowing whether their house had fallen in the general ruin, and were long unable to pass through the dense impene- trable mass of strangers of all classes, who in the course of two hours, had collected in the village. And here the most painful circumstances in all the afflicting narrative must be told to do justice to truth. Of the multitude who thronged the village from every quarter, while some of every rank, with indefatigable kindness and exertion, laboured to extinguish the flames or preserve the property of the suffer- ers, others made the confusion a pretext for the most unfeel- ing and unprincipled plunder. Some broke into the houses on the pretence of saving the property contained in them, and consumed all food and drink they could lay their hands on. Some in pretence of saving the furniture took away articles that never were recovered and etc; ” Rev M ’ Ghee also wrote to the editor of the London Evening Standard, explaining what happened and seeking support. The letter was published on Saturday 18 September 1847. In fact press coverage of the fire was quite wide. The Cambridge In- dependent Press on 25 September 1847 wrote of the “ Hundreds, if not thousands of persons have flocked to the village of Needingworth to view the scene ” and hoped it was not just out of morbid curiosity. In the same article, the paper reported that a Public Meeting was held at the Crown Hotel, St Ives, on Monday, September 20th 1847. At the meeting, chaired by the local MP, Edward Fellowes, Rev. M ’ Ghee re- ported that he estimated the loss sustained by the villagers would exceed £1,200. A motion was proposed and approved to set up a public subscription to “ supply the labouring poor of Needingworth with furniture and clothing ”. That evening 126 benefactors, from subscriptions raised in the room (or later), raised a total of £823 18 shillings and 4 pence. Further contributions were sent to Rev M ’ Ghee totalling £153 17 shillings and 6 pence. Shortly afterwards, a Meeting of the Committee appointed by the Public Meeting agreed to print and circulate requests for support in a further 49 parishes. On Saturday 29 January 1848 the Leicestershire Mercury re- ported the following: “ Huntingdon.—A few months since, a very extensive fire oc- curred at the village of Needingworth, in this county. Soon after its occurrence a fund was raised by subscription, for the relief of the indigent sufferers, and the circumstances connect- ed with this subscription are so honourable to the neighbour- hood that they are worthy of record. In a very short time up- wards of £1250 were collected, which was found to be a larger sum than required ….” in fact so much money was collected it was reported that five shillings in the pound would be re- turned to each subscriber of one pound and upwards. Also, that “ subscribers not claiming their dividend before the 1st of February will be considered as consenting that the same be added to the funds of the Huntingdonshire Infirmary. ” Although fires were commonplace in those days this fire was particularly destructive because of the strong wind and where it started. Fortunately, many businesses and properties were insured and the total loss was said to be £15 - 20,000. Over time the village physically recovered and you can still see buildings constructed in the aftermath of the fire. Understand- ably there is only one thatched building in the village now and, fortunately, the thatch fire hooks, which were probably bought after the fire 1 , have never been needed in action. Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Peter Cooper from Needingworth who provid- ed me with assistance and gave me permission to use his web- site at https://www.hcnhistory.org.uk/fire/. (Continued from page 17) 1 Unlike thatch hooks from other villages, the Needingworth hooks have rope rings. The attachment of ropes allowed men or even horses to give extra pulling power. The hooks would be used to pull both burning and unburnt thatch off the roof or, in extreme cases, pull down an entire building, in order to create a firebreak. An extreme measure perhaps but a smouldering thatch could continue burning for weeks unless stopped.