In the second-floor front room at Mrs Hannah Barker’s house, milliner Mary Gay had tucked her son into bed and was tidying up. She opened the closet door. Suddenly the room filled with flames and smoke. A fire had burned through the wall separating the Barker residence from the neighbour: Mr Glossop, a successful candle-maker. Panicking, Mary grabbed her child and raised the alarm. Two more women appeared on the landing: unemployed servant Mary Harivin and a clergyman’s daughter. Without time to gather belongings, they raced downstairs, alerting Gilbert Dring, the tailor on the first floor. Mrs Barker unbolted the front door. With her three stepchildren, sister and housemaid, they all ran into the street joining other residents who were fleeing flames fanned by the wind and sucked into open windows.
There followed a night-long battle to save people, homes and possessions. Surgeon Andrew Nihell had the narrowest escape, dragged with ropes from the rubble of a collapsed house. Dawn brought a sorry sight: 15 houses had been destroyed, and more damaged by smoke. The charitable response was immediate, raising £1,281 4s (more than £200,000 today). By 1 July, the first payments were being made to victims.
Outnumbered by lodgers
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