On
the night of Friday, January 18th, 1782, a disastrous fire
occurred at the premises of Mr James Woodmason, a wholesale
stationery of Leadenhall Street, London. On that night mr
Woodmason had gone with several friends to the gallery of
the ballroom of St James', it being the anniversary of the
Queen's birthday. He left at home his wife, three female servants
and two young men belonging to his establishment. By ten-thirty
that night all the servants bar one maid-servant had left
the house, and Mrs Woodmason visited all the children, as
was her wont at this hour, and found them all sleeping save
her eldest with whom she had a short conversation. Five of
the children were in the nursery immediately above her own
bedchamber, and the other two immediately above that.
She
then returned to her own room and partially undressed, but
went into another chamber to bathe her feet, sending the maid
servant out for a glass of water. About five minutes after
she heard a violent shriek and a cry of Fire! at
which she ran out to see her bed on fire. The flames immediately
caught at the draperies over the bed and about her toilet
mirror.
Mrs
Woodmason called out in her alarm to the maid servant to save
the children, but in her panic she rushed downstairs, followed
by the mother, both of them shrieking for aid. Neither of
them had the presence of mind to shut the door to the bedchamber
that was on fire.
Several
people in the street promised assistance, asking Mrs Woodmason
to open the street door. This she did, but with much difficulty
and delay. Someone rushed Mrs Woodmason to a house nearby,
while others attempted to saved the children. However, by
this stage the stairs were well alight, the house filled with
hazardous smoke, and there was no water with which to fight
the fire. It was not until almost three in the morning that
the fire was extinguished, but the children were by this time
long dead. Several more people were killed when the walls
of the house suddenly collapsed.
All
seven children, as well the body of a lad thought to be an
apprentice from Bunhill Row, the son of a Mr Noble, a breeches
maker, who had lived next door, and a young watchmaker who
had been caught by the wall collapse, were interred at St
Peter Upon Cornhill.
The
fire and its fatalities caused much stir among London at the
time. For many days the remains of the house became an object
of much public curiosity. The King and Queen sent twice to
enquire after Mr and Mrs Woodmason, and the Duke of Gloucester
attended them in person.
Fire
was always a great hazard in London, particularly as water
for fire-fighting purposes was often unobtainable, especially
at night, dependent as it was on the levels of the Thames.
An abnormally low tide could leave the city virtually waterless
for a period of hours - this remained a problem even during
fire-fighting endeavours during the Blitz of World War II.