HISTORY OF BURWELL ON THE EDGE OF THE FENS, CAMBRIDGESHIRE, UK; THE BURWELL PUPPET SHOW AND FIRE, NAMES OF SOME OF THE DEAD; TILBERIA

 
Some Names of Victims of the Fire

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Extracts from "A Narrative of Burwell Flames" [published c.1750]

From The Preface

"The much talk'd of, the truly Tragical and Calamitous Affair at Burwell, is so prodigious, so extensive, and so uncommon an Instance of Fatality, that it justly alarms every Creature, who lays the least Pretence to Humanity, throughout the Kingdom. I say Throughout the Kingdom, for the melancholy Notice of it hath reach'd wherever the News Papers of London can reach .... Indeed, all extraordinary Casualties ... have in every Age been thought worthy to be handed down to Posterity by the greatest and most Solid of Historians, with the nicest Care and Exactitude. ... Now as all Voluminous Historians are generally forced to borrow their Accounts of such Incidents from the best flying Papers that were put forth just at the Time of their Contingency; and as it is grown of late Years customary, for the most insignificant Writers to be always the forwardest in Intermeddling with Relations of this Nature; it is, methinks, highly proper to rescue them out of such ill Hands, that Truths, which are reckon'd so important, may descend traditionally pure and uninjured to those who come after us ...."

8th of September, 1727

"... the Fire breaks out at that Door, which shut in those that were to become its Sacrifices. About Twenty Six Persons escape wonderfully by this Means, and the Fire made them way to get thro' and fly away from itself. But these, tho' living, look'd more frightful than the ordinary Spectacles of Death; ... Those without Doors are now dragging out some from the Burning compost of the Roof now become the Flooring of the Barn ....

Of this Number were,

The Andrew of SHEPHERD's Puppet-show and one more, both miserable Spectacles, who survived but a very little while. Mr. SHEPHERD, who together with his Wife, Daughter, and another Servant perished in the Flames.
But who is that, that looks like a black Coal, and a Man by her with his arm Burnt off? It is one, that, tho' now the Eye turns away from her with Horror, once drew all Eyes to Admire her Beauty. She is the only one with her Lover that we will not name, but only reckon to the Number; of all the rest.

We will give their Names in an exact Catalogue; which the Reader needs not doubt being true, when he sees it swell to so large an Account, if he considers, what is most certainly fact; that; besides those who being known by some marks were Buried by their Friends; there were so many mangled as to be unknown, that no less than three Cartload's of fryed Carnage and burnt Bones, were put into Two great Pits made purposely for their promiscuous Interrment. The only way we had of knowing their Names, was a very melancholly but very sure one, by the Variety of Woe and Lamentation, caused by the proclaim'd Losses of the Distracted Neighbourhood, for some Miles round about, at their being miss'd. ...

There were a great many Widows, who had nothing but their Offspring to comfort their Age and sixeteen the State of Widowhood, made Childless.
Of this Number is Anne FULLER, who lost her Daughter.
The Widow ADAMSON did the like.
The Widow RIDES was deprived of a Son.

The two more Unfortunate Widows

Mary BROWN and CLARKE, lost no less than three Children each.
There are three Men that we name more particularly by themselves, because their Sorrows were somewhat particular: Mathew COTES lost a Child and an own Brother. Richard BOYS a Wife and a Child, and Tho. FULLER a Wife a Child and a Sister altogether.
Of Fathers, that have lost their Sons, the first we name is Mr. CASBON, who lost an only Son, that was, as we hear, a Well-descended Youth and Heir to a good Estate.
Henry CULLISER, lost his Son likewise.
Mathew BLINKINGSOP the like.
John BOND was at once deprived of two Sons.
Stephen MANNINGS lost likewise two.
And, Tho. CHAPMAN no less than three.
The Fathers, that lost their Daughters, thus burnt alive, to mourn for, are still more Numerous, and swell very much both the Catalogue of Names, and still more the account of destroyed Persons.
Nathaniel HARLICK, Stephen PANIERS, Henry ADAMS, Wm. GREEN, Tho. BROWN, Tho. ROUSE, John RAINER, Tho. FLOWS, John SIDERS, Tho. CHAPMAN, Philemon WEBB, Stephen JERSON; lost, each of them, One Daughter.
In all Thomas HALER, Richard BROOK, Samuel MIDDLEDITCH, were each doubly unfortunate in losing each two Daughters.
John GOTTON lost three.
And, Samuel DANCEL no less than four.

We are brought to that Part of our History in which it is proper to Examine, whether the Person, whose Candle was the occasion of this great Destruction, was a casual or a wilful Incendiary. This is a Question, that ought to be tenderly and modestly handled at present, and as it will properly belong to great Judgements shortly to discuss it, and such Persons as will probably bring the truth exactly to Light: I shall only here set down some various Circumstances that are related concerning that Action, and leave the Reader to judge the most favourably he can as I would to in the mean Time; because, if the Person be Innocent, the very Consideration of his having been tho' unvoluntarily, the unlucky Instrument of such spreading Mischief, will lay such a Load of Grief upon an Honest Heart, that the next Crime to the committing so unspeakable a Villainy and so unheard of a Crime, would be too strongly to accuse an undesigning Wretch in such Circumstances, of having been a Voluntary Criminal. Thus far it is certain, that the Reports of some Persons lay this poor Creature, Richard WHITTOCK, under the Suspiciton of Wilfully perpetrating this great Massacree, upon only the small Motice of an unnatural Revenge, for not having a pretty, humoursome Curiosity Satisfyed. These represent Richard WHITTOCK extremely desirous to see the Show; and so full of Resentment upon his being barr'd out from it, by the Master of the Show, that he broke out into open Threats, and Vow'd he would Fire the Barn, if they persisted to deny him Admittance. This, as a great many Good-natured People justly enough remark, might have been an unlucky Sally of Passion, in which Intention might have no share, tho' the Accident afterwards happen'd has he said. But then others give out, that those, who heard him say it, and suffer'd by it afterwards judged him so much in Earnest, that they thought it proper to accuse him of the actual Intention even while they lay a Dying. Of this Number are two Persons, particularly mentioned, the Person, who, among this kind of Shew-men is Nicknamed the Andrew, and one Henry JOYNESON as Spectator there. These two Persons, after being rescued but just alive from the Flames, are said, when they were both at the point of Death and ready to expire, to have solemnly declared and averr'd, at a Time which moves Belief, that this Richard WHITTOCK, threaten'd firing the Barn with great Earnestness provided they would not gratify his Curiosity and let him into the Sight. These however, or some other Circumstances of the like tendency, that may be omitted, sufficient however to give room for suspecting his ill Intentions, there must have been, because the appearances that made against him on his Examination weigh'd so much in the Judgement of the Justice of Peace, said to be Sir Roger JENNINGS, that that Gentleman thought it proper to have him Committed to Cambridge Castle; where, since a great many are willing to judge favourably of him on the other side and that it must be accidental and not intentional, we are willing likewise to hope the best, and leave him to God and his Country, upon which he must put himself at his Tryal, that will be the next Lent Assizes: And wishing in the Mean time that no such Criminal could be found in the world to the disgrace of Human Nature, for whose Offence there is no Punishment in England but what is much too mild, and for which the most dreadful foreign Executions would not be too severe, we will for this time dismiss him and leave him uner his present confinement, with this Good-natured Saying which the Law appoints the Cryer to repeat on his appearance at the Bar.

God send him a Good Deliverance."

[The trial was at Cambridge, on March 27, 1728; therefore this account was apparently written prior to that date.]

From "A narrative of the sudden and surprizing fire which happen’d at the puppet-show at Burwell, in Cambridgeshire; on the 8th of September, 1727. with moral reflexions" Printed at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, [1750?]; ESTC No. T170896; 18th Century Microfilm Reel #10523; source: Cambridge University (via Gale Group Online)

 
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