London Beer Flood 1814

George Crick, who being sworn, said he is storehouse clerk to Messrs. Henry Meux and Co. of the Horseshoe Brewhouse, in St. Giles’s; he has served them about 17 years, near six years of which were in the present brewhouse. On Monday afternoon one of the large iron hoops of the vat which burst fell off; witness was not alarmed ou that account, as he has frequently seen such occur without being attended by any serious consequence. He wrote lo Mr. Young, one of the partners in the firm, of what happened; he was also their vat-builder. Witness had the letter in his hand in order to send it to Mr. Young, about half-past five o’clock in the evening, which was about an hour after the hoop fell off. Witness was standing on the platform within three yards of the vat, when, without the smallest previous notice, it burst; when he heard the crash of the vat going off, he ran to the store house, where the vat was. He was above his knees in beer ; he was shocked at the sight that presented itself to his view; one side of the house upwards of 25 feet in height, with a considerable part of the roof, lay in ruins. The first object that took his attention was his own brother, who is superintendent under him : he saw one of the men pulling him from under one of the butts that lay on one side. He and one of the labourers are now in the Sliddlesex Hospital, in a dangerous way. The height of the vat was 22 feet: it was filled within about four inches of the top, and then contained 3555 barrels of entire, being beer that was ten months brewed; the four inches that were empty of the vat would hold between thirty and forty barrels more; the hoop which burst was about seven hundred weight, which was the least weight of any of 22 hoops on the vat, and seven large hoops, each of which weighed near a ton. When the vat burst, the force and pressure was so great, that it stove several hogsheads of porter, and also knocked out the cock of as nearly as large a vat as that which was in the cellar, or regions below. This vat contained 24oo barrels, all of which but about 800 barrels also ran about; they lost in all between 8 and 9000 barrels. The cock that fell, or was knocked out of the vat, ran about a barrel a minute. The vat that burst was built between eight and nine years, and was kept always nearly full ; the vat had an opening on the top about a yard square; it was about eight inches from the wall ; witness supposes that it was the rivets of the hoops that slipped, none of the hoops being broke, and the foundation where the vat stood not giving way: the wall which fell was in height about twenty-five feet and two bricks and a half thick. Witness and the men employed under him had too much business of their own to attend to, and never concerned themselves about what happened outside. The cellar and two deep wells which were in it, were full of beer, and all were employed to save what beer they could; Witness did not know at the time but some of their own men might have been killed. About an hour and a half after witness found the body of Ann Saville floating among the butts, and also part of a private still, both of which floated from some of the neighbouring houses, as he is certain neither were there before. She was quite dead, and her body was carried to the Horseshoe Public-house.

Richard Hawes being sworn, said he lives at No. 22, Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury, the Tavistock Arms Public-house. About half-past five o’clock on Monday evening, witness was in his tap-room, when he heard the crash ; the back part of his house was beaten in, and every thing in bis cellar destroyed; the cellar and tap room filled with beer, so that it was pouring across the street into the areas on the opposite side; the deceased Elenor Cooper, his servant, was in the yard washing pots at the time the accident happened; she was buried under the ruins, from whence she was dug out about 2- minutes past eight o’clock ; she was found standing by the water butt; Surgeon Ogle attended to render medical assistance, but she was quite dead.

John Cummins being sworn, said he is by trade a bricklayer, and lives at No. 14, Prall’s-place, Camden Town, being the owner of some houses in New-street, where the principal part of the persons who were lost resided; he attended on the spot to render all the assistance in his power to the sufferers. Eliz. Smith, a bricklayer’s wife, was the first body they found about twelve o’clock in the ruins of a first floor ; Sarah Bates, a child, was discovered in about an hour after, in the ruins of No. 3, New-street; Catherine Butler, a widow; Mary Mulvey and her son, Thomas Murry, a boy three years of age, were found about four o’clock on Monday evening; Hannah Banfield, a girl about four years and a half old, with her mother and another child were at tea in the first floor, the two former were washed by the flood into the ruins; the body of Hannah Banfield was found dead in the ruins, about half-past six. The mother was carried to tlre Middlesex Hospital, where she lies in a dangerous state, and the last-mentioned child was found nearly suffocated on a bed in the room.