A Stable Fire, 1898

I’ve long known the story that my grandad’s brother Charles Bell died in a stable fire when looking after a sick mare but now, thanks to a newspaper report from the Derby Mercury, Wednesday 11 May 1898, I know a lot more about the circumstances of the tragedy and about his daily life.

You can read the full story, from a newspaper clipping posted by a distant relative of mine on Ancestry, at the end of this post.

The Inquest

Dr Green, the Deputy Coroner, conducted the inquiry at the Black Horse Inn, Somercotes.

James Rogers, Grocer and Provision Dealer

Charles, then aged 32, worked as a porter for James Rogers at his shop on Nottingham Road, Lower Somercotes. On Thursday 7 May, Charles and James Rogers were tending to a mare and foal in a wooden shed behind the premises. Charles had been giving the foal a little oil (linseed oil helps a foal put on weight).

When Rogers went home at 10.50 p.m., he suggested to Charles that he should too as he’d been sitting up with the mare and foal on previous nights: ‘he would be able to get six hours rest’.

Charles lived about 200 yards from the shed. He took what Rogers assumed was a last look at the mare and foal and followed Rogers outside, fastening the stable door as behind him, but he must have decided to return. Charles had a lighted candle in his hand at the time.

Police Constable Limb

11.15 p.m., Sergeant Wagstaffe and P.C. Limb went past the place, which was all right at that time.

Police-constable Limb . . . was on duty at the top of Somercotes Hill when he noticed that a shed belonging to Mr. Rodgers was on fire . . . on trying to open the door he found that it was fastened.

11.30 p.m.: P.C. Charles Limb knocked loudly on Rogers’ door, raising the alarm that the shed was on fire. Limb soon fetched a hose from a neighbour’s house but ‘the flames had got a tremendous hold’, and the shed and its contents – 20 bundles, about 2 tons, of pressed straw – were demolished, despite P.C. Limb’s attempts to dowse the flames over the course of 90 minutes.

. . . with the help of many willing helpers the fire was extinguished about one o’clock.

A passing miner was sent to fetch Charles from his house and it was only then that it was discovered that he hadn’t returned home.

Charles Bell

The deceased was a very straightforward man.

Bell was not eccentric and always enjoyed very good health. He [Rogers] never employed a more straightforward servant, and he was not addicted to drink. That night he did not detect anything unusual in his manner.”

By a JUROR: As a rule he carried tobacco and matches in his pocket. He never saw the deceased smoke in the shed. He was always particularly careful in it, seeing that it was constructed of wood

A pipe and a seven or eight matches and an old knife were found in a portion of the victim’s vest pocket ‘which clearly showed that he had not been smoking’ but he would have had the candle in his hand when he fell asleep.

‘The deceased was found sitting on one of the loose bundles as though he had made himself comfortable.’

Rogers had passed on items of clothing to Charles and Rogers was able to identify fragments of his clothes which were found near the body. He had noticed that during the evening Charles had taken the candle out of the lamp because the lamp glasses were black. The lamp was not found after the fire.

The mare and the foal were also very much burned.

Charles’ charred remains were wrapped in a sheet and taken to the Black Horse Inn.

The jury returned a verdict of ‘Accidental death’ and added a rider that they commended P.C. Limb for his prompt action. They also expressed their sympathy with the widow and relatives of the deceased man, and they returned their fees to the former.”

Early Life

Charles G. Bell was baptised at All Saints’ Church, Mattersey, on 1 July 1866. According to some online family trees the G stands for ‘Greaves’ or ‘Greeves’ but I’ve yet to come across the full name on any document.

In the 1871 census his father John, aged 29, works as a groom. Charles, aged 5, has an older brother George William, aged 6, a younger sister, Eliza, aged 3, and a baby brother, Ernest, aged 1.

His mother, Helena, is 25 years old but at Charles’ baptism her name was recorded as Ellen.

Aged 15, in 1881, Charles was living in Torworth and working as a ‘farm servant’ for Thomas Durdy.

Marriage

Charles married widow Annie Harrison in Attercliffe, Sheffield, on 1 March 1891. Annie had three children, Robert White, aged 9, Thomas White Harrison, 5, and Beatrice Harrison, 2, marriages. Charles was employed as ‘general labourer’.

White was her maiden name, her late husband was Thomas Harrison, 1855-1890.

George William Bell

On 17 November, 1895, Charles and Annie’s son George William Bell was baptised at St James parish church, Riddings, Derbyshire. In the church register Charles describes his occupation as ‘Carter’.

After Charles’ death in the 1901 census, Annie took a job as a charwoman. She lived at Somercotes Hill and still had all four children living at home, including Thomas, now aged 15, who had taken a job as a hauler in a coal mine. Beatrice is now 12, George William is 5 and there’s also Ellen Bell, aged 10, who didn’t appear on the previous census.

She had also taken on a boarder, Edgar Duffin, a hewer in a coal mine. In the folllowing year she gave birth to a son, Samuel Duffin Bell.

In 1908 she married George Ewart and the family moved to Wales.

Annie really deserves a post of her own but, fascinating as her story is, I must focus on my direct ancestors!

The Burning Fatality at Somercotes

Derby Mercury Wednesday 11 May 1898
(reprinted from The Derbyshire Times, Saturday, 7 May 1898)

Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal, 14 May 1998