The Greatford Hall Fire

 

We are fast approaching the 100^th anniversary of the fire at Greatford Hall, a Tudor manor in Greatford, Lincolnshire. The Greatford Hall estate sits at the west of the village of Greatford, near Bourne. The hall sits in close proximity to the 11^th century church of St Thomas of Canterbury and are both enclosed in the remains of a moat created by the splitting of the West Glen River.

Records state that the hall was early 16^th century (Tudor) but it was destroyed in a fire in 1922. Nearby Uffington House was also lost to such an event in 1904. But whereas Uffington House has been consigned to history, Greatford Hall is still lived in as a home

The hall was supposedly built in 1504 by John Fitzwilliam. The house was built in the characteristic H shape of the era and contained many beautiful features including wood panelling and a mantlepiece carved by John Fitzwilliam himself. It is best known as an insane asylum during the eighteenth century, when it was run by Rev. Dr Francis Willis along with neighbouring Shillingthorpe Hall which was located a couple of miles west of Greatford. Willis was famous for curing King George III and is buried in the neighbouring church.

As for the fire, we are told it started at around 4.30am on Tuesday 5^th September and was first spotted by a London architect who was visiting the house to discuss enlarging it. It started in the east wing and took hold quickly. Major Fitzwilliam and his family, who had only recently bought back the house, were able to escape on account of their rooms being on lower floors, however the servants were sequestered on the uppermost floors found themselves unable to escape the fire. They had no choice but to exit via the windows, some climbing down knotted bedding, one on a ladder, and two jumping. The two jumpers were Eva and Gladys Palmer, a cook and housemaid. They were both badly injured and were conveyed to Stamford Infirmary, one suffering an injury to her back. Fortunately, all of the household managed to escape with their lives that night.

Fire brigades were despatched from Stamford and Bourne, and did all they could to put out the flames, but it was said the house was completely consumed after only 15 minutes. All of the contents were lost, including the furniture, wood panelling, paintings, and everything in the gun room, which went up with a large explosion once the fire reached it! However, they did manage to save some China, which was a minor consolation for the loss. They did have insurance, but apparently for a sum not even close to the £50,000 required to cover the cost of the house and contents. The outer walls of the house to the south were still standing but said to be in such a poor state that they were useless for building with.

However, the story does not stop there. A few weeks later the papers revealed that insurers had been sifting through the ruins for any valuable items that had survived the blaze, specifically jewels that might have survived the intense heat. Thankfully, they discovered a large diamond brooch for their trouble.

Two people were congratulated for their courageous behaviour during the fire, both being presented with money from the Society for the Preservation of Life. Local man Jack Pask (not from Spalding as the papers claimed) whose parents ran the forge and Post Office, used a ladder to gain access to a bedroom where he found an unconscious woman amongst the smoke and flames. He gathered her up and spirited her down the ladder, saving her life. Another servant, Mabel Marsh, managed to escape the fire by shimmying down bedsheets that she had knotted, before running through the village in nothing but her nightdress calling out ‘fire!’ to gain the support of the villagers. In any other times she would have been severely admonished!

Pictures of the fire-ravaged house survive in many of the newspapers, sadly of poor quality, but they do show the remaining walls and provide before and after pictures for context. A picture of the destroyed hall even made it on to the back page of the Daily Mirror!

The house was thankfully rebuilt in 1925. Looking at the house now, it is difficult to believe that it has been rebuilt, the south face of the building looking largely unchanged. The front of the hall visible to the public is an architectural triumph, with improved windows in the two gable ends and two Hardwick Hall-like windows making the most of the views and summer sun. The hall may have been destroyed 100 years ago, but it wasn’t entirely lost, and you can still view the impressive early 16th century façade from the road. There aren’t too many Tudor buildings left in the area, and this is worth taking a look at, along with the other wonderful features of the village, which I will write about in another blog post.

 Acknowledgements:

Enormous thanks to Lynne Loder for supplying additional information on her grandfather Jack Pask via Frank Newbon's History of Stamford Facebook page. A timely reminder that local history is often family history, and we should ensure we record both.

References:

 £50,000 Fire Near Stamford, Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian, 9 September 1922, p.5.

Greatford Hall Destroyed, Grantham Journal, 9 September 1922, p.7.

Maids’ Narrow Escape, Daily Mirror, 7 September 1922, p.16.

Jewels in Ashes, Weekly Dispatch (London), 24 September 1922, p.3.

Daring Fire Rescue, Nottingham Journal, 4 December 1922, p.5.