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John Harvey, 1833 - 1901

The 1872 Shipyard Fire

From: The Autobiography of Sir John Martin-Harvey, 1933

John Martin Harvey as a child My father and mother at the time of my birth lived in a house enclosed within the shipyard itself, the greater part of which was destroyed by fire in 1872. My father was then executing some work on a vessel for the Government and, when the fire broke out, its gutted hull stood, with all interior fittings removed, in such a position that she could not be launched. My father was in London at the time and his brother, Joseph, who always took charge in my father's absence, had the pretence of mind to lay on a hose-pipe and fill her with water pumped from the river. This saved the vessel, though the water actually boiled in the hull before the fire had spent its fury. Large lumps of molten glass, with copper bolts, screws and what-not embedded in them, stood in our house for long afterwards as mementos of the catastrophe. A catastrophe it was; for, though the shipyard was more substantially and conveniently rebuilt, the old order never returned.

Essex County Standard, 30 August 1872

Wyvenhoe

Extensive conflagration

During the early hours of Sunday morning this little town was the scene of one of the most disastrous conflagrations which has taken place in this neighbourhood for many years. It appears that on the 22nd inst a new yacht - the Softwing - built at Messrs Harvey's Yard was launched and on Saturday the owner of that vessel, Mr Courtauld, gave a dinner to the workmen about 80 in number. The party took place in the middle floor of the building situated at the north-east corner of the Yard and which consists of nail warehouse below the floor in question used for laying out ship lines and drawing office and a screw loft above. The premises were clear of the men at 10 o'clock and when Mr George Pryer, draftsman to the firm, looked round at 11 previously to retiring all was safe. A few minutes before 12, Mrs Joseph Harvey, who resides at the Beer House at the opposite corner of the entrance to the Yard, saw that a fire had broken out in the loft in questions. Her husband not being at home she at once ran to the house of the barman, Burr, residing near the Church, but meanwhile the flames had been seen by Mr Joseph Harvey himself who was walking on the quay with Police Sergt Hewitt and they with others hastened to the spot. A mounted messenger was immediately despatched to Colchester for the engines of the Essex and Suffolk Equitable Insurance Society and when he arrived he found most of the Brigade assembled as the fire had been seen and the men alarmed. Horses having been procured, an engine was soon on its way thither , and a second speedily followed. The fire was also seen at Colchester Camp and the men were aroused and kept on duty for some time, but as they received no intimation of its whereabouts, they did not proceed thither.

In the meantime the whole of Wyvenhoe and district had been aroused, and every effort was made to arrest the progress of the devouring element, which was rapidly gaining ground. The man first on the spot had attempted to get out the small fire engine which is kept on the premises and which, before now, has done good service at other fires in the village, but before it could be moved to where it could worked, it had become surrounded by the spreading flames and ha to be abandoned, and it shared the fate of the other property in the yard. The first engine from Colchester arrived about on o'clock, when the fire had got to a great height, It being low tide, the suction pipe was too short to reach the water in the river, and it was at last found necessary to place the engine on the ferry hard, which, being a long distance off, rendered the pumping much more difficult. The second engine was also set to work as soon as it arrived, but it was five o'clock in the morning before the flames were subdued, and the engines were kept at work though the whole of Sunday.

The property destroyed includes a new blacksmith's shop and boat-building shop (not insured), all the building sheds but one; the warehouse, containing valuable veneers, fancy woods, and a large quantity of valuable brass and copper work; office, containing drawing, records, and designs which cannot be replaced; workmen's shops, with tools valued at a considerable sum; the works of the patent slip, the massive iron wheels of which were at one time red hot; mouldings and moulding shop; blocks and blockhouse; the house of MR. J. Harvey (the Mariners public-house). insured; the house of Mr. T. Harvey, not insured; several workshops; the residences of Mrs. Patrick, widow; Harrell, yachtsman; Oakley, fisherman (whose dead child was removed to Mrs. Turner's), all next the yard. On the other side of the road, the cottages destroyed were those occupied by Mr. Wm. Barr (who is also owner); John Bartlett, Mrs. Woodward, Mrs. Turpin, and Mrs. Rodgers. The cottage occupied by Lummis, Oakley, and Cole were each cleared out, but fortunately the fire did not reach them. The latter rented cottages and all the row belong to Mr. P. Havens; the rest, with the exception of Barr's cottage, belong to Messrs. Harvey, all being copyhold. It was be seen, be a communication given below, that Messrs. Harvey are insured to the extent of £3,400 in the Phoenix Office, but this will not nearly cover their loss. Four of the cottages were insured in the General Fire Office.

The Independent Meeting House had a most narrow escape as its west side was somewhat injured. The west side of the Ship Yard was also saved by individual efforts. Early in the progress of the fire, Messrs. Harvey's men launched, in a most unceremonious manner, the smack Aurora, which was on the patent slip for repairs. Next to this was the screw-steam yacht Idler, the property of Mr. A. B. Cook, of London, and Mr. Pryer, assisted by the vessel's captain (Mr. Sanson), set about saving it from destruction. So well did they work that hey succeeded, although the blocks which supported it on the slip were often alight and much charred. Thus, not only were these two vessels (the latter valued at £600) saved, but another large yacht was preserved. Five rowing boats were also saved. When one of them was being let down, a spaul gave way, and the boat fell upon the platform, and a half-a-dozen men with it. One man, named Thomas Harris, was slightly injured. In endeavouring to rescue some property form one of the burning house, a seaman (a stranger) on board the schooner Thomas, now lying at Wyvenhoe, was so seriously burnt that his removal to the Essex and Colchester Hospital was found necessary. During the progress of the fire some roughs succeeded in getting hold of a cask of beer, rescued from the Mariners public-house, and the head having been knocked in, some drunkenness ensued.

The scene of the conflagration was visited by many hundred of people during Sunday and Monday, and much sympathy is felt in the neighbourhood for the sufferers by the disaster,. It will be seen by an announcement in a letter below that a subscription has been entered into, with a view of assisting the workmen to buy new tools, and assisting those who lost their furniture, and we understand that it has received liberal support from several well known resident in the districts. £100, we believe, is required to be raised.

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