>>Stories from Parliament: The Fire of 1834
[Music]
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: I keep coming back to this dreadful spot.
It’s so horrible to see it like this... But you want to hear about the fire don’t
you – not listen to me rabbiting on! (Snuffles as
she pulls herself together)
So, first things first. I’m Mrs Wright, Deputy Housekeeper at the Palace of
Westminster – that is… sorry, was the home of Parliament. Right here next to
the River Thames in London. Way back in History Kings and Queens lived here.
Henry the Eighth was the last of them and he thought the place was getting a bit
run down so he gave the building to Parliament – and why shouldn’t the people
have a palace to make their laws in? So, come the awful day, October 16th 1834,
and two workmen arrived to speak to the Clerk of Works.
>> Workman: Come on, Matthew look sharp.
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: I knew what they were about. The clerk of works had hired them
to burn a pile of old tally sticks; they were
an old way of remembering if someone owed money with a mark made on a stick. Parliament
didn’t use the system anymore and there was a huge pile of these
old sticks cluttering up the basement so they all had to be burned as the Clerk
of Works explained...
>> Clerk of works: So is that clear? Two of you: two furnaces – get this pile of old
wood out of the way once and for all.
>> Workman: Burn the lot?
>> Clerk of works: Exactly. Burn the whole wretched lot.
[Wood thrown into furnaces, flames grow. Grunts of workers]
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: And so they did. They worked all morning and into the afternoon
and when I took some visitors into the House of
Lords...
>> Visitor: (Coughs) My word... (Coughs)
>>Narrator - Mrs Wright: Yes, well... I am dreadfully sorry. (cough) Well, perhaps we’d
better move on.
[Coughs as they retreat]
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: I was rather worried and told the Clerk of Works about the smoke.
>> Clerk of works: Fire makes smoke Mrs Wright – but don’t fret; it will soon be over.
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: I retired to my room with no idea what was going on beneath
the House of Lords. You see the fire had become
so hot that it had set the floor alight...
I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew.
>> Doorkeeper’s wife: [Scream] Fire! Fire in the Lords. Help! Fire.
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: The doorkeeper’s wife raised the alarm and now the Clerk of
Works had changed his tune.
>> Clerk of works: Out, out! Everybody out of the building. Oh my Lord! Quickly…
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: I hurried out along with everyone else and stood a safe distance
away. Boats began to stop along the river as a great crowd gathered to watch on
land and on the water. By seven that evening the whole of the House of Lords
was ablaze...
>> James Braidwood: You men - Fetch water. Form a chain. FETCH WATER!
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: Mr Braidwood Chief of the London Fire Engine Establishment arrived
on the scene. >> James Braidwood: Man the pumps – get
that engine closer – closer I say!
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: But it was no use...
[Collapse of House of Lords’ roof.]
>> James Braidwood: Look out!
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: At seven thirty the roof caved in.
>> James Braidwood: Back! Get back –NOW!
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: Then, at eight of clock...
The House of Commons caught fire and suddenly it seemed like the
whole of Parliament was burning.
>> Voice: Oh no...
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: For a moment all the frantic activity stopped as everyone looked
up in horror. We couldn’t believe what we were
seeing. Then James Braidwood rallied his men...
>> James Braidwood: I want every able bodied man here now. You, get to the
engine. You three over to the pump. I want six men...
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: Everyone worked as if there were no tomorrow – and for the
old Palace of Westminster there was no tomorrow.
Just one part of the ancient palace remained – the great, magnificent
Westminster Hall. It was nearly 800 years old, and it had the most splendid huge
wooden beamed roof - surely it would survive. But then, at ten o’clock...
>> Firefighter: We can’t stop it sir! Westminster Hall has caught fire!
>> Lord Melbourne: Don’t give up man. Point your hoses at the roof. I don’t care
what it takes; deluge that roof with water – save Westminster Hall at all costs.
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: That was Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister himself!
>> James Braidwood: You heard the Prime Minister. All of you: bring ladders, water.
Steer that engine round, quickly.
>> Lord Melbourne: This is the fight of your life men. Save Westminster Hall, do you hear
me? Do not let the whole of Parliament be destroyed!
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: Then, maybe the Lord heard our prayers, because the wind shifted
just a little, and maybe the thick old walls of the Hall played their part – and there
were ladders and scaffolding already in the Hall from some repair work. Whatever
the reason, the fire was finally beaten.
>> Lord Melbourne: God be praised...
[Cheers]
[Music]
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: But oh! When the sun came up the next day it looked down on
a charred landscape. And there, right in front
of me, half buried and half burnt was a single tally stick. Sticking out of the
ground like it was mocking me for not complaining more the day before! But Westminster
Hall was saved! That magnificent medieval masterpiece with its
stunning wooden roof survived...
[Music]
>> Narrator - Mrs Wright: And now there is to be a competition amongst architects to
design a new Palace of Westminster. There is talk of
an enormous clock tower so that people will be able to see their Parliament
for miles around. I wonder if I will live to hear that giant clock chime.
[Chimes of Big Ben]