Great Fire of Newcastle and Gateshead - Bertram's Warehouse

Bertram's Warehouse

In the immediate neighbourhood of Wilson & Sons was a bond warehouse built twelve years previously by Charles Bertram, and generally known by his name. The building was extensive, reaching to seven storeys, and capable of holding an immense amount of goods. It was at the time used to store thousands of tons of sulphur, nitrate of soda, and other combustibles. It was in part "a double fire-proof structure", with massive metal pillars and every due precaution against fire for the time.

Despite this, from its proximity to the worsted factory, the intense heat caused the sulphur to ignite, melt and stream in a burning blue flame liquidised state from the windows. The authorities, abandoning the mill, sought to save the warehouse, directing all their efforts on it, and were reinforced by the military with their fire engine. This effort was thwarted by the wide scattering of burning brands from the fallen factory roof, which gave additional stimulation to the burning sulphur. By 3 am, the entire warehouse was one body of flames "most awfully magnificent". The sulphurous blaze illuminated the river and its shipping, the High Level Bridge, the Castle, the steeples of All Saints', St. Nicholas' and St. Mary's churches, and every prominent object, with a lurid purple light. From the various floors of the warehouse the sulphur flowed in torrents like streams of lava, and the building resembled "a cataract on fire". Yet at this point the occurrence had borne no aspect other than that of a fearful blaze, a tremendous firestorm sufficiently serious of itself, and altogether unprecedented in the annals of the district.