The Worsted Manufactory
On the Gateshead riverbank, a few yards downstream of the old bridge, stood the splendid new mill premises of Messers Wilson & Sons, worsted manufacturers. This large gaslight-lit building had been erected after a fire which destroyed their previous premises, on the same site, three years before the events of this great fire.
At half past midnight on Friday 6 October 1854, the mill was discovered to be on fire; the cry was raised and immediately the streets crowded with people hurrying to the scene of the growing conflagration. The fire being confined to the upper stories of the building, efforts were made to salvage stock on lower floors; but the great quantities of oil in the premises, used to treat wool, added fuel to the fire and quickly curtailed the attempts. Despite the prompt attendance of the North British and Newcastle fire engines, within an hour the building was one mass of flame and within two the roof fell in and the building was a total wreck.
Read more about this topic: Great Fire Of Newcastle And Gateshead