Church People

One of the first stories I heard after marrying a local lad and moving into Yardley Gobion more than 45 years ago was the story of the death of the curate’s wife and twins in a fire at Prospect House. Try as I might over those years I could not find out the year of this disaster and the name of the curate that is until my friend Sue Blake rang recently to say she had found a newspaper report that I might be interested in. Below is this report. B. Pittam

Wolverton Express dated April 10th 1903

Fearful Fire Calamity at Yardley Gobion

A LADY AND CHILD BURNED TO DEATH

A CLERGYMAN RESCUED UNCONSCIOUS

A terrible calamity occurred on Friday morning at the residence of the Rev. E. A. Lloyd, curate-in-charge of Yardley Gobion, Northamptonshire, near Stony Stratford. Mrs Lloyd and a child of six months old were burnt to death in bed, and Mr. Lloyd himself, who was slept in an adjoining room, was only rescued when unconscious, by a police-constable.

It seems that about half-past three in the morning, when Police constable Pollard was going about the village he heard cries of “Help!” from the Rev. Lloyd. The constable recognised the voice, and immediately hurried to the clergyman’s residence. There, however, he could hear no one, and could see nothing unusual from any of the downstairs windows. Procuring a ladder as quickly as possible, he looked into the windows upstairs, and soon found that a bed was on fire. Hastily descending, he broke open the door with an axe, and thus gained admission into the house. Running upstairs he came upon the Rev. E. A. Lloyd lying prostrate on the floor, half in the bedroom, the door of which was open, and half on the landing. The room was full of smoke, and the constable’s first care was to remove Mr. Lloyd outdoors to a place of safety. Help being forthcoming, an attack was made on the fire, which with the assistance of Mr W. Smith, Mr. A. Lambert, and Mr Bonham, was in time extinguished. Then the workers found in the bedroom the dead and charred bodies of Mrs. Lloyd and her six months old baby, both apparently suffocated to death in their sleep. Their bodies were so terribly burned that they were unrecognisable. Dr. Maguire was hurriedly summoned from Stony Stratford to attend to Mr. Lloyd, who had been removed to the house of Mr. Birrell, and was just recovering consciousness at the time the doctor arrived. Mr. Lloyd had had been at Yardley Gobion as curate-in-charge for about 18 months, and he and his wife by their ready sympathy with all the good works in the village, had become highly popular. Mr. Lloyd was formerly curate at St. Cuthbert’s Hampstead, and was married there three years ago, his wife being the daughter of Colonel Graham, of London.

The exact cause of the fire is unknown, and no definite evidence as to the cause was forthcoming at the inquest, but it was proved that a lighted lamp was kept in the room to warm it, and at the side of the bed was a table with a small lamp with which the child’s food was warmed. It is presumed therefore, that in some way the bedclothes were ignited by one of these lamps, and from the position in which the unfortunate lady was found it is supposed that she was suffocated before she could raise an alarm.

THE INQUEST

The Rev. Ernest Alfred Lloyd curate-in-charge of Yardley Gobion who was accompanied by the Rev. Walter Plant, Vicar of Potterspury – deposed that he and his wife Mrs Florence Adelaide Lloyd, who was 26 years of age, and the child Faith Enid Graham Lloyd, who was six months old, were the only three in the house. They all retired to bed about the same time on Thursday evening. His wife and child slept in one bedroom and witness occupied another. Witness awoke with a start early in the morning and perceived a smell of burning. Jumping out of bed he dashed into the passage and found it full of fumes of burning material. He went to his wife’s bedroom door, and on opening it he found the room full of smoke. Witness went to the window, opened it and shouted for assistance. He also shouted for assistance from other windows. As his shouts were responded to he dashed back to the bedroom to see if he could do anything. He opened another door to get rid of some of the smoke, and then he was overcome by the smoke. He remembers nothing more except that he fell to the floor and lost consciousness.

Mary Ann Gear, wife of Edward Gear, a labourer of Yardley Gobion, said she was employed by Mrs. Lloyd to do the housework, but slept at home. She left Mrs. Lloyd’s at 9.30. Mrs. Lloyd was having supper at the time. Mr. Lloyd was out, and the baby was asleep in a cradle in the bedroom. Witness saw the baby at nine o’clock. A large lighted lamp was in the room for the purpose of warming it. Witness left a small paraffin lamp in the dining room for Mrs. Lloyd to use to warm the baby’s food. She was called to the house about four o’clock, after the fire had been discovered. – In reply to the Coroner, she said she did not think the bedclothes would slip off the bed on to the large lamp, for that generally stood between the bed and the door. The table with the small lamp was usually near the window.

Andrew Lambert, a bricklayer, of Yardley Gobion, said he lived opposite Mr. Lloyd’s house. About half past three that morning he was awakened by screams. Jumping out of bed he rushed to the window, and saw the street lit up by flames, which were issuing from the house opposite. He saw P. C. Pollard hurrying up the street with a ladder. Witness hurriedly dressed, and went to the constable’s assistance. They reared the ladder against the bedroom window, and the constable climbed up it, looked in the window and shouted, “The bed is on fire. The constable then burst open the door with an axe, and brought Mr. Lloyd to the foot of the stairs. A man named George Bonham then arrived on the scene, and helped to assist Mr. Lloyd down stairs and into a neighbour’s house. The room was so full of smoke he could not see across it. Many other helpers appeared on the scene, and threw water on the flames. Witness was then obliged to leave for he was almost suffocated by the smoke and exhausted by his exertions. When he left he thought the fire was well nigh out. He returned a few minutes later and saw the body of Mrs. Lloyd lying on the right side of the bed, and the little child’s body, when he first saw it was on the floor at the foot of the bedstead. The body had been removed by Mr. William Smith.

The Coroner: Did you see a little table in the bedroom with a small lamp upon it?

Witness: There was a small table in the room, because I moved it out of the way when I threw water on the flames. I did not however notice a lamp on the table. I was really too confused and alarmed to notice much.

The table which stood at the side of the bed was brought into the room. It was a small bamboo table with tapestry cover, half burned away. On the table was an oval tray with a baby’s tin food-warmer, with pyramid night-light at the side and a flat paraffin lamp with a stand over it and a medium sized enamelled saucepan upon it.

George Bonham, engine driver, said that about half past three that morning he heard screams and looked out of his window. He heard someone say, “Oh, do come.” He hurriedly put on some clothes and rushed out and saw the constable and Lambert at Mr. Lloyds’s house. Lambert was on a ladder against the window throwing water. Witness took some water to Lambert, and helped the constable to assist Mr. Lloyd downstairs. Mr Lloyd was unconscious and was partly dressed. They took Mr Lloyd across to Mr. Birrell’s and then went back to the house to help extinguish the flames. They then saw a body lying on the bed. It was so badly burned that he could not identify it. He also noticed the body of the little child lying on the floor.

P. C. Charles Pollard, stationed at Yardley Gobion, said that about half past three that morning he was walking home near the Coffee Pot Inn, he could smell something burning. He looked round, and almost immediately heard screams proceeding from the direction of Mr. Lloyd’s house. Cries of “Help! Help!” and “Bring a ladder” reached him, and he replied, “All right, I will be there in a minute.” Witness ran into Mr. Shakeshaft’s yard to look for a ladder, but was unable to find one. He knocked up Mr. Smith, and ran to Mr. Howard Mason’s farmyard, where he found a long ladder. He was dragging it along the road when he met the witness Lambert, who helped him to drag it to Mr. Lloyd’s house. He ran up the ladder and looked in the bedroom window, which was open, he saw that the bed was in flames and the room full of smoke. He ran home to fetch buckets and Lambert also ran home for the same purpose. Witness ran to the back with him and smashed open the door. He ran upstairs to the burning bedroom and stumbled over the body of Mr. Lloyd who lay on the threshold of the bedroom. His head was in the bedroom and his legs lay across the landing. Witness dragged him to the top of the landing as he was unconscious, and called out for assistance. George Bonham then came, and helped him to carry Mr. Lloyd downstairs. He left Mr. Lloyd with Bonham on the grass outside. And went back to the bedroom, but found it impossible to get in owing to the flames and smoke. He searched the other rooms in the hope he would find Mrs. Lloyd and the child, but failed to do so. He therefore returned to the street and helped to take Mr. Lloyd to the house of Mr Birrell. By that time some of the villagers had succeeded in extinguishing flames sufficiently to get into the bedroom. He then saw the charred body of Mrs. Lloyd on the bed and the charred body of the baby upon the floor at the foot of the bed. He saw the table produced on the landing. He had searched for a small paraffin lamp spoken of by Mrs Gear, but could not find it anywhere.

By Superintendent Norman: He passed the house about eleven o’clock the previous night. There was a light to the dining room on the ground floor. He was the first one to appear on the scene after the alarm had been raised.

William Smith the landlord of the Coffee Pot Inn Yardley Gobion and captain of the Yardley Gobion Fire Brigade said that about half past three Friday morning he was called up by P. C. Pollard who summoned him to a fire at the Vicar’s house. When witness arrived men were taking bucketsful of water up a ladder placed against the bedroom window. Witness rendered assistance to the men already at work. Shortly after he arrived Lambert said, “I think I’ve got it under now.” And witness and Mr Shakeshaft went up the stairs to the bedroom. Witness found the body of Mrs. Lloyd on the bed. There was a heap of hot embers on the floor near the spot where the wall was scorched. The body of the baby lay surrounded by these smouldering embers. He could not say whether these embers were the remains of the cradle and bedclothes. He could find no trace of the cradle and bedclothes. Witness knew nothing about the paraffin lamp.

Mrs Gear (recalled) said on Thursday night she left the table produced near the window at the foot of the bed. There was a small spirit lamp on it like that produced.

Dr. Thomas Stephen Maguire of Stony Stratford, said he was called at half past four to see Mr Lloyd, who was suffering from shock, and after attending him he went across to the house. From the position of Mrs. Lloyd’s body, which was lying on the right side with legs drawn up and her back towards the cradle, he concluded that she was suffocated. The body of the infant lay on the floor at the foot of the bed. The skull was open, and the brain protruding. That was due to the babe being only six months old, the bones of the skull not being ossified and would open under the influence of flames and smoke.

The coroner commented on the distressing nature of the sad affair. He was sure the sympathies of all of them would go out towards the unfortunate gentleman who at one stroke had been bereft of his wife and only child. Mr. Lloyd had told them in a clear, brisk manner all he knew of the sad accident along with the circumstances which he thought, left no doubt that the painful affair was accidentally caused, but exactly how would probably never be known.

The Jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death.”

The Foreman, who was greatly affected said he was sure they were all anxious to join with him in expressing their sympathy with Mr Lloyd had only been in their midst for a few months, but during that time he had endeared himself to all of them. He proposed that they pass a vote of condolence with their family and devote their fees to a wreath.

The jury readily signalled their assent.

The Fire Insurance Rates apply to the Central Insurance Company, Nicholas Lane, London, Capital £850,000. No tariffs.

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