Willersey
1843
One and a half miles from the centre of Broadway is the village of Willersey.
Where, in the early hours of Wednesday 29th November 1843, seven people
lost their lives in a house fire. It is almost certain that this appalling
loss of life, in a single fire, has not been equalled in the area since
|
Living
in the house at the time were farmer Thomas Rimell, his wife and
his eight children. Also staying there was Elizabeth Jelfs of nearby
Weston-Subedge, who was employed as a charwoman. They went to bed
at about ten-thirty on Tuesday night, but were woken up at two o'clock
to find the house on fire. Mr Rimell tried to get down the stairs
but was forced back by flames. Finding his wife at a window he pushed
her to where he thought she would be safe, and told her to wait
while he fetched a ladder. He jumped out of the window to the ground;
a height of about twelve feet. But before he could return to effect
a rescue, his wife was overcome either by smoke or by flames. The
children had been sleeping in another part of the house. Richard,
aged ten, jumped to the ground, found a ladder, and put it up to
the window where two of his brothers were trying to rescue a box
|
|||
 Times newspaper November 1843 |
|||
containing their Sunday clothes. They also escaped through the window. The fire spread with such speed and ferocity that the other five children, David, Anne, Mary, Sarah and Betsy, along with their mother, were lost. Elizabeth Jelfs, the family's employee, also died, despite being the one, it was said, who had first raised the alarm. The house was totally destroyed before the arrival of fire brigades from Campden and Evesham.
A
Coroner's inquest was held at The New Inn two days later, where a verdict
was returned of, 'Accidental death from burning, in consequence of
a beam taking fire in the chimney'. The chimney of the house had been
on fire on Tuesday, the day before the tragedy. At about 7pm Phillip Cooke,
a miller and neighbour, had informed Thomas Rimell that sparks and flames
were still issuing from the chimney. But, he claimed, Mr Rimell disregarded
his advice.
The fire was so intense that it was not possible to identify the victims
individually. Three days after the fire, on December 2nd 1843, their remains
were buried in a single coffin in Willersey churchyard, where the gravestone
still stands.(*) A fund was set up to help Thomas Rimell, who had lost
almost everything. His house was insured, but not his furniture and stock.
Elizabeth Jelfs, a widow, left six orphaned girls, four of whom were still
living at the family home in Weston-Subedge, and who had lost their mother,
and their only source of income.
 Willersey burial record 1843 |
(*
author's note: When I researched this incident in 1997 I found the
gravestone in the churchyard at Willersey. The inscription was still
perfectly legible although the surface of the stone was starting
to flake off. It is fortunate that I photographed and recorded the
inscription as, on a subsequent visit in 2005, I found the stone
to be bare. Presumably, frost had completely removed the surface.)
|
|||
|
The gravestone inscription was as follows:- TO
THE MEMORY OF |
||||