The Cambrian News and Meirionethshire Standard report on the fire

The Old College fire: much of the northern wing of the building was destroyed by the fire on the night of 8/9 July 1885.

During the night of 8/9 July 1885 the Old College was ravaged by fire, leaving only the Principal’s residence, Castle House, and the south wing unscathed.

At the time, plans were at an advanced stage to redevelop the Old College with considerable private contributions in place to fund the work. Luckily, that work had not started when the building was gutted by the fire.

The events of the night of the fire and the week that followed were reported at length in The Cambrian News and Meirionethshire Standard on 17 July 1885.

In a piece that extends to nearly 9,000 words the paper reported in detail on the fire itself and the recovery of the bodies of three local men who died during the inferno.

James Edwin Brett was 21 and lived with his mother in Princess Street. Samuel Jones, a slate enameller from Portland Lane and a private in the Salvation Army was married with six children, and John Davies from Laurel Place, Little Darkgate Street (Eastgate Street today), worked for Aberystwyth Corporation and was married with two children.

Their charred remains were found under the Old College museum later on Thursday 9 July, less than 24 hours after the fire took hold.

The Old College after the fire.

The inquest, held at the Town Hall on the same evening, heard how the men were seen running up the stairs to the second storey of the building a couple of minutes before a crash was heard as the museum floor collapsed.

The paper also reports on the visit of Colonel Sir Charles Firth, President of the Fire Brigade Association, London, the following Monday to investigate the likely cause and review safety measures.

According to the report, the fire was caused by “spontaneous combustion amongst the cotton waste used in cleaning up after the chemical experiments in the laboratory department”.

On his review of fire safety, Colonel Sir Charles Firth is reported to have been “astonished to find a large public institution of the kind without any reasonable provision themselves for putting out fires”.

Under the section “Outside Feeling” the paper reports on the concern shared by people across Wales and donations made to the families of the bereaved and towards the rebuilding work.

Mr Stuart Rendel, MP for Montgomeryshire donated £10 to the widows' fund, and “a telegram from Mr Lewis Morris, one of the Honorary Secretaries of the college, saying that the Treasurer would pay the expenses of the funerals”.

There is also coverage from other newspapers including The South Wales Daily News, which reported; “Thousands, hundreds of thousands of Welshmen heard the news of the destructive fire at Aberystwyth College with as much pain and anguish as if their own houses had been burned down.”

The Western Mail however reported that “Aberystwyth has been burnt down, and there, we are almost afraid, is an end of Aberystwyth.”

The paper goes on to call for the people of Swansea to “boldly come forward and offer to build a new college in their own midst provided (a) the Government will guarantee them a continuance of the grant at present made to Aberystwyth and (b) the authorities of Aberystwyth College agree to make over to them the ten or twelve thousand pounds for which their premises were insured.”

The Sunday after the fire saw sermons preached at the English Baptist Chapel, the Welsh Independent Chapel in Baker Street, the English Congregational Chapel, Bethel Baptist Church, Llanbadarn, St Mary’s Welsh Church, St Michael’s Church, each one reported in the paper under the heading “Pulpit Reference”.

The section concludes with the sermon delivered by the College’s Principal, the Rev T C Edwards, M.A., at the English Methodist Chapel in Newfoundland Street (later Bath Street).

Finally, there are reports of the funerals. Two thousand people are reported to have attended the funerals of John Davies and Samuel Jones which took place on the Sunday afternoon.

And the funeral of James Brett, which took place on Tuesday 14 July, was “attended by a large number of townspeople, among whom were clergymen and ministers, town councillors and magistrates.”

The full report can be read on https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3416656/3416660

With the support of the The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Welsh Government and the European Regional Development Fund, UK Government Levelling Up Fund, Coastal Communities Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, philanthropic trusts, and individuals, the Old College is being transformed into a major centre for learning, heritage, culture and enterprise.

For further information, visit the Old College project pages online.

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