Fighting Fires in Bromley
Written by Pam Preedy.
In the centre cabinet of the Museum of Bromley on the 1st floor of the library building you will find an odd-looking device. It is large, made of wood and has small wooden wheels. On either side some rails that can be moved up and down. It is a long way from the bright and shiny red equivalent today. It is a Victorian fire engine, referred to in the documents as the “engine.”
The Vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government of a parish which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church. It provided the fire engine for the use of the public but provided no staff. Between 1820 and the 1860s Robert Sutton serviced the “engine” and exercised it every second month with the help of the paupers at the workhouse. when a fire broke out to haystacks in fire, the ‘brigade’ managed to put out the fire and save the farmhouse, but three stacks were destroyed valued at £700. When the home of Joseph Glover’s, Homefield Villa, Bromley Common suffered a fire in 1864 there was a call for a bigger and better brigade to protect his life and property. Bromley’s volunteer ‘fire brigade’ was considered to be “a crowd of roughs.”
In May 1967, the first election was held in Bromley for the Local government Board. Shortly after the election questions were raised on the state of the firefighting equipment and volunteers. They found that the engine was unfit for use and was being repaired by Mr Brister. In 1868 there was a fire. It caused a furore and an argument raged about who was responsible for taking the engine out; Mr Brister who still had it in his yard or Mr Bateman, who was under contract to manage the engine. Meanwhile, the engine was mounted by as many “roughs” as could get on it and protested when ordered off. At last the engine set off, but “had the misfortune” to lose a wheel on St Paul’s Cray Common. The wheel could not be found at night but was brought to Bromley the next morning with hints that the lynchpin had been deliberately removed. The wreckage lay by the roadside – a laughing stock for all.
The formation of a new Volunteer Fire Brigade under an experienced manager was discussed by the board, A month later a steam-engine appeared as The Bell and went off to demonstrate its pumping capacity from a pond by Mason’s Hill. With the creation of a Fire Brigade, Mr Lownds, the proprietor of the White Hart, offered temporary accommodation of a coach house and a ready supply of horses. On Saturday 14th August 1886, a great parade and fanfare was attended by the Volunteers in smart new uniforms, preceded by the Freelands Band, accompanied by the Chislehurst Brigade. They went as far as Hayesford where “Holiday makers” inspected the engine. They returned to the White Hart where they joined the St Mary Cray Brigade for dinner, speeches and merriment.
On 1st March, 1869 there was a fire at a workshop and timber yard at Bromley Common. The Brigade arrived within 40 minutes and the blaze was under control within three hours and saved the property. The question was who should pay. The costs had mounted to £14.18s.9d (nearly £15, which was a lot of money in those days).
Mr Gill, the victim of the fire, was uninsured, but the bill was settled in full. In January 1897 the Fire Brigade Committee agreed to buy a steam-powered fire engine, to build an engine house with a stable and headquarters. The crew were still to be volunteers. The new fire station was built in 1905 in South Street (Bromley). Curing the years to 1904 the members were supplied with telephones, alarms, a new engine and new headquarters in South Street.
Originally published in Life in Bromley magazine (Issue 29, July 2024)