THE GREAT FIRE

 

The fire began at 2 pm on Friday 4 June 1731 in a soap boiler’s (tallow chandlers) workshop on the corner of White Cliff Mill Street and Bryanston Street.

 

A letter written on 12 June 1731 and recently spotted in the Dorset History Centre says ‘it was occasioned by the soap boyler’s apprentice making too great a fire under a furnace of boyling soap and as he endeavoured to rake part of the fewel at the furnace mouth, set fire to other furzes in the same room and in the space of an hour spread into different parts of the town with such fury that several of the poor workers, who were labouring to putt this fire out where it first began, had their own houses consumed

before they gott home’. Over 400 families lost their homes. Sparks flew such that the villages of Blandford St Mary and Bryanston across the River Stour were also largely burnt out.

The Kings Arms now occupies the site where the fire began and it carries a blue plaque to commemorate that terrible event.

 

The events of the fire are laid out in a book by the Rev. Malachi Blake, who had been the Dissenting Minister in Blandford since 1716 and who experienced the loss of his home and his church. He records that it was hot summer’s day and the fire spread rapidly, fanned by the wind. By seven o’clock in the evening the fire had burnt itself out, leaving only a few brick-built houses on the outskirts that were roofed with tiles, including the Old House, the Ryves Almshouses, Park House and Dale House. The cellars under many burnt houses also remained. Most of East Street also survived, as it had been recently re-built in brick and tile after a fire there in 1713.

Blandford Town Museum

 

Blandford Town Museum tells the story of Blandford Forum and its surrounding villages through displays, exhibitions and local artefacts.

 

We hold archives for people researching their family or local history, including militaria and railways. The Museum is entirely run by volunteers, and is free to enter. For information on opening hours and special exhibitions go to www.blandfordtownmuseum.org.uk or ring 01258 450388

Blandford Fashion Museum

 

Small fashion museum in Dorset with 12 exhibition spaces and a welcoming tearoom.

 

Showcasing fashion and textiles from the eighteenth century to the 1980s. For information on opening hours and special exhibitions go to www.blandfordfashionmuseum.co.uk or ring 01258 453006