2-888-068 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Great Fire at Bristol, 1850. 'At Hillsbridge-wharf...on the [River] Avon...an immense fire was raging, sending up large flashes through the half-consumed roof high up into the atmosphere, and spreading myriads of sparks in all directions...Between the spectator and the fire lay the bridge of the Bristol and Exeter Railway...upon which...one of the railway engines was standing!...a vast mass of dense sombre clouds had gathered, from which every now and then the lightning flashed vividly, making even the fire pale by contrast....There could not have been less than 15,000 or 16,000 people [at] available spots where a view of the conflagration could be had...shouting, hooting, and giving utterance to a complete Babel of sounds....A heavy shower of rain fell at twelve o'clock, and, continuing for some time, effectually stayed the flames...'. From "Illustrated London News", 1850.