Frederick Bicknell

Level 218

Dianne Jones on 12th April 2022

TRIAL contd: HENRY SHERMAN. I am a photographer, of 3, Queen's Terrace, Commercial Road, next door to the prisoner—on December 5th, about half-past eleven or twenty minutes to twelve, I heard a cry of "Fire!" and on looking out I saw a fire on the first floor—somebody burst the door open and I went in—I saw the gas pendant alight and the ceiling all round it—I do not think, the burners were alight—I went upstairs and saw the first floor burning, and a bed which I thought the children were in, but there was no one in the house at all—I came down, borrowed a light of a policeman, and turned the gas off, which is under the counter board—I am sure it was on—I saw no fire under the counter—there is a large window-board—I did not go round the counter—I ran through the opening to get to the door—I waited till Inspector Griffin came. Cross-examined. Q. Did you see the firemen there? A. Yes, I was there before them—I went into the shop before them—I saw the flame playing about the ceiling—the gas was flaming up from the leaden pipe, which was dripping, and that made me turn the gas off—there was no light at the burner, there could not be, because the pipe was unconnected with the pendant by the pipe burning and melting away—the gas had gone out in the burner—I stayed in the shop about an hour or an hour and a half—I heard the firemen say that there was a fire under the counter, and saw them kick the ash, but I did not see it burning—they went behind the counter and kicked some rags and different things, shavings or something. MR. METCALFE. Q. How fer was that from the meter? A. Twelve or fourteen feet—I might have been half an hour or an hour in the house before the inspector came. WILLIAM SWANTON . I am superintendent of the salvage corps, and have been attached to the fire brigade nearly nine years—on the 5th of December I was at the fire on Row Common, and from information I received I went to the prisoner's house about twenty minutes to twelve—the first floor was burning fiercely about the ceiling of the shop, and the flooring of the room over it—I managed to put it out, and then returned to the shop and saw a second fire under the counter, twelve or fourteen feet from the level of where the fire was burning on the ceiling—it was a quantity of rubbish and waste paper, and some cuttings like these, used in their business—I saw some crinolines hanging up, to which paraffin or something of that description had been applied—as no water was to be had, I stamped out the fire under the counter, and kicked it about the place—next morning I saw that the ceiling not only in the front but in the back room was stained, showing that oil or grease of some kind had been used, and a board in the back room was half an inch above the level of the ordinary flooring, showing that it had been lifted up and not properly placed back again—I saw that something had been thrown under it, and each side of the board was marked with oil; if the oil had been placed in while the board laid there the board would have been smothered with it as well—I took out some rubbish, applied a light to it, and it burnt as brightly as a candle, or more so, and so did the plaster ceiling underneath, which I tried a piece of—a piece of paper steeped in paraffin could not burn much fiercer—the fanlight over the door was blocked up—I saw some wood and sawdust in the kitchen corresponding with the wood over the fanlight—there is no doubt that the fire in the ceiling originated in the flooring over the ceiling, but not from the gas, and my impression is that it began between the flooring and the ceiling of the shop. JAMES COOPER. I am foreman of the salvage corps, and hare had fifteen years' experience—I went to the prisoner's house on the night of the fire—it had been burning ten minutes or a quarter of an hour—I noticed the fire in the ceiling—in my judgment it originated between the ceiling and the flooring of the first floor—that must have been independent of the other fire—I assisted in extinguishing a bedstead which was on fire. Cross-examined. Q. At what time did you get there? A. About half-past eleven—I should not say that the fire had been burning there more than twenty minutes, or half an hour at the outside—it might have burnt longer than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour if the door was kept closed—I was there before any attempt was made to put it out, and had a perfect opportunity of examining it. RICHARD COLLINS GALLARD. I am a fireman in the salvage corps—I went to the fire at the prisoner's house—after going upstairs I went into the back parlour, and found the window barred with a screw bolt—there were sliding shutters, with a bar and a bolt to screw in; they were bolted—I called one of the men to get a ladder, and get up to the cistern, which is on top of the water closet, and I went to the staircase to take the water from him through the window—there was no water before that, that I know of. ROBERT LOWE. I am an auctioneer and valuer, of 2, Southampton Street, Strand—on the 10th and 11th December I valued the furniture left on the premises at 77l. 14s. 3d.—that is, in my judgment, a liberal valuation—the household effects and wearing apparel come to 53l. 12s. 3d., the stock in trade and utensils, 11l. 9s., business fixtures, 10l. 4s. 6d., and cooper's tools, 2l. 8s. 6d. Cross-examined. Q. Were you sent by the insurance office after the fire? A. Yes—I do not know whether they had sent before the fire—in the business fixtures I included a sixteen-feet counter, for which I allowed 30s.—the prisoner was not present, nor was there any one to represent him that I know of—several men were there—I think the counter could be put up for less than thirty shillings—there was a gauze wire-blind in a mahogany frame, which I value at seven shillings—I have not got a plate glass front, but there was one—I cannot say the value of it, because I did not notice it—the value would depend on the quality of the work, and whether it was Spanish or Honduras mahogany—it may be worth from ten to twenty-five pounds—twenty-seven shelves are included; I value them at a shilling each—I know of no blinds but the gauze wire-blind which was over the window, dividing the parlour from the shop; it was about two feet three by one foot two, and was an old one before the fire—it was not burnt at all—the gas fittings are included, but not the stoves—I valued the whole at 77l. 14s. 3d., but supposing everything was new I should add another twenty pounds—this is my list (produced). MR. METCALFE. Q. Have you allowed for the articles as if before the fire.? A. Yes. ALGERNON PELHAM VALENTINE. I am a clerk in the Liverpool London and Globe Insurance Office, Poultry—the prisoner was insured there—I produce an abstract of his policy—it is not the document from which the policy is made out, it is a copy of the policy before it is issued—I examine policies before they go out—I do not receive the premiums—this (produced) is the proposal originally sent in—I cannot say who sent it—on the basis of this proposal the policy is prepared, but we have verbal instructions—this is the writing of a clerk in the office—I cannot say his name—he writes down the instructions and receives the premium, and upon those instructions he makes out the policy—this policy contains a correct abstract of the policy sent to the prisoner—I had nothing to do with writing it, only with examining it—I handed it over to Mr. Upfold, the policy clerk, who is here. COURT. Q. Is Mr. Upfold the person who receives the proposal? A. No; various clerks do that—a record is kept in the office of the numbers of the policies and their dates. MR. RIBTON objected to any evidence of the contents of the policy, and the Court declined to receive it at present. ELIZABETH STEVENS. I live with my mother at 101, Heath Street, Stepney—my sister Margaret was the prisoner's servant—I used not to go there, but I went on the evening of the fire about half-past five or twenty minutes to six in the evening—I saw the prisoner there, his wife, three children, and my sister—the prisoner's brother, Mr. Charles Bicknell, afterwards came in an omnibus—my sister took the baby to my mother's at not quite six o'clock, and after she came back Mrs. Bicknell, Mr. Charles Bicknell, my sister, and the two children left for Weston's Music Hall—I do not know where that is—they left about six o'clock, and the prisoner and I remained in the house alone—in about half an hour Mr. Strannick came in—they were in the back parlour and I was in the shop—they remained there a little time, and then they went upstairs, but I cannot say whether they both went up the first time—they came out from the parlour together—they had a paraffin lamp, and I think Mr. Bicknell was carrying it—they remained ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, and then came back and went into the back parlour, still carrying the lamp—I saw the prisoner carrying it again—they remained some time in the back parlour, and then the prisoner came out and called to me to go out and get some ale—it was then not quite nine—I went out and got the ale—I was not gone many minutes—I took it to them in the back parlour, and after a few minutes I went to get some steak—the fire was out, and I went down and got some wood and the frying pan, lit a fire in the back parlour, and cooked the steak—they remained in the back parlour while I did that, but the prisoner went and shut up the shop—I left about half-past nine or twenty minutes to ten—they were both there then—the kitchen floor was perfectly clean—there was no wood or sawdust about—when I left the prisoner said that he was going to meet Mrs. Bicknell at Weston's Music Hall, for he was well known there—I went out at the shop door, the fanlight was not blocked up then—the bottom of the door is glass, and I think the shutter was over the glass, but am not quite sure—I cannot say whether the door was fastened behind me—about eight months before the fire the prisoner and his family changed into that house from another, and I helped them to move their things—when I left I saw nothing uncommon and did not smell fire. Cross-examined. Q. Was the fire in the kitchen out? A. Yes; I lighted the back parlour fire to cook a steak—I put some wood on, but no coals—I lighted the wood with paper, which I lit at the top of the gas-burner, because I could not find any matches—the gas in the shop was alight—I made a good fire. MARGARET STEVENS. I had been about three months in the prisoner's employment at the time of the fire—I was with him when he removed to 3, Queen's Terrace—on the 5th December I took Mrs. Bicknell's baby to my mother's at about half-past six—when I came back I waited in the shop and then took a bundle of clothes to the mangling woman—there are three children, one is going on for five, and the middle one three, and the youngest is going on for two—the prisoner came home at about half-past five that evening and said, "I have got two orders for Weston's Music Hall, but I will not let you go unless you take Mr. Charles Bicknell with you"—Mrs. Bicknell and Mr. Charles Bicknell and the two children and I went out about seven o'clock to Weston's Music Hall—we got back to the Royal Exchange at about twelve o'clock—I did not see the clock, but as we went by Bennett's clock in Cheapside it was ten minutes to twelve—we waited at the Royal Exchange about a quarter of an hour, and then the prisoner came up, and Mr. Strannick—we walked down the street, and on the way home the prisoner said, "You had better not go the front way, because it is bolted up"—we went in the back way, and found the firemen and policemen—I did not see a shutter over the fanlight—on the night before this Mrs. Bicknell sent me with this bottle (produced), to get some paraffin oil—the prisoner was there—I filled the lamp with it—the oil used to last about a week when I filled it—I left the rest of the paraffin in the bottle and put it in the cupboard—on Wednesday evening the 5th I was in the kitchen a little before Mr. Bicknell came in—there was no sawdust or bits of wood on the kitchen floor then; it was quite clean—I had scrubbed the kitchen floors that morning—there was no sawdust on the tablecloths—there was no wood over the fanlight when we went to Weston's. Cross-examined. Q. Was it the Tuesday you went for the oil? A. Tuesday night about six o'clock—the prisoner came home about five o'clock on the Tuesday night, but I cannot exactly say, because they had no clock or watch—I went for the oil after he came home—he had been in the house an hour, I think, before I went for the oil—I bought it of Lawrence, next door—Mrs. Bicknell gave me directions to buy it in the little back room—no one was present but Mr. Bicknell—I am sure he had been in an hour.

Level 218

Dianne Jones on 12th April 2022

TRIAL contd: HENRY SHERMAN. I am a photographer, of 3, Queen's Terrace, Commercial Road, next door to the prisoner—on December 5th, about half-past eleven or twenty minutes to twelve, I heard a cry of "Fire!" and on looking out I saw a fire on the first floor—somebody burst the door open and I went in—I saw the gas pendant alight and the ceiling all round it—I do not think, the burners were alight—I went upstairs and saw the first floor burning, and a bed which I thought the children were in, but there was no one in the house at all—I came down, borrowed a light of a policeman, and turned the gas off, which is under the counter board—I am sure it was on—I saw no fire under the counter—there is a large window-board—I did not go round the counter—I ran through the opening to get to the door—I waited till Inspector Griffin came. Cross-examined. Q. Did you see the firemen there? A. Yes, I was there before them—I went into the shop before them—I saw the flame playing about the ceiling—the gas was flaming up from the leaden pipe, which was dripping, and that made me turn the gas off—there was no light at the burner, there could not be, because the pipe was unconnected with the pendant by the pipe burning and melting away—the gas had gone out in the burner—I stayed in the shop about an hour or an hour and a half—I heard the firemen say that there was a fire under the counter, and saw them kick the ash, but I did not see it burning—they went behind the counter and kicked some rags and different things, shavings or something. MR. METCALFE. Q. How fer was that from the meter? A. Twelve or fourteen feet—I might have been half an hour or an hour in the house before the inspector came. WILLIAM SWANTON. I am superintendent of the salvage corps, and have been attached to the fire brigade nearly nine years—on the 5th of December I was at the fire on Row Common, and from information I received I went to the prisoner's house about twenty minutes to twelve—the first floor was burning fiercely about the ceiling of the shop, and the flooring of the room over it—I managed to put it out, and then returned to the shop and saw a second fire under the counter, twelve or fourteen feet from the level of where the fire was burning on the ceiling—it was a quantity of rubbish and waste paper, and some cuttings like these, used in their business—I saw some crinolines hanging up, to which paraffin or something of that description had been applied—as no water was to be had, I stamped out the fire under the counter, and kicked it about the place—next morning I saw that the ceiling not only in the front but in the back room was stained, showing that oil or grease of some kind had been used, and a board in the back room was half an inch above the level of the ordinary flooring, showing that it had been lifted up and not properly placed back again—I saw that something had been thrown under it, and each side of the board was marked with oil; if the oil had been placed in while the board laid there the board would have been smothered with it as well—I took out some rubbish, applied a light to it, and it burnt as brightly as a candle, or more so, and so did the plaster ceiling underneath, which I tried a piece of—a piece of paper steeped in paraffin could not burn much fiercer—the fanlight over the door was blocked up—I saw some wood and sawdust in the kitchen corresponding with the wood over the fanlight—there is no doubt that the fire in the ceiling originated in the flooring over the ceiling, but not from the gas, and my impression is that it began between the flooring and the ceiling of the shop. JAMES COOPER. I am foreman of the salvage corps, and hare had fifteen years' experience—I went to the prisoner's house on the night of the fire—it had been burning ten minutes or a quarter of an hour—I noticed the fire in the ceiling—in my judgment it originated between the ceiling and the flooring of the first floor—that must have been independent of the other fire—I assisted in extinguishing a bedstead which was on fire. Cross-examined. Q. At what time did you get there? A. About half-past eleven—I should not say that the fire had been burning there more than twenty minutes, or half an hour at the outside—it might have burnt longer than ten minutes or a quarter of an hour if the door was kept closed—I was there before any attempt was made to put it out, and had a perfect opportunity of examining it. RICHARD COLLINS GALLARD. I am a fireman in the salvage corps—I went to the fire at the prisoner's house—after going upstairs I went into the back parlour, and found the window barred with a screw bolt—there were sliding shutters, with a bar and a bolt to screw in; they were bolted—I called one of the men to get a ladder, and get up to the cistern, which is on top of the water closet, and I went to the staircase to take the water from him through the window—there was no water before that, that I know of. ROBERT LOWE. I am an auctioneer and valuer, of 2, Southampton Street, Strand—on the 10th and 11th December I valued the furniture left on the premises at 77l. 14s. 3d.—that is, in my judgment, a liberal valuation—the household effects and wearing apparel come to 53l. 12s. 3d., the stock in trade and utensils, 11l. 9s., business fixtures, 10l. 4s. 6d., and cooper's tools, 2l. 8s. 6d. Cross-examined. Q. Were you sent by the insurance office after the fire? A. Yes—I do not know whether they had sent before the fire—in the business fixtures I included a sixteen-feet counter, for which I allowed 30s.—the prisoner was not present, nor was there any one to represent him that I know of—several men were there—I think the counter could be put up for less than thirty shillings—there was a gauze wire-blind in a mahogany frame, which I value at seven shillings—I have not got a plate glass front, but there was one—I cannot say the value of it, because I did not notice it—the value would depend on the quality of the work, and whether it was Spanish or Honduras mahogany—it may be worth from ten to twenty-five pounds—twenty-seven shelves are included; I value them at a shilling each—I know of no blinds but the gauze wire-blind which was over the window, dividing the parlour from the shop; it was about two feet three by one foot two, and was an old one before the fire—it was not burnt at all—the gas fittings are included, but not the stoves—I valued the whole at 77l. 14s. 3d., but supposing everything was new I should add another twenty pounds—this is my list (produced). MR. METCALFE. Q. Have you allowed for the articles as if before the fire.? A. Yes. ALGERNON PELHAM VALENTINE. I am a clerk in the Liverpool London and Globe Insurance Office, Poultry—the prisoner was insured there—I produce an abstract of his policy—it is not the document from which the policy is made out, it is a copy of the policy before it is issued—I examine policies before they go out—I do not receive the premiums—this (produced) is the proposal originally sent in—I cannot say who sent it—on the basis of this proposal the policy is prepared, but we have verbal instructions—this is the writing of a clerk in the office—I cannot say his name—he writes down the instructions and receives the premium, and upon those instructions he makes out the policy—this policy contains a correct abstract of the policy sent to the prisoner—I had nothing to do with writing it, only with examining it—I handed it over to Mr. Upfold, the policy clerk, who is here. COURT. Q. Is Mr. Upfold the person who receives the proposal? A. No; various clerks do that—a record is kept in the office of the numbers of the policies and their dates. MR. RIBTON objected to any evidence of the contents of the policy, and the Court declined to receive it at present. ELIZABETH STEVENS . I live with my mother at 101, Heath Street, Stepney—my sister Margaret was the prisoner's servant—I used not to go there, but I went on the evening of the fire about half-past five or twenty minutes to six in the evening—I saw the prisoner there, his wife, three children, and my sister—the prisoner's brother, Mr. Charles Bicknell, afterwards came in an omnibus—my sister took the baby to my mother's at not quite six o'clock, and after she came back Mrs. Bicknell, Mr. Charles Bicknell, my sister, and the two children left for Weston's Music Hall—I do not know where that is—they left about six o'clock, and the prisoner and I remained in the house alone—in about half an hour Mr. Strannick came in—they were in the back parlour and I was in the shop—they remained there a little time, and then they went upstairs, but I cannot say whether they both went up the first time—they came out from the parlour together—they had a paraffin lamp, and I think Mr. Bicknell was carrying it—they remained ten minutes or a quarter of an hour, and then came back and went into the back parlour, still carrying the lamp—I saw the prisoner carrying it again—they remained some time in the back parlour, and then the prisoner came out and called to me to go out and get some ale—it was then not quite nine—I went out and got the ale—I was not gone many minutes—I took it to them in the back parlour, and after a few minutes I went to get some steak—the fire was out, and I went down and got some wood and the frying pan, lit a fire in the back parlour, and cooked the steak—they remained in the back parlour while I did that, but the prisoner went and shut up the shop—I left about half-past nine or twenty minutes to ten—they were both there then—the kitchen floor was perfectly clean—there was no wood or sawdust about—when I left the prisoner said that he was going to meet Mrs. Bicknell at Weston's Music Hall, for he was well known there—I went out at the shop door, the fanlight was not blocked up then—the bottom of the door is glass, and I think the shutter was over the glass, but am not quite sure—I cannot say whether the door was fastened behind me—about eight months before the fire the prisoner and his family changed into that house from another, and I helped them to move their things—when I left I saw nothing uncommon and did not smell fire. Cross-examined. Q. Was the fire in the kitchen out? A. Yes; I lighted the back parlour fire to cook a steak—I put some wood on, but no coals—I lighted the wood with paper, which I lit at the top of the gas-burner, because I could not find any matches—the gas in the shop was alight—I made a good fire. MARGARET STEVENS. I had been about three months in the prisoner's employment at the time of the fire—I was with him when he removed to 3, Queen's Terrace—on the 5th December I took Mrs. Bicknell's baby to my mother's at about half-past six—when I came back I waited in the shop and then took a bundle of clothes to the mangling woman—there are three children, one is going on for five, and the middle one three, and the youngest is going on for two—the prisoner came home at about half-past five that evening and said, "I have got two orders for Weston's Music Hall, but I will not let you go unless you take Mr. Charles Bicknell with you"—Mrs. Bicknell and Mr. Charles Bicknell and the two children and I went out about seven o'clock to Weston's Music Hall—we got back to the Royal Exchange at about twelve o'clock—I did not see the clock, but as we went by Bennett's clock in Cheapside it was ten minutes to twelve—we waited at the Royal Exchange about a quarter of an hour, and then the prisoner came up, and Mr. Strannick—we walked down the street, and on the way home the prisoner said, "You had better not go the front way, because it is bolted up"—we went in the back way, and found the firemen and policemen—I did not see a shutter over the fanlight—on the night before this Mrs. Bicknell sent me with this bottle (produced), to get some paraffin oil—the prisoner was there—I filled the lamp with it—the oil used to last about a week when I filled it—I left the rest of the paraffin in the bottle and put it in the cupboard—on Wednesday evening the 5th I was in the kitchen a little before Mr. Bicknell came in—there was no sawdust or bits of wood on the kitchen floor then; it was quite clean—I had scrubbed the kitchen floors that morning—there was no sawdust on the tablecloths—there was no wood over the fanlight when we went to Weston's. Cross-examined. Q. Was it the Tuesday you went for the oil? A. Tuesday night about six o'clock—the prisoner came home about five o'clock on the Tuesday night, but I cannot exactly say, because they had no clock or watch—I went for the oil after he came home—he had been in the house an hour, I think, before I went for the oil—I bought it of Lawrence, next door—Mrs. Bicknell gave me directions to buy it in the little back room—no one was present but Mr. Bicknell—I am sure he had been in an hour.

Level 218

Dianne Jones on 12th April 2022

TRIAL contd: JOSEPH SMITH . I am a member of the salvage corps which is attached to the insurance office—I saw Inspector Griffin take a paper from a box on the premises and return it to the box—a few hours after that I saw it in the prisoner's hands, he read some portion of it to me, and I never saw it afterwards—I was left in possession. Cross-examined. Q. Did you see Griffin read it? A. No, I saw it in his hands, and saw him take it out of the box—I believe he read it, but not to me—he opened it, read the contents, and put it back in the box—there was, I believe, another sheet of paper with it—I did not examine it—the prisoner afterwards took a paper of the same size and colour from a little box with the lid broken off, which lay on the right-hand side of the sideboard, and I saw it in his hands when he was sitting by the table in the same room. MR. METCALFE. Q. Did you hear the prisoner read it out? A. Yes, it was respecting the stock, tools, and furniture—it was a policy. MR. RIBTON objected to any secondary evidence of the contents of the policy, as it was not proved to have been effected by the prisoner, or that he was cognisant of its having been effected. The COURT considered that that would be a question for the Jury. JAMES GRIFFIN (continued). It was headed "Liverpool, London, and Globe Insurance," and purported to be the insurance of Frederick Bicknell, on his furniture and effects and cooper's tools; but there was a clause that they were not to be used on the premises—the house was stated to be 3, Queen's Terrace, and that it was in trust for his wife, a stay and crinoline manufacturer—the policy was stamped—there was 150l. on the furniture and effects, and I think 140l. on the stock in trade, 60l. on the shop fittings and fixtures, and 50l. on cooper's tools, the whole making 400l.—the 23rd October was one date, and another was 9th November—I produce a list of the effects in the various rooms, made by a constable and myself, he wrote it while I called them over—those are all the goods which were on the premises—on the night of the fire I saw the prisoner at his house about twenty minutes past one o'clock with his wife, two children, a little servant girl, and two men—he gained access to-the house by the back door—I know that, because I was at the front door, and he did not pass in that way—the salvage corps man called me, and I found the prisoner in the back parlour—I said to him, "Are you the proprietor of this place?"—he said, "I am; this is a mysterious matter; can you account for it? it is a bad job"—I said, "It is to be hoped you are insured?"—he said, "I have been to an office, but it is so recently that I am not sure they will pay me"—I said, "If you have paid your premium and got your receipt and policy they will pay you"—he said, "If they do not I am a ruined man"—we walked about the premises, and there was a good deal of conversation as to where his family should sleep that night—next day I went to the docks with Mr. Rees, who began to ask the prisoner questions—I said, "You had better stop, I am going to apprehend him; I am not allowed to ask him questions, and you cannot do it"—Mr. Rees said, "You are insured in our office; do you mean to make any claim?"—he said, "Of course I must be recompensed" or "compensated for my loss"—I then took him in a cab to Arbour Square Station and charged him—I found a paraffin lamp, on the night of the fire, standing on the mantelpiece, the chimney was unattached and lay behind the lamp; the fireman raised it and said, "This lamp is empty"—the brass part of the burner was hanging aside loose—these are termed crinolines (produced), but they are not; the waist is sewn together—these three are entirely saturated. Cross-examined. Q. How many firemen were there before you arrived? A. Two or three from Ratcliff station and a small hand engine—the water had not been playing on the flames, they were kicking it out with their feet, and were just about to use a small hand pump, which you can work out of a bucket of water like a large syringe—a bucket or two of water had been thrown before I arrived—I do not know how many, but only on the first floor rooms, which were a little wet—the shop was perfectly dry—they had broken two bars from the landing window where there is a cistern, and they had two buckets—these crinolines are dummies, such as tradesmen hang about—the gas meter is under a framework for goods to be exposed upon, in front of the shop under the window, and the pipe is laid from that—it ascends and runs between the ceiling and the flooring to where the pendant is, and afterwards to where the second batch of paraffin was—the gas pipe was melted—there had been a good deal of fire in the front room when I arrived—the flame had spread through the whole of that room—the fire under the counter was nineteen or twenty feet from the meter—ten persons may have arrived before me—I mean to say that I read the paper so carefully as to tell you the contents—the fire was wholly extinguished then, but I stopped to see the proprietor come home, to judge what I should do—I have used the words "a paper which appeared to be a policy of insurance," because I was not allowed to say that it was a policy, but I know what a policy of insurance is, because I am insured myself—the prisoner came home at twenty minutes to one, and remained about half an hour—he sent his wife away first, and there was a tall gentleman named Strannick; he left the house I think before me—there was a great deal of conversation, and he said he was determined on going to the inspectors of the fire brigade, and they should find him a lodging—I had not drawn his attention to the policy, but I asked him if he was insured—he left saying that he would see the super-intendant, and I left just afterwards—Mr. East came down in the morning, and after a conversation with him I determined to apprehend the prisoner—I found him at his work—he is a foreman cooper at St. Katherine's Docks—his family had gone to 101, East Street, their servant's house—I had a constable to watch them there—I do not know what became of the prisoner—I had a constable to watch him also—he told me that he should go to the fire brigade station, Wellclose Square, and I found that he did so—I have been close upon twenty-one years in the police, and have been to every fire in the district—flame will not often go round corners, but it will follow a gas escape—I have had my attention drawn to many fires, the cause of which was never discovered, and some were very suspicious ones—fires frequently arise from trifling matters—the paraffin lamp on the back parlour mantelpiece, did not appear to have been overturned, there was no paraffin about, nor was the lamp or the glass broken—the shop goes into both rooms, and there is a room built out beyond, which is used as a sitting-room—there were no candles or matches in the shop, they could not have been burnt there unless they were under the counter—this fanlight would shut the view of the flames out from the street, but that would not apply to the fire on the first floor—I saw that on my arrival, and the windows were cracking and flying—the fire originated in two places, lighted within a minute of each other—I should imagine that the fire upstairs was lighted first, a person would not light the downstairs first and go up afterwards, for fear he should not escape. MR. METCALFE. Q. Did the fire between the floor and the ceiling communicate with the fire in the front room? A. Not at all; nor with the counter; there were three independent and distinct fires. JURY. Q. Was the gas turned on at the meter? A. It was turned off when I got there.

Level 218

Dianne Jones on 12th April 2022

TRIAL: 7 January, 1867: Frederick Bicknell was convicted at the Old Bailey, as per the transcript of his case below: "#171. FREDERICK BICKNELL (27), feloniously setting fire to his dwelling house, with intent to defraud. MESSRS. METCALFE and STRAIGHT conducted the Prosecution, and MR. RIBTON the Defence. JAMES GRIFFIN (Police Inspector K). On the night of the 5th December, a few minutes after twelve o'clock, I went to the prisoner's house, 3, Queen's Terrace, Commercial Road, Rotherhithe—I had been to a large fire at Bow Common, and was called from there by Smith, and rode with the salvage corps men on their waggon—when I arrived I found Sherman in the shop—there is a window in the shop door, the shutter of which was driven in, so that there was a large aperture in the door, and the door was found partly open—there were bolts on both sides, and it was still bolted on the back or hinge side, and the socket of the bolt was strained or bent—the shop was full of smoke, and there was a little fire flickering round the gas pendant at the ceiling—some crinolines were hung about the shop suspended to strings—the firemen were at that moment extinguishing a fire under the counter the further end from the shop door, trampling and kicking it—it consisted of paper, a portion of an umbrella, burnt, and the remains of some children's stays, and rags—the fire under the counter was nine feet distant from the fire round the pendant, taking a vertical line, and the face of the counter would prevent any fire falling under it; you have to go round it or over it to look under—there was no fire between the two I have described—I then went upstairs and found a fire on the floor in the front room and firemen extinguishing it—it corresponded with the fire about the pendant downstairs, only that it was larger on the upper side; it was about fifteen inches square, while that underneath was about nine inches by five—the gas pendant was fixed to the rafters of the ceiling—the burner was three feet four inches from the ceiling—the hole immediately over the gas pendant was about fifteen inches square and was completely destroyed—the whole of that room was on fire; it was charred all round—there were two beds in that room about two feet from the square hole and within reach of the flames—I then went to the back room and found the paper all stripped down, from the ceiling downwards, and hanging in festoons across the door about breast high; it had come clean away from the wall, and the part which had been pasted over the door hung across it; it was as if the paste had been damp, it had come away so easily—before I could get into the room I had to divide the paper by a stroke of my hand, as I could not get in walking upright—I then looked under the bed—there was no fire in that room that I observed, but one of the flooring boards was raised about three-eighths of an inch above the level of the others—this is the board (produced)—I examined it again next day, and found it charred on the under side; it smelt strongly of paraffin, which was on the under side, and the edges of the boards on each side were saturated with paraffin—I saw this rubbish (produced) taken from immediately under the board; it was tried there and then, and it burnt as an inflammable oil would burn, though it is ordinary plaster—it still smells strongly—a piece of shaving was also lighted and it burnt—I found the ceiling underneath that place stained with oil to the extent of thirty inches by eighteen—I got a fireman to push a long screwdriver through at that spot, and had a portion of the ceiling cut away with an axe, and have a portion of it here—it smells strongly of paraffin—a piece of it was ignited at the police-court by the Magistrate's order, and it burnt with a clear flame, as gas or oil would burn—I examined the plaster round the gas pendant in front of the shop, and it was in a similar state for about forty-one inches by fifteen (the first place was where the gas pipe goes through to the back of the shop)—I found that that burnt clearly also—the fanlight was obscured by a large piece of board, fastened by two screws at either end, which would prevent the flare of the flame being seen from the street—on the floor of the front kitchen I found some sawdust and small chips of wood, showing that somebody had been at work—I have applied them to the board which was taken down from the fanlight and they correspond—a door was missing from the coal cellar, and I found that it was part of it which was over the fanlight—I found the whole of the door—it had been recently sawn, and I found a saw and sawdust on the cloth of the kitchen table—the fireman handed me, in the parlour on the night of the fire, a bottle of paraffin containing nearly a pint, and I found a paper in a box on the sideboard. (MR. CHARLES YOUNG, solicitor, here proved the service of a notice upon the prisoner, and also upon his solicitor to produce his policy of insurance.) I read the paper to the inspector of the fire brigade, and the superintendent of the salvage corps, and then put it back into the same box—I made a search for it afterwards. Cross-examined. Q. You say that you found a piece of paper? A. Yes, with printing and writing upon it—it was in a little oak box without hinges, about fifteen inches square—there were other papers with it, an agreement for the house, which I read, and the other papers also—there were two papers at least, and a private letter or two, which I did not read.