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Fire at Grimsthorpe Castle 1899 The outbreak was discovered early on the afternoon of Friday 30th December 1899 in the cellar vaults under the north hall of the castle. Paraffin casks stacked there were ablaze and the flames had spread to the coal store nearby. Grimsthorpe Castle, four miles north west of Bourne, dates back to the 12th century and is Lincolnshire's grandest stately home. It was then owned by the Earl of Ancaster, the Lord High Chamberlain of England, and contained priceless paintings, furniture and art treasures. Lord Ancaster was informed and under his energetic and timely direction, means were promptly adopted to cope with the conflagration. His lordship immediately ordered the gratings and every point of ingress of air to the vaults to be closed with sacking and other material, thus cutting off the supply of oxygen and tending to exhaust the fire by isolation. The castle's own fire brigade, with their splendid manual pump, were speedily at work. The Bourne fire brigade, which had been summoned by telegraph, were under the direction of Captain James Shilcock, Lieutenant F J Clark and chief engineer Teat, and were on the scene with praiseworthy speed, rendering most valuable assistance in mastering the flames. Earth had been thrown on the blazing oil but the cellar doors were burned down. The cellar, in which the oil and coal were stored, was vaulted and made of ancient masonry. It was separated from the thick marble floor of the north hall by a layer of soil. The efforts of the brigades were happily successful in preventing the fire from spreading and by 10 pm, all fear of danger was past. Had it not been for the well-directed and prompt efforts of those involved, the conflagration would doubtless have assumed terrible proportions. Bourne was complimented with having such an efficient fire brigade by Lord Ancaster when opening the Quarter Sessions at the Town Hall on Thursday 2nd January 1900 where he was chairman of the bench. He said that within a short time, the brigade had responded to the call and so materially assisted in preventing the spread of the fire. “Had such assistance not been so promptly forthcoming”, he said, “the consequences might have proved disastrous.” Two weeks later, on Wednesday 10th January, Lord Ancaster again showed his gratitude to the police and firemen for their prompt action and high efficiency in responding to the call and subsequently saving the castle from a serious fire by entertaining them to dinner at the Nag's Head Hotel, then owned by James Shilcock who was also captain of the Bourne fire brigade. The dinner passed very successfully, the toast of "Lord Ancaster and family" being received with enthusiasm. The toast of "The Police Force", to which Superintendent Arnold responded, was heartily received as was also that of "The Fire Brigade", to which Captain Shilcock, Lieutenant Clarke and chief engineer Teat responded. - compiled from news reports in the Stamford Mercury on the 5th and 19th January 1900. 1960 It was Lady Ancaster herself who raised the alarm when fire broke out at Grimsthorpe Castle soon after midday on 23rd May 1960. She telephoned Bourne fire station and told Jack Moody, the officer in charge: "The castle's on fire. Please come quickly." When firemen arrived, the blaze had already taken hold in the top storey rooms of the west wing and a rescue operation was underway with staff and servants trying to save valuable furniture, fittings and decorations. Villagers from nearby Grimsthorpe and Edenham also rushed to help after seeing thick black smoke billowing up from the building into the afternoon sky. Firemen from Bourne were eventually joined by four other brigades from Stamford, Corby Glen, Grantham and Spalding, and by late afternoon they had the outbreak under control. They had to smash holes in the slated roof to reach the seat of the fire that was burning fiercely through the timbers between the roof and ceilings. Water cascaded through two floors, soaking carpets and causing considerable damage to the contents. At the height of the blaze, fire fighters faced a shortage of water and supplies were pumped in from the fishing lake half a mile away. The fire was eventually confined to the roof of the west wing above the library, drawing and living rooms while the work went on to salvage as much as possible. Lord and Lady Ancaster and their agent Mr Stirling Lee helped in the operation by handing rare books and precious ornaments through windows on the ground floor to waiting staff who stacked them on the lawn or in the entrance hall. But the damage was extensive and ran into several thousands of pounds and affected not only the structure of the house but also paintings, furniture, linen and carpets. An investigation later revealed that the outbreak had started in part of the roof where painters had been at work. Return to Grimsthorpe Castle
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