CURIOUS BUILDING ACCIDENT.

Press, Volume L, Issue 8480, 11 May 1893, Page 3

CURIOUS BUILDING ACCIDENT.

Our Timarn laub night us follow*:— A ciu'ious kind of building accident occurred hure at midday by the partial coUapau or the two Ktny atone an<l brick «hop occupied by RadciUl. cabiiieLiuakcr, JJeavvick etrot-t. The Colonial Investment Company, ownere of mc adjoining email couiur lob, aro ulioul to buiid a shop and olliocs, ami the contractor tain morning began work ou thts foundations. In levelling the tsito the baao of Hit* wall of Uado;itF.s shop woe exposed. It had hoi buen sunk inuult boiow the bind; aoil in the firet instance. To inuliu i!» position wow, a small trowcli was dug al<Mrg titu clu.y bu.ee of the wall, lo ba iil.ul wita concrete for the foiuidution of a. wull of the' now building. Tlio clay was soft from the continuous raiiitt, and the woiglit of the chop wall, bluodtone iv the lower, brick in tlio uppor utorcy, wan too much tor ,U'» clay basement. Tlio clay w.ta ciusliod und the bottom of the wall hank and elid out* wards. The moverneut woe more piououueed at tlio front corner. Aa soon v? a symptom of failure appeared v sliore wae applied at tho upper Jlooi , level, and noma shorter ones -to prevent tho base of tlio wall from going further out. TJie subsidence, however, coutinued and /or some time the creaking and opening of cracks in tho walls tsoevned to threaten an immediate fall of the side and ftonc walla. Tiie *hop was full of furniture, pictures, &c, and tho crowd Bet to work to get out some of the most 1 valuable articles, Bideboards, &c. At first they worked iv some trepidation, and under repeated cautions of the danger they ran, but the cracking ceased, and they worked until both the lower and the upper floors were cleared. The building ntill stood, the damaged walls, it was supposed, being held frein falling by the'floor and roof tying them to the other aide of the building. The Colonial Investment Company are Radcliffa ground landlords, and instructed Mr Merchant to take charge. Mc Marchant sent for scaffold poles, and with them, the walls havo been shored up, so that the building cam bo taken down and the material saved from destruction by falling. The street has been fenced across to lessen the risk to townspeople. At the time of telegraphing (9 p.m.) work ia in full progress, and before morning it is expected that the top story will be all down. The building was a very old one, and had been up over twenty years, and both brick and stone work show very poor material &nd iudii< ferent workmanship in construction.