WINDSOR CASTLE’S ESCAPE

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 May 1933, Page 9

WINDSOR CASTLE’S ESCAPE

BEAM SMOULDERING FOR WEEKS ' LONDON, March 19. Windsor Castle has hud a narrow escape from fire. Canon H. Blackburne and his wife have lived for a fortnight in. their house in Dean’s Cloisters at. Windsor Castle, unaware . that during that period the house has been on fire. It was only Mrs Blackburne’s keen sense of smell that Jed to the fire being discovered and saved Windsor Castle from what would have probably been a serious outbreak. When Mrs Blackburne was going to bed on Tuesday night she smelt burning. Canon Blackburne summoned the police, and for an hour he and a police-sergeant tried in vain to discover the source of the fire, though the smell of smoke grew stronger.

Eventually they found that one of the oak beams many hundreds of years old, was smouldering. Immediately the Castle Fire Brigade, under Mr Chadwick, were summoned and dealt with the outbreak.

“It was most difficult to locate the outbreak,” Mrs Blackburne said yesterday. “The oak beam which was on fire is concealed between the ceiling of the drawing room and the floor of the room above it. The smoke and the smell of burning came up through fhe walls into my room. The fire brigade worked splendidly, but. it was several hours before they could get the fire out.

“The beam had apparently been smouldering for some weeks and it was a mercy that wo noticed it rvlicn we did. My husband has been .for some time in Khartoum and we only came back to the house a fortnight ago. The cause of the fire is an absolute mystery.” Dean’s Cloisters, whidh were built by Edward 111, are one of the oldest, parts of Windsor Castle. A great deal of wood was used in their construction.