Station History - Part 1

The following account was written for the centenary of the founding of Wadebridge Fire Brigade by Peter Tuthill, a well known local author and historian. We would like to thank Mr Tuthill for allowing us to make this excellent history available which was originally published in the North Cornwall Advertiser, spring 2001.

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Being very interested in the history of Wadebridge and also of fire-fighting my attention was drawn to the item in your December issue. I am writing with a little more detail relating to the town¹s brigade and some interesting general facts on the subject

Over a century ago Wadebridge had no fire brigade, in common with many other towns. If a fire occurred, you called for help from the local populace, this was sometimes done by the town crier, and they formed a bucket chain to the nearest source of water - not particularly effective. Insurance companies formed some of the country¹s first fire brigades, you paid for insurance and they gave you a pretty metal plaque to attach to your building. When a fire occurred the brigade would turn out - only to find YOUR metal plaque was from another company, so they either stood and watched or returned to their station. Some people therefore insured with more than one company, what then sometimes ensued were pitched battles between fire crews as to who would have the honour of extinguishing the blaze. Excellent entertainment for the bystanders!

Gradually cities and towns formed their own brigades of volunteers. In some instances the police were also the firemen, in my home town of Penzance the police were at one time responsible also for manning the fire engine and ambulance, as well as maintaining the peace.

In the year 1900 the population of Wadebridge was about 2,000 and the Town Council was only two years old. Quite a number of Cornish towns had formed their own fire brigades, so Wadebridge felt they should also follow this lead, particularly as there had recently been a number of conflagrations in the town. So in September 1900, the Wadebridge Urban District Council, as it was then known, voted to spend up to £1,000 on forming its own fire brigade.

This was speedily organised, and by early October Captain Grant and Sub Captain Bate had been appointed with a crew of seven plus the boy bugler (H. Higman) to alert them all.

Local names featured prominently, such as Lobb, Mathews, Hornabrook, Bonney, Chidgey in that first crew. However so many offered their services that a reserve crew was also formed with further local names to the fore - Nicholls, Harding, George, Knight, Warne, Richards, Lean and Ward. How many of their descendants can remember their relatives serving in the Wadebridge Volunteer Fire Brigade?

The council paid for their clothing, but were unable, or unwilling, to pay for the extra equipment required. They purchased capes, uniforms and boots for each crew member at just under £3.50 per man and special uniforms for the captain and his deputy. The council obtained a horse-drawn steam-powered pump, but the two horses were either lent or hired to tow the steamer.

Further equipment such as hoses, ladders, hooks etc. was approved on condition that the brigade obtained a loan for their purchase, provided they raised the funds themselves to repay the sum within twelve months. Even more difficult were the funds for establishing the first fire station. This was in Eddystone Road. It was the premises used for a number of years by Geoff Searle¹s garage and today by Acorn Antiques, that were occupied by the brigade from its inception until the end of the second world war. The town council had applied to the Local Government Loan Board for some £750 to cover all the expense of setting up the brigade, but this was rejected. Mid Cornwall Rechabite Society were to come to the rescue by lending the money on favourable terms over twelve years, backed by guarantees from two prominent Wadebridge council members.

The Wadebridge Volunteer Fire Brigade were ready and raring to get into action whilst awaiting the construction of their brand new station, and started their training sessions in mid November 1900. Before Christmas that year they staged drills on the town¹s streets using water for the first time from hydrants behind the Molesworth Arms and overlooking the Railway Station, these quickly turned into a spectacle for the town¹s populace. They were not as smooth a demonstration as had been hoped as the hydrants became blocked with stones, resulting in reduced water pressure or in one instance NO water at all, to the acute embarrassment of the volunteers. However, this was better than discovering the problem at an actual fire. The district council, as the responsible authority, were called in to sort the matter out. Mains water had only been introduced to Wadebridge two years earlier via the newly-opened reservoir on top of the hill at Coronation Park.

The Fair Plot, known today as The Platt was the scene shortly afterwards for an official demonstration of the Brigade¹s skills, right in front of the Town Hall, when jets of water reached greater heights than that building¹s roof, drawing forth enthusiastic applause from the watching masses. Water was not the only problem for the new brigade as members left and were replaced in quick succession, reflecting teething problems in setting up a completely new organisation.

By the new year, the fire station was complete and ready for occupation, but on being handed the keys to the premises it was discovered they didn¹t fit the doors. Fortunately this was quickly rectified and the Brigade faced 1901 with enthusiasm, secretly hoping that their new-found skills would soon be put to the test. Finally, at eight o¹clock on the bright morning of April 11th the bugle call sounded in earnest for the volunteers first real test - the locomotive shed of the London & South Western Railway Company was alight. Clouds of grey smoke swept across the town as the crew rushed to the fire station and the crowds to the railway station to watch the drama unfold. In twelve minutes the men had laid some 360 feet of hosepipe and were playing a jet of water on to the roof of the shed, which had been set alight by the heat from the iron chimney projecting through it. By nine o¹clock, in a demonstration of great efficiency, the fire had been extinguished, the hoses had been rolled up, the steamer returned to barracks, the horses back to more mundane duties, the volunteers to everyday work and Wadebridge citizens returned to the humdrum of weekday routine. The town¹s Fire Brigade had performed well on its Baptism of Fire.

This is less than nine month¹s history of the Brigade, but should it be of interest, there are many more stories to be told, both sad and amusing, to fill the remainder of a century of service at Wadebridge.

Peter Tuthill