week for twelve performers? Consider these questions before you be made the dupes of any plausibility, or suffer a band of respectable fellow townsmen to be cast aside by Messrs. Clift, Grenside, etc., to make place for a band of itinerant Germans. [Mr. Grenside had German relations, and Mr. Clift, as a member of the imperious society of H.I.P.S.,[1] two years later, was anything than the best of Mayors or even one of the best].”
As an illustration of the aphorism that “a prophet has no honour in his own country”, this patronage of German bands tended to break up one of the best local bands in Sussex. The new Brass Band, however, could not be put down by any combination. Conscious of its own strength and favoured by the public for its rehearsals of popular music, it had the gratification of seeing the Germans give it a wide berth. It had the further pleasure in a test of ability at Eastbourne with a German band, of carrying off the honours. And here it may be remarked that the said Brass Band could only get paid two guineas for a musical advertisement in a march round both towns and playing all the afternoon at a flower show, whilst by simply playing at the Rye Cottagers’ Show and the Eastbourne and Hailsham Shows it could readily obtain five guineas and all expenses; its pride being further gratified by the posted notices that “The Celebrated Hastings and St. Leonards Brass Band” would be in attendance.
Turning again to the Hastings contention, it is not unlikely that the favour shown to the St. Leonards Brass Band in preference to the German Band, helped to put the Hastings Town Band upon its mettle, the members of which, in the early part of July, challenged the Germans to a musical combat, the conditions being that both bands should use the same sort of instruments, and the judges to be competent, but disinterested persons. The challenge was held to be a fair proposition as a test of skill, but it was not accepted by the Germans themselves nor by the committee on their behalf.
Fires at St. Leonards
In 1851, on the 2nd of February, there was a serious conflagration at where are now 42 to 46, Eversfield Place. These houses were in course of erection and nearly finished. They formed a block by themselves, four of them belonging to Mr. William Winter, a shipwright, of Hastings, and the other —a larger one — to Mr. Voysey, architect and builder, of St. Leonards. The houses were already roofed in and floored, and whilst some of the workmen were on the premises at dinner, a fire that had been lighted and supposed to have been out, was re-kindled by the strong draught from an open window, which scattered the sparks among shavings and thus ignited them into a flame. In a few minutes the fire was communicated to the timbers, which in turn were quickly ablaze, and the roof being as quickly attacked by the flames, afforded only sufficient resistance to send a large volume of smoke and flame through the window openings, thus setting alight also the wooden frames. The roof, too, was soon burnt through, and the immense volume of black smoke which arose therefrom attracted a crowd even as far off as Norman Road. The present writer, with several other persons, hesitated not to rush to the scene, where he found a large number of willing hands exerting themselves to annihilate a fire from which the heat was almost unendurable even in the road. Two engines were already hastening to the conflagration, one belonging to the Hastings Commissioners, which was kept in the Castle parish, and the other belonging to the St. Leonards Commissioners, which was kept in the Victoria Mews. Owing to the want of water, however, they could only be worked by that which was brought up in buckets from the sea, and here a mistake was made by pouring it, unfiltered of its sand and grit, into the engines direct, thus choking the pipes. Next came the three engines that were kept in the late market-place under the Town Hall, the whole five being then assembled within 45 minutes from the time of the discovery. But the fire was then raging fiercely from top to bottom of what we will call No. 2, where it had originated, and had leapt over on each side to Nos. 1 and 3, the party walls not being carried above the roof, so that three out of the four houses belonging to Mr. Winter were now being consumed. Renewed efforts were made to prevent the fire spreading, but the want of water was still the hindrance. Seeing the dilemma, Mr. Clark, proprietor of the new water-works, took a pickaxe and broke into the main, thus affording a sufficient supply for most of the engines to be worked. The Castle engine was the most effective, it having the first pull at the water. The St. Leonards engine was the second in good effects, while the other three, being less powerful, played upon the lower portions of the buildings. After a time a couple of hose did good service by being carried round to the back, and by three o’clock the further spread of the fire was felt to have been stayed. By that time three of Mr. Winter’s houses were roofless, and the fourth nearly so, whilst all the timber was burnt out of one and a good deal of it out of two houses immediately adjoining. But Mr. Voysey’s house was fortunately saved. The damage was estimated at from £900 to £1,000, but the five houses, as a block, were insured for £1,600. Some of the workmen failed to recover their tools, whilst others succeeded in removing them to safer quarters. -
- ↑ Hastings Independent Political Society, which was established in 1851 by a Radical section of the Liberal party, who had got disgusted with the Whiggism of their older colleagues. PEN PORTRAITS OF LOCAL MEN. British Newspaper Archive Hastings & St. Leonards Observer 11 February 1888 Pg. 0006
