Lindfield's volunteer fire brigade
1910
By Richard Bryant and Janet Bishop, Lindfield History Project Group
Today, with the aid of telecommunications, prompt response to an emergency such as a fire is taken for granted. Things were a little different up to the end of the 19th century, as individuals had to deal with fires themselves and hopefully with the help of neighbours. In 1899, the Lindfield Parish Council decided to form a volunteer fire brigade to provide fire cover for the parish.
For the next ten years, the brigade had only basic equipment transported on a cart. This was stored in a lean-to against the wall of the old National School Room, now part of Old School Court, off Lewes Road. The Parish Council agreed to a significant upgrade in October 1909 and a Merryweather Greenwich Gem horse-drawn steam fire pump was purchased at a total cost of £276-15s-0d, with two thirds coming from public subscription. While delivery was awaited, the council searched for a suitable building to house the new equipment.
Fortuitously, at the same time a search was being undertaken to find a village centre site for the proposed village hall. Walter Sturdy of Paxhill owned Pear Tree House, on the corner of Lewes Road, and donated part of its garden for the hall. This included the redundant former stables at the rear of the King Edward Hall site: this was offered by the Hall committee to the council for use as a fire station. Following an inspection in July 1910, the Council agreed to lease the building at an annual rent of £5-0s-0d.
The interior of the building was fitted out with match boarding to a height of seven feet with a shelf above; it is believed this remains in place. The doors were duly painted bright red, and Lindfield became the proud owner of a new fire station.
The eagerly awaited fire engine arrived in March 1910 and on 19th March the Merryweather trainer arrived to instruct the firemen, and the first public display of the fire engine and its capabilities was given to a large crowd on the Common the following day. They were amazed a jet of water could be thrown to a height of 140 feet.
In 1910, having a modern fire engine did not mean a speedy turnout. On receipt of a message, call-out boys had to find and alert the firemen. On their arrival at the fire station, the fire engine had to be manhandled outside and the coal fire boiler lit to produce steam to work the water pump. It could be drawn at a gallop by a pair of horses and if necessary, the fire lit and stoked on the move. The horses had to be fetched from the livery stable. At that time, G T Ward of the Bent Arms was the council’s horsing contractor.
The services of the fire brigade were not free, and the parish council kept them under regular review. In 1914, the call-out charge for the fire engine and hose cart outside the parish boundary was £3-3s-0d and £1-1s-0d respectively for the first three hours. A reduced hourly rate applied after that period. There was no charge if the fire was within the parish boundary. Regardless of the fire’s location, a charge applied for each fireman attending, this ranged from 5s-0d an hour for the officers to 3s0d for the men; additional time was at a lower rate. A £1-10s-0d engine cleaning charge was payable, with horse hire and coal also to be paid. From this it would appear that horses were hired for each call-out and not owned by the Council.
In April 1912, the brigade was called to a house fire at Chailey Heritage School, and the charge was £16-8s-6d, of which £9-12s-6d was paid to the firemen. The fire caused damage estimated between £500 and £1,000. A major house fire was an unusual occurrence, although chimney fires happened from time to time; if not extinguished, they could result in a serious fire.
Following the outbreak of the Great War, conscription was introduced in 1916, and three Lindfield firemen received their call-up papers. John Sharman, Captain of the Lindfield Fire Brigade, applied to the local tribunal for their exemption. Their jobs did not warrant exemption, but John Sharman suggested their voluntary fire service was of national interest. Asked how many and types of fires attended, the answer was about two hay rick fires a year. Unsurprisingly, exemption was refused, with one tribunal member commenting ‘that the most useless thing in a country district was a Fire Brigade’. Nevertheless, hayrick fires could be difficult to extinguish; a 40-ton stack at Oathall Farm took over 30 hours to extinguish.
Undoubtedly the brigade’s finest hour came in late October 1920 with a major fire at the Bent Hotel. The Mid Sussex Times reported: ‘so alarming did the situation become that the fire brigades at Lindfield, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath were summoned, and but for their persevering efforts the Hotel would undoubtedly have been burnt to the ground’. The roof and top floor bedrooms were extensively damaged. A report and photograph even made the national Sunday Pictorial newspaper.
By the 1930s, the horse-drawn steam pump was completely outdated and residents were putting pressure on the council to acquire a modern fire appliance. However, in 1934 the Lindfield Parish Council was stood down and replaced by Cuckfield Urban District Council. Fire cover for the parish was then provided by the Cuckfield Urban District Council from fire stations in South Road and New England Road, Haywards Heath. The Lindfield Fire Brigade was duly disbanded. In May 1934, the council sold the fire engine to the Wakehurst Estate for £32 10s 0d.
With the advent of World War II, additional wartime fire cover was required and the old fire station was pressed into service again as an auxiliary fire station. Electric lights and a heater were installed, and the building fitted out with sleeping quarters, so that the volunteer firemen could stay at the station overnight, the time when bombing was most likely to occur. A nameplate above the door humorously read ‘Ye Olde Lyndfielde Firemen’s Dugout’. The air raid warning siren for the village was mounted above the building. Lindfield AFS was equipped with a 1932 Chevrolet 30 cwt truck and two new trailer pumps. The fire station closed at the end of the war and is now the store for Lindfield Dramatic Club.
As an end note, until recent years a wall-mounted cabinet at Old Place contained fire hoses, standpipes and axes clearly stamped ‘Merryweather’. Could these have come from the old Lindfield Fire Brigade?
Contact Lindfield History Project Group via https://lindfieldhistoryproject.group/