DID you know the present layout of Caistor was influenced by the Great Fire of 1681? On April 7 of that fateful year, the fire started in the house of John Sheriffe and from his home the flames spread rapidly.
A report of the fire was in the Parish Register: 'In ye space of three or foure houres (at the furthest) were consumed and burnt down to ye ground, ye greater half of ye dwelling houses, barnes, stables and outhouses in the town, with all ye shops and warehouses (save one Mercer's shop in ye Beast Market). Five and fourty families were made desolate and without habitation.'
The damage was estimated at £6,786 and a brief was issued for the relief of the sufferers. Several people died in the flames and are recorded in the Register of Burials. Nicholas Elston was one of the victims and his death is set down in the register as follows: 'NICHOLAS ELSTON FILUS ELIZABETHAE VID: INCENDIO CONSUMPTUS SEPULT (Buried) APRILIS 8VO.'
There were collections in England for the relief of the victims. Here are three examples:
September 17 1682 Compton, Hampshire, 4s 8d collected.
July 9 1682 Caxton, Holderness, 2s 10d collected.
July 9 1682 Bideford, Devon, 5s 7d collected.
The rebuilding of the Caistor Square in brick instead of wood gave us the present town centre. Caistor House was built in 1682 and was the first house built after the fire. The Sessions House, built in 1662 and used as a Magistrates Court, is the oldest building in Caistor to have survived the flames.
| Caistor
House, built in 1682. It was the first to be built after the Great Fire. (LO) |
The Sessions House
– the oldest building in Caistor. It survived the Great Fire of 1681. (LO) |