(35) Pulrose Mill

There was a destructive fire at the mill in 1877 as reported in the Manx Sun 20th January 1877 -

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE.— PULROSE MILL BURNT DOWN.

ON Wednesday night or early on Thursday morning, a, fire broke out in Pulrose mill, occupied by Mr Pettars [sic Petters], which completely gutted the building and destroyed the machinery, a large stock of flour, wheat, &c, stored therein at the time. The fire was not discovered until about five o'clock on Thursday morning, when the crash of the falling roof and the roar of the flames which ascended to a great height in one vast sheet of fire awoke Mr Pettars, who found the whole country round illuminated to such an extent that objects at a great distance could be seen distinctly. Mr Pettars at once got onto one of his horses and came to town to seek assistance, and found that the blaze of the fire had already been seen by a number of persons and an alarm raised. A farmer residing at Kirk Michael, who had started home with his cart, having had business here on the previous day, awoke the Captain of the Fire Brigade, Mr W. Kewley, who was not long in mustering his men, and getting out the hose reel, fire engine, and other apparatus of the Brigade. The Chief-Constable also had all the men of the force then on duty paraded, and proceeded with them to assist the Brigade, which arrived at Pulrose shortly after six o'clock. In the meantime Mr Pettars, with the aid of one or two of his men, had removed his horses and cattle to a place of safety, and Mr Kewley, finding that the mill and its contents were so far destroyed as to render any efforts of the Brigade futile in saving the building, devoted his whole attention to the preservation of the malt kiln, engine-house, and outbuilding adjoining. The mill-race afforded an unlimited supply of water, and as every man on the ground worked with a will, by seven o'clock not only were the buildings referred to made safe, but the fire in the mill considerably reduced. Fortunately the wind, which blew fresh, was in a direction to carry the flames away from the dwelling-house, stables, and shippon [cowhouse], and as soon as the fire had been so far reduced as to lessen the intense scorching heat from the mill, the horses and cattle were brought back and housed, the poor animals having suffered greatly from fright. Two cows were subsequently discovered to be very ill, and but little hope is entertained of the recovery of one of them. The large stock of wheat and flour in the mill becoming mixed with the water from the hose pipes was rapidly solidified by the fire, and became one mass of unleavened bread, in which much of the machinery was embedded. During Thursday this mass continued in a state of redheat, and had not cooled sufficiently yesterday to admit of anyone examining the debris.

Nothing is known as to the origin of the fire. The boiler fires have not recently been lighted, the supply of water having for some time been more than sufficient to work the mill, yet singularly enough it is the opinion of the captain and men of the Fire Brigade that it was at that end of the premises that the fire first broke out. The malt kiln, where there was a fire, is at the opposite end of the mill, which it joins, while the engine and boiler-house is detached. The men employed in the mill report that they left no light behind them in the premises when they went home on Wednesday night at seven o'clock, and that they examined the bearings of the machinery, which they state were quite cool. Nothing indeed is known of the fire except that at about five o'clock Mr Pettars was awoke in the manner already described, and that the glare of the flames lit up the whole country alarming many people in Douglas.

The loss sustained by the owner of the premises and machinery is estimated at more than £1,000, and that by Mr Pettars at £600. The latter had recently got in a large stock of wheat for grinding. Both the mill and stock were insured in the Imperial Fire Insurance Society, of which Mr Spittall is agent here, but not to the full extent of the loss either the owner of the premises or Mr Pettars has sustained.

The Mill was rebuilt by December 1877 but there followed a protracted series of law cases between the Mr Petters, the lessee, who had the mill, farm and meadow on a long lease and the owner's agent on the Island, Mr Spittall, one of which occupied some 16 days of court time with evidence being taken from several millers and millwrights re the quality of the repair work. There was also a criminal case in which Petters was charged with perjury but was acquitted by the jury.

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