Warwick Tower

Erected in 1899 - a 150ft iron tower with a revolving observatory platform capable of seating 200. Named after Thomas Warwick, a London engineer, who obtained the UK concession for this American design. A steam powered lift took visitors up to the platform.

[From Isle of Man Times 1 September 1900]

Big Blaze on Douglas Head

A Brilliant Fire.

The wooden pavilion at the foot of the Warwick Tower on Douglas Head formed a magnificent bonfire on Tuesday evening, and the visitors staying in the town appreciated it as a brilliant if costly spectacle provided for their entertainment. About a quarter past ten o'clock the place was discovered to be on fire, and within a very few- minutes was in full blaze, the structure being composed almost of match-boarding which flared up with extreme rapidity.

Thousands of visitors hastened to the spot, and all roads to Douglas Head were thronged with hurrying crowds, the ferry and the harbour bridge doing a big business. In addition, there were other large crowds gathered on the Piers, the Promenades, or wherever a view of the conflagration could be obtained, and many people stayed out watching the brilliant spectacle until a late, or rather an early hour.

Mr Wallis the pianist at the Head Hotel, on his way to town, was the first to discover a quavering light within the pavilion, and ascertaining that the place was on fire, he hurried back to the hotel, from where a message was telephoned, to the Fire Station. The fire was seen to have started in the south-west side of the buildings, near where the engine-house was situated, and the roof of this part blazed up with a tremendous volume of flame and smoke owing to the large quantity of pitch and tar which had been placed on it to make it weather proof. The building was of as inflammable a nature as it is possible to conceive of. The lower portion of the side walls was composed of brick, and above this all was woodwork, with a corrugated iron roof, supported on wooden beams. The whole of the interior was match-boarded and varnished and the stalls and fittings inside were of the lightest description, and such as would easily catch fire. From the nature of the building it will then be seen with what ease and rapidity the fire spread. Before the Brigade arrived the whole of the place was a mass of seething flame, which leapt up into the air, fanned by a breeze from off the sea, and lighted up the whole vicinity as bright as day. Had all the Brigades in England been on the spot, they would not have been able to save the building under such conditions, The immense body of flame which burst, up reaching almost to the summit of the Tower, about which the blazes turned and clung in gorgeous brilliance. The members of the Douglas Brigade arrived within half an hour, but were seriously handicapped in their work. The town water mains only reach to Fort Anne Hotel, and although practically the whole of the Head is within the boundaries there is no water supply to meet such exigencies as this. Capt. O'Hara tried to get a supply from a tank up at the back of the Hotel, but the water was so shallow that the pumps would not draw. Then he tried to pump water through the hose from the hydrant at the end of the town mains. but could not get sufficient power, and finally he obtained Mr Marsden's permission to open up the wall below the hotel, and from here, fortunately, a plentiful supply was obtainable. When the water was, at last, available the fire had obtained full control in the pavilion, and the roof had just fallen into the fiery furnace. Capt. O'Hara recognised that it was useless to try and do any good here, and directed the efforts of his men to preventing the fire spreading, and to protecting the engine boiler at the foot of tower. This boiler caused considerable anxiety for some time. With the heat of the flames it became absolutely red-hot, and the steam rose within it to full pressure. Had the cold water from the hose fallen on it in this condition it would certainly have burst, and the consequences would have been disastrous to the tower and the property in tho neighbourhood. and also to the people, of whom there were now some thousands, who had gathered to witness the fire. Capt, O'Hara himself took change of the hose, and used the utmost care to avoid ruining the boiler, and finally, as the fire burned low, the boiler cooled and the danger passed off. At the back of the Tower was a large platform on which the passengers landed after their aerial trip, and this received particular attention from the Brigade, as it was feared that if this burned the flames might spread to the gorse and bracken on the Head, and do immense damage. The men were able to check the flames in this quarter, and the platform was only partially damaged.

At the time of the outbreak the cage which takes passengers up the Tower was at the bottom, and the balance weights, of which there are four, each weighing five tons, were suspended at the top by means of the steel hawsers, which pass over the pulleys. With the tremendous heat round the foot of the tower, the wire ropes stretched and broke, and the weights fell to the ground with a fearful crash about half an hour after the fire began, causing, as they fell . considerable damage to the girders, and playing general havoc with the winding gear, and other machinery at the bottom. The Tower itself is probably perfectly sound and secure. The main girders and principal supports, from the thickness and strength of the metal, seem to have successfully resisted the fierce heat which surrounded the foot of the Tower, but several of the cross girders and struts are burned and twisted and will have to be replaced, while others are damaged by the failing weights. The cage is damaged probably beyond repair, the iron rods of which it was mostly made having been twisted and turned into most eccentric shapes. The machinery and winding gear are very seriously damaged by fire and the falling weights. Several of the winding drums were broken by the masses of iron failing from the top of the Tower. The electrical equipment has almost disappeared the remains of two dynamos alone standing. With the exception of the machinery and plant, £50 to £100 will probably put the main Tower into its original condition, though an exhaustive inspection will no doubt be necessary before it is allowed to be operated again. The Tower and the Pavilion were insured with the Law Union and Crown Insurance Co., of Manchester and London.

Mr G. Bailey managed the Tower for Mr Warwick, the owner, and Mr Bailey, and his brother, Mr D. Bailey, were tenants of the Pavilion. Mr D. Bailey superintended the refreshment room, automatic machines , and side shows, and in this portion of the premises the loss accruing to him and his brother will be about £500, only a portion of which is covered by insurance. There were no less than 16 automatic Machines destroyed, in addition to a number of "cosmoscopes" and "eriscopes," the latter of which belonged to Messrs Haden and Urry, of Islington, London. Messrs' Stewart and De Witt had a waxwork show an the premises, in which they had 36 figures valued roughly at £5 each They were wholly uninsured. A quantify of other valuable property is also lost, including the contents of a jewellery stall. A "Mermaid" was on show in one comer of the building, but Miss Mermaid was an interested spectator of the ruins next morning. In Mr Bailey's office there was a sum of about £15 in gold and silver. The heat raged most furiously round this part of the building, and all that has been recovered of the money is a few shapeless "blobs"' of metal. This represented the takings during the day on the Tower, and will be a further loss to Mr Warwick.

Mr Bailey says that he left the building at a quarter to eight, after dismissing the employees and locking up the premises, as was his custom each evening. He received news of the fire shortly after ten o'clock when in town. He can give no explanation of the origin of the fire, and says that so far as he can ascertain by looking round it would appear the fire started in the engine house. Needless to say, Mr Woodcock, whose premises are situated so close to the Tower, had a very uncomfortable and anxious time. Mr Woodcock told our representative that his wife was the first, of the family to notice the fire just as it must have been originating. Thinking it was their own premises that were afire. Mrs Woodcock immediately raised an alarm. Mr Woodcock at once despatched his wife to awaken her daughters who had retired to bed. On arriving at the door she found that the knob was off, and in the momentary excitement the door of the bedroom had to be burst open. By this time, however, Mr Woodcock had found out that it was the Tower that was on fire, and, he states, not many minutes elapsed before the whole thing was one great blaze. In his opinion, and from what he saw, the fire started at the west end of the Pavilion, where the engine house is situated ; but he pointed out that immediately behind this is a boiler and stove to supply hot water and make ice for the refreshment stall. The roof of the engine house and 'lavatories, he said, would burn rapidly as they were thickly coated with tar and pitch, six barrels of which were put on during the winter months to prevent the rain from getting in. The Fire Brigade were quickly on 'he spot, and immediately began to try to check the fire with buckets of water from the Hotel. Finding that this was useless. Capt. O'Hara was allowed to open a well, directly opposite Mr Woodcock's premises. A plentiful supply was secured from this source, and water was played on the flames by the Brigade until four o'clock next morning. Between 12 and one o'clock Mr Bailey came to Mr Woodcock and told him he had better get out of his premises as they feared the Tower was going to come down, as it had then shifted a bit. Previous to this, however, the four balance weights, each of which weighed five tons, and which were suspended from the top of the Tower by steel hawsers, fell with a great crash, breaking the machinery at the foot and causing damage to the girders in their descent. Mr Woodcock and his family were obliged to keep out of the house until after one o'clock for fear of their premises catching fire, and the house could not have been saved if the wind had been in the opposite direction. Mr Woodcock had no fear for the safety of the main Tower, as he saw the whole thing constructed, and says that the four main girders are set in 10 feet of concrete, over 100 tons of cement alone being contained in the foundations. There was never a building in the Island, says Mr Woodcock, that had better stuff put into it.

An excellent photograph of the fire as it appeared between half-past 10 and a quarter to 11 o'clock was secured by Messrs Homer and Chadwick, who do business at what was formerly Mr Champion Bradshaw's studio, in Finch-road, Douglas. The photo makes an effective picture, the glare of the fire showing up splendidly, and lighting up the Tower girders in weird fashion. The photo is taken by the Bromide process, and copies may be obtained. Other photographers in the town have views of the Tower, both as before and after the fire.

References

 G. Kniveton (et al) Douglas Centenary (ISBN 1-873120-21-4) 1996 p45