Image ID: 06637

George Winn's Fish and Rabbit shop, Ironmonger Lane

Courtesy of Antoine

Market Place
Newark on Trent
England

George Winn's Fish and Rabbit shop was one of the premises in Ironmonger Lane, a small thoroughfare squeezed in between the present row of shops on the North side of the Market Place and the Parish Church. Ironmonger Lane was completely demolished in 1892. In recent years a pleasant walkway and cycle park have been created here, but up until just over 100 years ago this narrow space was occupied by a second row of buildings, hard up against the South side of the Church. Here were located a tallow chandlery, slaughterhouse, stables and a fish and rabbit shop owned by George Winn. In warm weather the smell from the slaughterhouse was said to be so pungent that it drove the Church congregation to pews on the other side of the building. On the night of December 23, 1891, a disastrous fire broke out in the premises of James Knight, draper, in the Market Place. The windows were bedecked for Christmas and as Knight's shop boy lit the gas to illuminate them, some of the decorations caught fire. The flames spread rapidly threatening the whole block of buildings on the North side of the Market Place and those in Ironmonger Lane behind. In Wilkinson's tallow chandlery in Ironmonger Lane there were large stores of candles and it was feared that if these caught fire the Church itself might be in danger. Fortunately the fire engine from Warwick's Brewery soon arrived on the scene and poured water over the rear of the burning buildings effectively halting the progress of the flames. The town fire brigade tackled the blaze from the Market Place in front, and together they succeeded in bringing the fire under control. The Church was saved but damage amounting to about

Date: 1891

Organisation Reference: NCCE001063

Organisation: