Fire at Bigwell House
Fire at Bigwell House is an article published in The Times on 16 august 1929.
"Bigwell House" is mispelled. The house was "Bignell Wood".
Fire at Bigwell House
SIR CONAN DOYLE'S LOSS
(FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT)
SOUTHAMPTON, AUG. 15
Bigwell House, Sir A. Conan Doyle's country residence in Bigwell Wood, Minstead, in the New Forest, suffered extensive damage to-day, when a fire destroyed a great part of the residence. The outbreak was not noticed until it had secured a firm hold of the thatched roof of a portion of the premises. These are over 200 years old. At the time Sir Conan Doyle was taking his usual morning stroll in the forest, where he delights to spend much of his time, and when he was recalled it was to see the flames fiercely pouring from the house. Lady Doyle was in her boudoir at the time, and their two sons, Dennis and Malcolm, and their daughter were also at home.
The outbreak was first noticed by Mr. Ezra, the head gardener, and the thatch was then well alight. It is believed that sparks from the kitchen range had fallen among the thatch and set the roof ablaze. The difficulty of getting a fire brigade to the spot in the early stages of the outbreak was a big obstacle to saving a substantial part of the premises. In fact the fire had been raging for about half an hour before the Southampton fire brigade, having to cover some 10 or 12 miles, was able to respond to the call.
Meanwhile the members of the staff at the house had made great attempts to curb the ravages of the fire. The head gardener mounted to the roof and used fire extinguishers. The younger members of the family also showed great pluck in fighting the outbreak, Miss Gene Doyle [1] busying herself with the hot and risky task of saving as much of the valuable contents as possible.
The members of the house and garden staff worked untiringly, but Sir Conan Doyle told me afterwards that he estimated the loss at about £2,000. "Luckily,"
he said, "this is only my country home and not my headquarters, so that such valuable things as my library were not endangered. We have saved a good deal, but I regret that my son Denis has lost the collection of photographs and skins brought back by him from many parts of the world which he visited with me when on my lecturing tours. He was so unselfish that he did not think for a moment of salving his own collection, but busied himself assisting to save other property."
- ↑ "Gene" is Jean (Lena Annette Jean Conan Doyle).
