There have been two large scale fires in the history of Kettering. They wiped out a lot of the old town, giving way to the Victorian and Edwardian buildings that stand today.
The First Fire
26 July 1744
The First Great Fire of Kettering broke out on a summer evening, and lasted for four hours.
The fire started in a kiln used for drying oats. A map of Kettering from the 1720s shows a kiln near the end of what is now Lower Street. The close together buildings and land seem to match the descriptions of what was burned in the fire.
It didn’t take long for Kettering’s (still surviving!) community spirit to spring into action. A formal appeal was printed in the local papers, detailing the damage and the needs of the victims. A team of trusted volunteers, pillars of the community, was appointed to collect and distribute the charity.
The Second Fire
05 November 1766
The Second Great Fire of Kettering started on Guy Fawkes Night. The Mayor had ordered that no bonfires were to be built, and no squibs or crackers (fireworks) were to be thrown.
But some young boys were playing with fireworks. One of their squibs ignited a thatch roof near the Swan Inn, and reached Kettering Bridewell, which was behind what is now called The Sound Bar.
As the Swan Inn is usually associated with the establishment on Montagu Street, this raises an interesting question: how did the fire cross the open space of the Horse Market, to reach the Bridewell?
It seems that an older establishment was named The Swan Inn, which was on the corner of High Street and Parkstile Lane, later Market Street. According to a letter from the estate of Rockingham Castle, as establishment of that name had occupied the space since at least the sixteenth century.
The building which is currently there bears a date plate of 1834. By this point, the Swan Inn had moved, and Dulmore Street had changed its name after it “for many years.”
The response to the fire was quick: the thatch roof was quickly torn down to stop the fire from spreading. This seemed to have worked, but some embers were still smoldering.
It wasn’t long before the fire reignited. This renewed blaze lasted for several hours.
In less than a month, another (much smaller) fire hit Kettering. But this time, it was deliberate…
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Note: this piece has been amended due to further research.
Sources
Adkins, W.R.D. (1908) Victoria County History of Northamptonshire Vol 3
Newspapers.com
Wise, C. (1891)
Jack Preston 