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A56816
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The state of Northampton from the beginning of the fire Sept. 20th 1675 to Nov. 5th represented in a letter to a friend in London and now recommended to all well disposed persons in order to Christian-charity and speedy relief for the said distressed town and people / by a country minister.
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Pearse, Edward, 1631-1694.
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1675
(1675)
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Wing P987; ESTC R12097
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15,327
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25
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THE State of Northampton From the beginning of the FIRE Sept. 20th 1675. to Nov. 5th Represeâ—â—ed in a Letter to a FRIEND in LONDON And now recommended to all well disposed Persons in order to Christian-Charity and speedy Relief for the said distressed Town and People By a Country Minister Licensed Nov. 22. 1675. Roger L'estrange LONDON Printed for Jonathan Robinson at the Golden Lion in St. Pauls Churchyard and William Cookeraine Bookseller in NORTHAMPTON 1675. THE State of Northamton FROM The beginning of the Fire Sept. 20th 1675. to Nov. the 5th c. SIR IF I had not expected a true and full Account of the beginning and Progress of the dreadful Fire at Northampton as also of the Losses State and Relief of that distressed People from a faithful and able hand I should have laboured to have prepared this such as it is sooner for your satisfaction I do not pretend to inform you with every Circumstance and Accident that 's not to be looked for Because I know none that had so much leisure from their own or other Mens Conceâ—nments as to observe and trace the Motions of that terrible Element which was that day carried up and down upon the Wings of a strong and violent Wind. And indeed I find in mine own diligent enquiry even of understanding Men that it is as impossible for a Man who imploys all his endeavours to save his own Goods and Life in one part of a Street to tell me when and in what House the Fire brake out in another place distant from him as it is for a Soldier whose Life is engaged in a narrow particular Station to relate what was out of his sight done in every Wing in every Regiment Troop or Company much more in every Rank and File of the whole Army at once engaged and spread over all the Field as this Fire was spread over the Body and all parts of the Town The All-seeing Eye of the Lord of these mighty Hosts of Fire and Wind can give an exact and perfect Story of every particular Action of that fatal Day No one Man can nor many Men apart because they were not in every place nor observed all things but as each one gives in his Observation which must be gathered together to make a Story so it must be taken up And this I assure you that I gathered these following passages as well as I was able and from persons as able to inform me and as distinctly related as can be expected from persons under the disorders of Care Fear and Amazement at the same time That I may represent Northampton in its Ruines it may not be amiss to present the Figure and Scituation of it as it stood and flourished A Description of the Town because some may peruse these lines that knew it not and the better conceive the course of the Fire which I shall shew you and the great alteration of it from a Beautiful Town to Pitts and Rubbish Northampton might well contend with the best inland-Inland-City or Town that is not seated upon a Navigable River for sweet and wholsom Air pleasantness of Scituation plenty and cheapness of Corn and Butchers Meat good ancient Buildings dry and commodious Cellarages broad and cleanly Streets a spacious Market-Hill fine and profitable Gardens and Orchards within the Walls while it was Beautified and honoured with their standing The Prospect of it was very delightful from Queens-Cross which stands upon a Hill in London-Road within a Mile distance from it You come down from that Cross to a Bottom called Gotton-end and from thence Of which seâ—â— Mr. Cambdeâ—â— passing a fair Stone-Bridg over the River Nen or Nine you entred the Town on a flat till you come within the South-Gate and thence keeping the Northern-Road you went out at the North-Gate overcoming three Ascents The first in the Bridg-street as somewhat steep but was made easie by the diverting sight of good Buildings on either hand and a neat Front on the top of that Street You might observe the Town divided into East and West to the West-Gate through the Gold-Street by St. Peters Church to the East-Gate fetching a little compass by All-Hallows Church through Abingdon-Street near St. Giles's Church From the top of the first Ascent leaving on the right hand that great and well-built Church All-Hallows the chief in the Town you come into the Drapery a broad and for the most part a well-built Street and finely fronted with graceful Houses on the Right-hand of which was one of the best open-Market-places in England This second Ascent was more easy and leisurely than the former and turning a little on the Left-hand you went through the Sheep-Street up a moderate Ascent to the North-Gate having St. Sepulchres Church on the Right-hand By this Description of the Town you imagine that it stood on a side of a Hill facing the South-Sun and that the middle and lowest part was sheltered from the North-Wind That it was divided into four Quarters had four great Gates East West North and South and had a Church in every Quarter only All-Hallows stood Southward and near the heart of the Town The civil Division of it was into five Wards distinguished from the four Winds or Quarters and the fifth was the Chequer-Ward in the middle And now I may say what and more than the Men of Jericho said to Elisha The Scituation is pleasant but the Water is naught and the Ground barren Northampton was Beautiful for the Scituation the Water good and the Ground about it rich It stood above the River which ran in the South beating on both sides upon very rich Meadow down quite to Peterborow And at which Gate soever you went out you went out of a sweet Town into a rich and noble Champion But now alas the Glory and Beauty of it overthrow is more than scorched with Fire it is vanished into Smoak The great and goodly Church is become its own Sepulchre and the Cellars the Graves and Pits into which the best contrived Dwellings are tumbled and hurried It was a City upon a Hill but now God hath turned it into a burning Beacon to give warning to Towns and Cities of Judgments that may suddenly invade them and break in upon them except they receive and obey his Laws and cease to provoke him by their tolerated Disobedience God began with London is come as far as Northampton to execure his Judgments who knows whither he will Ride next in a Burning Charior and where he will make an end Were those Citizens and these Townsmen sinners above all Men I tell you Nay but except you repent c. Have not you your sins also yea London sins as rife as Fashions Nothing hath happened to them but what may be common to you when ever God's forbearance is come up to an end The Heart of London and the Heart of Northampton were Burnt out in the same Month who can secure themselves till September
than Country-Ash By this means Workmen came in go on not being beaten off with Weather By this means raw Walls new-Sawn and unseason'd Boards have been aired and seasoned by this means full Markets have come in and the Market-Man hath not felt the inconvenience of a bad Standing for himself and Horses And Lastly by this means Northampton is brought up a little above its Ruines and her New-Buildings to imitate Bartholomew-Fair And in this Posture I shall leave it praying heartily that God would speak to Northampton It shall be built and take pleasure in the now distressed People and their Posterity Observations upon the Fire And now Sir there remains but the last part of this Trouble and I will relieve your Patience by a Conclusion namely some Observations upon or rather drawn from this Severe but Righteous Providence which speaks to other Places with a loud Voice 1. It hath pleased God to strike at all Conditions of Persons and all the Sins of the Town He hath in great Mercy passed over the Houses of many of the Gentry who lived there for their own Pleasure or Conveniency which hath proved a great Relief to many of the Distressed Neighbours but many of that Quality do also bear their share of Loss and Trouble I desire not to be Critical or Censorious God took in all together the Righteous and the Wicked fare alike though for different Ends It hath happened to the Good to make them better with a gracious Design no doubt And to the Wicked God saith Why will you Die He stretcheth out his Hand to them but if they turn not he hath whet his Sword c. The Long-suffering of God which waited but till the Flood doth wait for their Repentance after the Fire O that they would flie from Wrath to come There were and are in Northampton good Figs very good Such as obey every Ordinance of Man for the Lord's sake whether the King as Supreme c. Such as feared God and wrought Righteousness But as the good Figs were to go to Captivity so â—ow these shall pass through a Burning Furnace And there were very naughty Figs evil very evil that cannot be eaten And so much the worse because God came long expecting Fruit having long been a Husbandman to it and more especially to that Parish that is almost totally destroyed God hath diminished two other Parishes St. Peter's Is it not a little one is spared entire there was Iniquity in those Skirts But why God should stretch out his Hand with a flaming Sword over All-hallows more than others â—moâ— 3.2 I can give no other Reason but that of the Prophet You have I known of all the Families of the Earth therefore will I Punish you for your Iniquities They have been better Taught than others and made the chief Parish in Town God sent to them Prophets and Wise-Men and Scribes he hath been a Reprover of them all Few Parishes perhaps I am sure I know but few that have had such Labourers as they for Five Successions Security Luke-warmness and bearing them that are Evil are the Sins that God took worse from Magistrates and People than from other Towns How hath the Spirit of God striven with them and within this Year They know the occasion And Fools that make a mock of Sin may now believe that God can be in Earnest O Lord Laugh not at their Calamity who have set at naught thy Counsel and would none of thy Reproof and let them not be as Dross in the Furnace 2. God hath dealt with Northampton in this Fire mixing Mercy with Judgment as in other Providences Here is Mercy and Judgment Patience and Fury How shall I give thee up Ephraim c. He hath made their Houses like Adma but to the People he saith Yet how shall I give thee up Some that were fallen into Fellowship with gross works of Darkness had a long time of Languishing and Repentance and gave Signs of it discovered and warned others But their Companions went on How then Have some escaped What Execution hath God done in the Face of the World in open Streets Night-walking boldness in Sin Swearing and Drunkenness punished in open Streets by sudden Death Remember Lots Wife Remember S's F's O's Wife There was Mercy and here Judgment Of Consorts and Companions that Grind in the same Mill of Sin one shall be taken and another left 3. From the unhappy Hand that kindled this Dreadful Fire I observe that they who escape deserved Punishments may be justly made the unhappy Instruments of punishing those that should have been justly severe with them And it may give notice to Magistrates to look after the Skirts the Back Lanes of their Towns that Iniquity lodg not there The Cages of unclean Birds may bring whole Towns to Ruine 4. It is Marvellous that a Fire breaking out at Noon-day should get so much strength in so short a time consume so many Goods and Houses yea take away so many Lives Eight Persons Burnt Besides two Women and a young Youth Killed by the fall of a stack of Chimneys since as Eight Persons And on the contrary it seems to me a wonderful Mercy that so few perished in the Fire when I consider with what a mighty stream and force the Fire and Wind came on in some narrow Passages that many People were Spent and Faint their Spirits spent their Eyes dazeled or blinded with Dust and Smoak that some Houses fell down when Persons were running by for Life and that many had no other Passage open to fly for their Lives but by venturing close by raging Fire And here I may add what I received from a very worthy Friend that he saw a Country-Fellow bring up a Barrel of Gun-powder out of an Apothecaries Cellar when the Goldâ—â—â—â—â— was Burning and covering it with his Coat went away with it in his Arms which might have been his own Death and the Death of many others 5. Whereas some may look upon this as casually begun and grown to so great a Mischief by Over-sights and Neglects of People I cannot but see a great Plot of many conspiring Circumstances and all laid by the Holy Just Wise and Absolute Lord both for Punishment Correction and Trial. I will Sum those that readily occur That the Wind should fit so full upon that part of the Town that the Fire should kindle in a Street so combustible far from Help speedily to Suppress it so Level upon the principal Places of the Town That it should flie so far as the East in a very little while that the Heart of the Town should be Environed and Barricado'd with Flames that there was no getting in no getting out for Teams when they would have done most good when the Shops and Houses were most Emptied and laid out of Doors ready to be carried away How easily might Teams have cleared the Market-Hill and Church-yard if the Four great Avenues and Passages had been passable How little did many Towns think Northampton to stand in so much need of Help These and more being put together make me Conclude Is there Evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it God is known by the Judgments which he Executeth Selah Go ye now unto my Place which was in Shiloh where I set my Name at the first and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my People Israel Jer. 7.12 And now Sir because I said I will conclude I will instead of making an Apologie for my self Why so late Why so long Or to others why so short Or why I I will only say that I have some feeling of the Sufferings of my worthy and dear Acquaintance pray it may rise higher and better that I hope your Interest and Endeavours may do good that I have endeavoured to make their deplorable Condition to speak for them and that I owe you a far greater Service when you shall command it if I can perform it For I am Sir Your most Obliged Servant E. P. FINIS