Published in Windlesora 30 (2014)
© WLHG
In a period of just four years at the beginning of the 20th century, Windsor town centre suffered three major fires. In 1904, the department store Rodgers and Denyer opposite the Guildhall in the High Street burned down, and in 1908 so did the Theatre Royal in Thames Street. By far the largest and most damaging fire was on Sunday 28th April 1907, when most of the buildings in Thames Street between the theatre and Thames Avenue were affected. These included Manley and Son, tailors, at number 47, on the corner of Thames Avenue, Franzini and Manzetti’s Italian restaurant at number 46, Mr Bryant the tobacconist at 45, Mr Short the Bootmaker at 44, Mr Blinco the confectioner at 43 and H. Way the furniture store at number 42. Behind all these premises was a large furniture warehouse belonging to Mr Way, the contents of which were completely destroyed.
The fire started at 7.00 pm, when many townspeople, including firemen, were in church, but even so the rapid response and number of firefighters assembled in a short time was remarkable. The town fire engine from Church Lane was drawn by horses from the Star and Garter in Peascod Street, and hose cars were brought from the Alma Road substation to take water from the river. Staff from Nevile Reid’s brewery in Datchet Road attached hoses to hydrants on their own premises and those in Jennings Yard. Fire brigades from Eton, Slough and Datchet also attended, as did three teams of twenty men from the 3rd Grenadier Guards stationed at Victoria Barracks and 100 men from the 1st Lifeguards at Combermere Barracks. The Castle Fire Brigade deployed a 200-yard hose down the 100 steps from a hydrant in the cloister, taking water from the Cranbourne lower reservoir.
As it was getting dark, the fire could be seen for many miles around, but it was all under control by 9.00 p.m. 350,000 gallons of water had been taken from the waterworks and an estimated 160,000 gallons from the river. A large crowd had gathered, and they clapped and cheered as the firefighters left the scene, including the Lifeguards who marched, whistling, up Thames Street Hill. Amongst the spectators was Prince Alexander of Teck and the architect A Y Nutt, and the next morning Prince and Princess Alexander visited the scene of devastation.
So how did such a devastating fire start and take hold so quickly? The kitchen at the rear of Franzini and Manzetti’s restaurant was underneath the first floor of Mr Way’s furniture warehouse, and the chef Ermes Meara was preparing the evening refreshments for a handful of customers. Mr Franzini was away in Brighton, his partner Mr Manzetti was playing the piano while Mrs Manzetti served customers, and their 12-month-old baby was asleep upstairs. The chef was cooking banana fritters in a pan of hot oil over an open fire when he dropped a plate into the pan, splashing oil into the fire, onto his apron, and onto paper litter on the floor. He suffered burns to his hands as he tried to put out the fire, but within minutes the kitchen was ablaze. Fortunately, one of the customers, Corporal Paul of the 3rd Grenadier Guards, managed to save the baby, then returned to save the piano, but the building was gutted! Apart from the chef, there were no other injuries. Some stock from the tailor’s shop was rescued from the adjacent premises and taken across the road to the South Western Hotel on the corner of Datchet Road (now Bel and the Dragon).
The Manzetti family was taken in by The Swan Hotel on Thames Street, but their former premises never re-opened as a restaurant. Banana fritters may seem to be rather unusual for Edwardian England, but at that time there were several Italian families living in the River Street area and bringing their recipes with them, especially for ice cream. The names Vettise, Sacco, Thomasso and Paccitto may be familiar, as some of their descendants still live locally.
Sue Ashley
Acknowledgements
Windsor and Eton Express, 4th May 1907
Photos courtesy of E Kupfermann and the Royal Windsor Website
Windsor Local History Group 