Steyning Museum archives - A Proud but Challenged Brigade...

During parades through the streets of the town to mark particular occasions the Fire Brigade and the Town Band played leading roles. Steyning was proud of its Fire Brigade.

Edith Carew remembered being dazzled by the firemen’s gleaming brass helmets on the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887; but did not think to mention their recently issued smart blue and red uniforms complete with leather boots, belts, hose wrenches, axes and ‘life lines’. All this kit the firemen had to hand back if they left the Brigade – except for the boots which they could keep if they served for more than 5 years.

Until 1925 the fire engine was horse drawn and housed beneath the clock tower in the High Street. Many of the call outs were to isolated farms, often rick fires, as far afield as Storrington, Henfield or Partridge Green so it took some time to get news of a fire and then to get there. During the day telegrams were sent to the post office just the other side of the street from the clock and the telegraph boy would dash across and ring the fire bell.

The Brigade was proud of the speed with which they could harness up the horses and be on the way but at night things were more difficult. One bitterly cold night in January 1904 Knepp Castle, a mile or so beyond Partridge Green, caught fire.

All the local brigades were called upon to help. The Sussex Daily News reported “A messenger was sent post haste to Steyning on a bicycle from the scene of the outbreak.” He set off at 4.00 in the morning - but he got lost. When he reached Ashurst “He made the welkin ring to rouse the slumbering people so that he could discover the right road . . . [‘Making the welkin ring’ is a very flowery way of saying that he shouted] . . . but he still set off on the wrong road and only reached Steyning after 2 ½ hours of energetic endeavour.” The report continued “The brigade was on the road within 10 minutes, the manual being horsed with some capital animals from the stable of Harry Joyes of the White Horse Hotel, and reached Partridge Green after five and twenty minutes of hectic progress. But then icy roads were encountered and they decided to have the horses roughed [i.e. roughening of the horse shoes to give a better grip on the ice]. Unfortunately they discovered that the village blacksmith had gone off to see the fire. So it was then decided to proceed afoot to get the blacksmith to return and rough the horses.” This was done and the report concludes, rather anticlimactically “Having eventually arrived they found that the fire had happily been got under (control) and their services were not needed”.

Harry Joyes’ horses were an integral part of the set-up. Indeed he fancied driving the fire engine himself if he had the chance. His son told us that he would try to get up enough speed to take the corner down by Mouse Lane on two wheels. But, on occasions, his horses were busy ferrying his visitors to or from the station. So, when a telegram was received in June 1919 saying “Fire West Chiltington Common Urgent”, the reply went back “Sorry. No horses”.

Things improved when a motorised fire engine was bought in 1925, only to be thrown into disarray once more, some 10 years later, when a more powerful engine with a capacity of 400 gallons a minute was purchased. It had been specified incorrectly and was found to be too high and too wide to fit into the fire station. They thought about cutting grooves in the pavement and removing the mudguards and running boards – which would have led to the firemen being spattered with mud and dust – but eventually decided that, after 50 years beneath the clock, they had to move to new premises.

Steyning Museum: www.steyningmuseum.org.uk
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