Ancestral Trails 2016 » Charles BURTON (1886-1972)

Personal data Charles BURTON 

• He was born on January 9, 1886 in Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.
• He was baptized on April 25, 1896 in St Mary the Virgin, Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire.Source 1
• Occupations:
• in the year 1901 Land Worker.
• in the year 1910 Proprietor of the Shoulder of Mutton Public House.
• in the year 1928 Landlord of the Shoulder of Mutton, Pirton.
• He died on June 18, 1972 in Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, he was 86 years old.Source 2
• A child of William BURTON and Jane WALKER

Household of Charles BURTON

He is married to Abigail REYNOLDS.

They got married on October 22, 1910 at Pirton, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, he was 24 years old.Sources 3, 4

Notes about Charles BURTON

1891 aged 5, living at Great Green with his parents, William and Jane Burton, and siblings Peggy, John, James and Annie. 1901 aged 15, living at the Red Lion with his parents and siblings, John, James, Annis, Herbert William, Nellie, Albert Edward and Emily May. 1911 not with family in census. 1928 The Herts Express newspaper reported a fire in Pirton on Friday, 5 October 1928: PIRTON BLAZE PUBLIC-HOUSE BURNED OUT MORRIS GUY NULLIFIES FIREMEN´S EFFORTS A LONG WAIT FOR WATER `I felt sorry for the firemen. I was proud of the way they got here so quickly, and they would have saved the place if the Morris Guy hadn´t let them down,´´ said Mr. Charles Burton, landlord of the Shoulder of Mutton public-house, Pirton, which was practically destroyed by fire on Friday night last week. The call for Hitchin Fire Brigade was received just before 9.30, and it was exactly six minutes later that the Morris Guy, with Second Officer Jack Garratt in charge, arrived at the Shoulder of Mutton inn. The steamer arrived shortly afterwards, and Chief Officer D. Powell immediately took steps to get a supply of water on to the thatched roof of the back wing of the building, a corner of which was ablaze. THE FAILURE OF THE MORRIS GUY The Morris Guy was stationed at the village pond, and about a quarter of a mile of hose was run out. Two firemen were on the roof with the hose, and the Chief Officer gave the signal for the water. The Morris Guy, however, for some reason, would not pick up, and no water came. Quickly the flames licked along the thatch, and the firemen on the roof had to be ordered down owing to the danger of the roof collapsing, still without a drop of water having come through the hose. The roof fell very soon afterwards with a terrific crackling, and a huge uprush of smoke, sparks, and flame. There was a crowd of spectators on the scene, and their remarks about the Morris Guy were far from complimentary and in some cases quite unprintable. It was not until 10.15 - practically 20 minutes after the Brigade´s arrival - that the signal was given that water was about to be pumped through the hose. It came, and a cheer of derision went up from the crowd when the water at last came through. This, however, was not put through by the Morris Guy, and it was the old steamer that came to the rescue. The old steam fire engine that came to the rescue, at least until it blew its boiler packing (Simon Walker) THE FATEFUL TWENTY MINUTES The fire was quickly got under control, but extensive damage had been done during that fateful twenty minutes, when the whole building might have been saved. Unfortunately, the steamer blew the packing out of its boiler, and the fire had to be raked out. The Guy was eventually got going, and while it pumped it certainly pumped well, but it failed completely within an hour. During the time the Brigade was waiting for water, salvage work was carried on, and furniture was got out of the bedroom at the front, which, having a tiled roof and the slight wind blowing the flames away from it, did not catch fire. Tables, chairs, bedding and all sorts of household furniture and utensils were piled in the lane at the front of the house, and these were taken into a field opposite the house. A haystack at the back of the house gave some cause for anxiety, but fortunately it did not become ignited. The Brigade was able to return home, feeling anything but pleased, and bringing with them two apparently useless engines at 2.30 a.m. INTERVIEW WITH THE LANDLORD Mr. Charles Burton said to an Express´´ representative, ``I was sitting in the tap-room, reading the ``Express,´´ and my daughter, Mrs. Kingsley, and her baby were there also, as there were no customers in the house. Suddenly my son-in-law rushed in and said the roof was alight. He had seen it from up the lane, and ran down to tell us, being almost `puffed.´ One of my sons, Arthur, was in bed, with a bad cold. We rushed up and told him and while my daughter ran to Mr. John Gurney, to ask him to ´phone for the Brigade, we got to work with buckets from the well, but we soon ran that dry. When the Brigade arrived only about a square yard of thatch was ablaze, and if the water had come through there would have been little damage. I and my daughter and her four months´ old baby spent the night at Mr. Gurney's farm, and Arthur slept in the stables. The fire might have been caused by a spark from a bonfire on the allotments opposite, but, of course, no one knows for certain.´´ On Saturday morning the building presented a sorry spectacle, debris being scattered all over the yard. Burned out settees, smashed clocks, broken beer bottles, all lay in the yard. Twisted bedsteads gave some idea of the fierceness of the blaze, and the back wing was a mass of charred bricks and beams around the gaunt old chimney. The Shoulder of Mutton is one of the oldest houses in Pirton, and a brick was found with the date 1510 upon it. BUSINESS AS USUAL Happily the tap room and two small rooms at the side were not burned, and the barrels of beer having been put back into the house, business was carried on as usual on Saturday night. This was not the only time the Morris Guy gave problems in Pirton. On 15 May 1929, Mr. L. Franklin offered the Fire Brigade an old cottage that was due for demolition for them to practice on. It was duly set alight, and true to form the Guy failed to pick up water. One of the firemen recorded the event in his diary: Pump and tractor on arrival found cottage well a light took Guy to Pond, run out hose, but she refused to work for 35 minutes as this is the second it as failed it look as if Pirton air does not suit him' ---- Hitchin Journal, Autumn 2005 Hitchin Historical Society 2007

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Timeline Charles BURTON

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