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Hi,

This is an report taken from 'The Gentleman's Magazine' concerning a fire that occured on Friday, 28th June 1822.

A fire broke out in the house of Mr. Fearn, jeweller and silversmith, at the corner of Adam-street, in the Strand, which, in the course of less than two hours, destroyed the whole of the premises, together with the rich and costly stock in the shop. A great quantity of plate, jewellery, and watches, have been swallowed up in the general destruction, and with them a vast number of pearls, diamonds, and precious gems of every description, together with an infinite variety of snuff-boxes, gold chains, and other things of great value. The stock on the premises was estimated at ten thousand pounds, and Mr. Fearn was only insured for six thousand of that sum.

This fire, I presume, was at the retail premises of William Fearn, although I cannot find any reference to this address.
Since 1790 William Fearn had, when entering marks at Goldsmiths Hall, used the address of 1, Lovell's Court, Paternoster Row. Period drawings of 1, Lovell's Court, show it as a three storey building with no windows on the front of the ground floor, situated in what can only be described as an alleyway. Certainly not a retail premises by any stretch of the imagination, so no surprise that he might have had retail premises located in the more fashionable west end of the city.
This is of course presuming that we are talking about William Fearn, the description 'Mr Fearn' in the report, without a forename, infers a well known character as William Fearn must have been. I know of no other Fearn involved in the trade at this time and William Fearn had no children. But in 1822 William Fearn would have been as Arthur Grimwade suggests about seventy-four, other sources even stating as old as eighty-five. Grimwade also noted that his signature in the entry at Goldsmiths Hall in 1814 was already shaky. He was however still to make a further entry in 1824, confirming his partnership with William Eley II.

It would be good to hear the views of others as to whether William Fearn is the subject of this report.

Trev.

Source: The Gentleman's Magazine
Published by F. Jefferies, 1822
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I know very little about retailing during this period; is it possible that he took bulk buyers to his home rather than to his main retailing premises?

Miles
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Hi Miles,

Sorry for the delay in replying, but I was trying to find out whether 3, Lovells Court was the residence and/or manufactory of William Fearn , and indeed it would appear that it was both.

The premises of 1,2, and 3, Lovells Court were all owned by the Fearn, Eley and Chawner families, and the more you dig into the history of this trio, you come to understand that they were so tight knit that really they were one family.

All three were born within a few miles of each other in the Dove Valley in Derbyshire and spent the rest of their lives in close company. To understand the relationship more fully, I recommend ‘Eley Cartridges, A History of the Silversmiths and Ammunition Manufacturers’ by C.W.Harding, which provides an excellent background.

An Insurance policy that was taken out by Eley & Co. in 1824 on Lovells Court reads: ‘On their dwelling house, warehouse and manufactory all ajoining and communicating….’ (Sun Registers MS 11936).

Having said that I am now aware that the report of the fire in question was not in the premises of William Fearn, but at the retail silversmiths and jewellers, J. G. Fearne.
This report taken from ‘Bell’s Life in London’ on the 30th June 1822 is reprinted in John Culme’s ‘Nineteenth Century Silver’:

‘FIRE---About half-past one o’clock yesterday morning, the house of Mr. Fearne, the great silversmith and jeweller, in the Strand, corner of Adam Street, Adelphi, was discovered to be on fire. It commenced in the kitchen, and soon afterwards the flames burst through the area-windows into the street, but although engines had by this time arrived, it was more than half an hour before a supply of water could be obtained. Before the engines could begin to play, the whole of Mr. Fearne’s large dwelling house was in flames; and the fire raged with such fury, that some alarm was experienced for the house of Mr. [Thomas] Barnard, at the opposite corner of Adam Street, also a silversmiths. Some of the mouldings and other woodwork in front of Mr. Barnard’s house did catch fire, but the prompt application of water subdued the danger…The house in the Strand, next but one to Mr. Fearne’s, is likewise a silversmiths- Mr Hawley’s; but it was also preserved from the flames. It is a curious occurrence, that a fire should have burst forth at one large silversmith’s, at the same time endangering two other silversmiths’ residences, all of them having an immense deal of property on their premises, from £30,000 to £40,000 each. Mr. Fearn’s house was soon completely burnt, the walls only being left standing….A party of the Guards came in aid of the officers and constables, and were most useful….Mr.Fearne and family were at their country residence at Brixton.’


Regards Trev.
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I note the mark of J and G Fearn, London, who registered a mark at Sheffield in 1823. Their mark consists of their initials and the addition of a letter which could be taken to be an upper case roman i or possibly an L for london. I assume they were cutlers but would be interested to know other reasons for the registration.

........ Robert Adam leased the ground between Durham Gate and Ivy Bridge Lane in order to complete the Adelphi scheme. Adam Street was cut
through to the Strand between Theobald's Court and Child's Court (the latter disappearing), and the house at the east corner (afterwards No. 73,
Strand), was let to Thomas Becket, the bookseller and friend of Garrick. This house, which was then in the occupation of Mr. Fearn, jeweller and silversmith, was burnt down in June, 1822, and afterwards rebuilt to the same design. A photograph of it is reproduced on Plate 61.



Source: London County Council Survey of London - 1937

Trev.