THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: Hundreds feared jobless after spinning mill blaze

Hundreds of mill workers employed by the Ballysillan Spinning Company Limited in north Belfast were facing a bleak future on this day in 1901, reported the News Letter.

The previous day the Ballysillan mill had been gutted by fire and had left in ruins.

The News Letter told how the secretary of the company, Mr Skelton, had locked up the premises at 9pm the previous night and had returned home.

An hour later the night watchman, a Mr John Adams, saw a light coming from the drying loft which was situated over the boiling houses. In a course of a mere few seconds, noted the News Letter correspondent, the blaze had developed into a “fierce outbreak” of flames. Mr Adams immediately sounded his horn to raise the alarm and Mr Skelton, who lived close by, having come to the premises and seen what the problem immediately, contacted the Central Fire Station.

The hilly location of the mill added to the a delay in the fire service reaching the blaze and it was noted by the News Letter that further misfortune befell the fire brigade as they raced to the scene of the blaze.

“The weight of the engines was particularly heavy on the horses and when they reached the scene of operations they were rendered useless by an unforeseen accident,” wrote the paper’s correspondent.

The damage at the mill was estimated at thousands, reported the News Letter, but it was understood to be covered by insurance.