On this day, 1814: London Beer Flood kills eight women and children
On Oct. 17, 1814, a huge vat of beer burst at a London brewery and sent a wave of porter through nearby streets, HISTORY and The History Press reported. The flood killed eight women and children in the poor St Giles area. A jury later called it an act of God.
On Oct. 17, 1814, a giant wooden vat burst at Meux and Company's Horse Shoe Brewery in London, sending a flood of beer into the crowded streets nearby, HISTORY and The History Press reported. The brewery stood among the tenements of St Giles, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods, the outlets reported.
Around 4:30 p.m., storehouse clerk George Crick saw that a 700-pound iron hoop had slipped off one of the vats, HISTORY and The History Press reported. Hoops slipped two or three times a year, so he did not think much of it, HISTORY and The History Press reported. At around 5:30 p.m., Crick heard a massive explosion as the vat burst, the outlets reported.
The blast set off a chain reaction that broke open other casks, HISTORY and The History Press reported. HISTORY reported that the vat alone held the equivalent of 1 million pints of beer. The History Press reported that more than 320,000 gallons of beer were released. With no drainage in the streets, the wave of porter poured into basements and homes, and some houses collapsed, the outlets reported.
The flood killed eight women and children, HISTORY and The History Press reported. Among them were a mother and her young daughter who had sat down to tea, and five people at a wake for a 2-year-old boy, including his mother, Anne Saville, the outlets reported. Eleanor Cooper, a servant, was killed when a wall collapsed on her, HISTORY and The History Press reported. Everyone inside the brewery survived, the outlets reported.
The disaster was ruled an "Act of God," leaving no one responsible, HISTORY and The History Press reported. HISTORY reported that a jury reached that verdict two days after the flood. The brewery paid no damages to victims and won a waiver from Parliament for excise taxes it had already paid on the lost beer, the outlets reported.
What we know: A brewery vat burst in London on Oct. 17, 1814, and the beer flood killed eight women and children.
What we don't: Whether a ninth person died days later, which The History Press says is unconfirmed and disputed.
Where outlets agree HISTORY and The History Press both date the London Beer Flood to Oct. 17, 1814, and report that it killed eight women and children.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.