Victoria Hall disaster
Encyclopedia
The Victoria Hall disaster, in which 183 children died, occurred in Sunderland, Great Britain
on 16 June 1883 at the Victoria Hall, which was a large concert hall on Toward Road facing onto Mowbray Park
.
was presented by travelling entertainers Mr and Mrs Fay.
would be presented with a prize
upon exit. At the same time entertainers began distributing gifts from the stage to the children in the stalls. Worried about missing out on the treats, many of the estimated 1,100 children in the gallery stampede
d toward the staircase leading downstairs. At the bottom of the staircase, the door had been opened inward and bolted in such a way as to leave a gap only wide enough for one child to pass at a time. It is believed this was to ensure orderly checking of tickets. With few accompanying adults to maintain order, the children surged down the stairs toward the door. Those at the front became trapped, and were crushed by the weight of the crowd behind them.
When the adults in the auditorium realised what was happening they rushed to the door, but could not open it fully as the bolt was on the children's side. Caretaker Frederick Graham ran up another staircase and diverted approximately 600 children to safety. Meanwhile, the other adults had resorted to pulling the children one by one through the narrow gap, before one man pulled the door from its hinges.
In his 1894 account of the incident, survivor William Codling, Jr., described the crush, and the realisation that people were dying:
sent a message of condolence to the grieving families. Donations were sent from all over Britain, totalling £5,000, which was used for the children's funerals and a memorial in Mowbray Park. The memorial, of a grieving mother holding a dead child, was later moved to Bishopwearmouth Cemetery
, gradually fell into disrepair, and was vandalised
. In 2002 the marble statue was restored, at a cost of £63,000, and moved back to Mowbray Park with a protective canopy.
Newspaper reports at the time triggered a mood of national outrage and the resulting inquiry recommended that public venues be fitted with a minimum number of outward opening emergency exit
s, which led to the invention of 'push bar'
emergency doors. This law still remains in full force as of 2008. No one was prosecuted for the disaster; the person responsible for bolting the door was never identified. The Victoria Hall remained in use until 1941 when it was destroyed by a German
parachute bomb.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on 16 June 1883 at the Victoria Hall, which was a large concert hall on Toward Road facing onto Mowbray Park
Mowbray Park
Mowbray Park is a municipal park in the centre of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England, located a few hundred yards from the busy throughfares of Holmeside and Fawcett Street and bordered by Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens to the north, Burdon Road to the west, Toward Road to the east and Park...
.
Background
On 16 June 1883 a children's variety showVariety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
was presented by travelling entertainers Mr and Mrs Fay.
Events
At the end of the show an announcement was made that children with certain numbered ticketsTicket (admission)
A ticket is a voucher that indicates that one has paid for admission to an event or establishment such as a theatre, movie theater, amusement park, zoo, museum, concert, or other attraction, or permission to travel on a vehicle such as an airliner, train, bus, or boat, typically because one has...
would be presented with a prize
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
upon exit. At the same time entertainers began distributing gifts from the stage to the children in the stalls. Worried about missing out on the treats, many of the estimated 1,100 children in the gallery stampede
Stampede
A stampede is an act of mass impulse among herd animals or a crowd of people in which the herd collectively begins running with no clear direction or purpose....
d toward the staircase leading downstairs. At the bottom of the staircase, the door had been opened inward and bolted in such a way as to leave a gap only wide enough for one child to pass at a time. It is believed this was to ensure orderly checking of tickets. With few accompanying adults to maintain order, the children surged down the stairs toward the door. Those at the front became trapped, and were crushed by the weight of the crowd behind them.
When the adults in the auditorium realised what was happening they rushed to the door, but could not open it fully as the bolt was on the children's side. Caretaker Frederick Graham ran up another staircase and diverted approximately 600 children to safety. Meanwhile, the other adults had resorted to pulling the children one by one through the narrow gap, before one man pulled the door from its hinges.
In his 1894 account of the incident, survivor William Codling, Jr., described the crush, and the realisation that people were dying:
Aftermath
With the compressive asphyxia of 183 children between 3 and 14 years old, the disaster is the worst of its kind in British history. Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
sent a message of condolence to the grieving families. Donations were sent from all over Britain, totalling £5,000, which was used for the children's funerals and a memorial in Mowbray Park. The memorial, of a grieving mother holding a dead child, was later moved to Bishopwearmouth Cemetery
Bishopwearmouth Cemetery
Bishopwearmouth Cemetery is a cemetery in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It lies between Hylton Road and Chester Road .-History:...
, gradually fell into disrepair, and was vandalised
Vandalism
Vandalism is the behaviour attributed originally to the Vandals, by the Romans, in respect of culture: ruthless destruction or spoiling of anything beautiful or venerable...
. In 2002 the marble statue was restored, at a cost of £63,000, and moved back to Mowbray Park with a protective canopy.
Newspaper reports at the time triggered a mood of national outrage and the resulting inquiry recommended that public venues be fitted with a minimum number of outward opening emergency exit
Emergency exit
An emergency exit in a structure is a special exit for emergencies such as a fire: the combined use of regular and special exits allows for faster evacuation, while it also provides an alternative if the route to the regular exit is blocked by fire, etc....
s, which led to the invention of 'push bar'
Crash bar
A crash bar is a mechanism for unlatching a door, consisting of a spring-loaded metal bar fixed horizontally to the front of the door and hinged...
emergency doors. This law still remains in full force as of 2008. No one was prosecuted for the disaster; the person responsible for bolting the door was never identified. The Victoria Hall remained in use until 1941 when it was destroyed by a German
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
parachute bomb.