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There is an interesting news story in John Bull of Monday 1st July 1822 which almost certainly refers to William Fearn, although he would have been over seventy at the time.

"On Saturday morning, about one o'clock a fire broke out in the house of Mr Fearn, silversmith and jeweller at the corner of Adam Street, Adelphi.
Scarcely an article ,we believe, out of the valuable property was saved"

Details also include that stock of £10,000 was destroyed but it was only insured ( with the Phoenix ) up to the value of £6,000 and the furniture was not covered. The house had apparently recently been expensively refurbished.

The improvements probably included the installation of gas for lighting, as the report also states that the fire was caused by someone looking for a suspect gas leak - with a lighted candle !

Well in the early hours of the morning and you smell gas, you would need a light !

If this is William, then seems Fearn was still active in 1822 and not as Grimwade suggests, merely a sleeping partner by 1824 when his last mark with Eley II was entered. It seems as though he may have been only a retailer at this stage.
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Hi Clive,

I thought the same as you, but it was not William Fearn, but J G Fearne.

See: viewtopic.php?t=14849

Regards Trev.
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Thanks Trev. Oops, I should check in future if a topic has come up before !
But it shows how easily one can get the wrong impression.
And at least the bit about seeking a gas leak at one in the morning with a lighted candle is new !
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Hello Clive & Trev,
It seems right to suppose that Mr Fearne's premises were recently converted to gas lighting.
Gas lights were first introduced to Pall Mall in 1807, to St James's Park in 1822 and the last important locality to light up was Grosvenor Square in 1847.
The London Gas Light & Coke Co was established around 1812 in Westminster to provide London with the fuel.
In 1814 a pagoda bridge in St James's Park, gas lit as a novelty, burned down; in the same year the Westminster gas works exploded!
It comes as no surprise that the good people of Grosvenor Square waited a while before allowing this volatile stuff near their expensive houses.
One also wonders, after the 1814 incidents, what Health & Safety advice was given to Fearne concerning the investigation of gas leaks at night whilst carrying a lighted candle!
Regards,
Mike
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Hi Mike,

It is also surprising after reading of the events that you have stated, that William Bateman (1) left the safe haven of the world that he knew, and gambled all on this new method of lighting.

Regards Trev.
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I do not think that anyone having lived with candles and oil lamps, would fail to get gas once they saw it and if they could afford it. We take good lighting for granted - try candles for a bit !
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