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<DATE>2010-01-05</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>John Pas</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B081023.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B06203">
<STC T="W">T2325B</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">52529332</BIBNO>
<VID>179143</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
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<DIV1 TYPE="account">
<PB REF="1"><!-- PDF PAGE 14 -->
<HEAD>A True Account how Mr. <HI>Reading</HI>'s Hou&s;e at <HI>Santoft</HI>
happened to be Burnt.</HEAD>
<P>THere was a little Hou&s;e adjoining to his Dwelling-hou&s;e of about Four Yards Square, the Wall of it about Seven Foot high, cover'd with a Thatched Roof: This Hou&s;e was his Brew-hou&s;e and Baking-hou&s;e; within it &s;tood a great Copper ju&s;t under the Thatch, the Room not being Chambered Upon the <HI>15th</HI> of <HI>April</HI> la&s;t Mr. <HI>Reading</HI>'s Family were Brewing within this Place, and that Night brought much Wood into it to Boil the Liquor, and more then did it, and left it there carele&s;ly: Now it &s;o happened that that Wood took Fire that Night, and got to the Thatch, and &s;o &s;et Fire to that Hou&s;e; and thereby his Dwelling-hou&s;e was al&s;o Burnt: And that the Fire &s;o hap|pened, is demon&s;trable for the&s;e Rea&s;ons, <HI>viz.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. The Servants who were in the Hou&s;e perceiving a great Smoak ro&s;e out of Bed, and the Maid running out cried <HI>Fire,</HI> and &s;aid, <HI>Wo worth this Bookers Wife</HI> (who was the Per&s;on whom Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> imployed to be his Brewer) <HI>&s;he hath undone us:</HI> One <HI>Thomas Parrot</HI> their near and next Neighbour hearing the Maid thus Cry out, came running ha&s;tily; when he got thither, he &s;aw no Fire breaking out outwardly, only a great Smoak through the Thatch the Fire was within, he &s;aw none break forth: And it being a low Hou&s;e, as is afore&s;aid, he got upon the Hou&s;e Ridge on one &s;ide and pulled all the Thatch off there; and one <HI>Wat&s;on</HI> a Weak Old Man who lodged in Mr. <HI>Reading</HI>'s Hou&s;e that Night, got upon another patr of the out&s;ide, but had not &s;trength enough to pull off the Thatch where he was, &s;o that the Fire prevailed upon him, and got hold of the Thatch, and burnt out furiou&s;ly, in&s;omuch as they two could not quench it, but it &s;oon got hold of the Dwelling-hou&s;e, which was al&s;o Thatched, and &s;o burnt it.</P>
<P N="2">2. The &s;aid <HI>Parrot</HI> Depo&s;ed upon Oath, the Fire was occa&s;ioned as afore&s;aid; and that had there been another Man as &s;trong as him&s;elf, they could have &s;aved all the Buildings The Night was very Calm, and by the help of this <HI>Parrot,</HI> and &s;ome others that came afterwards, mo&s;t of Mr. <HI>Reading</HI>'s Hou&s;hold Goods were &s;aved (except &s;ome Lumber Goods)</P>
<P N="3">3. The next day after the Fire, Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> contrived how he might lay the Burning of it to the charge of the Country, and told his Servants he mu&s;t Charge the Country with it: And to that end, he and &s;ome with him, made &s;ome Marches with Line-hards, or Tow, wrapped together, and tied on a Stick, and got another thing wherewith he u&s;ed to Grea&s;e his Coach, and then carried them among&s;t the Thatch which was faln from the Hou&s;e, and had e&s;caped Burning and laid them down there, and then took them up again and &s;aid to them, <HI>Now you &s;ee I took the&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ings from among&s;t the Thath;</HI> and when you are called to it, you may &s;afely Swear you &s;ee me take them out of the Thatch.</P>
<P N="4">4. Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> afterwards going to a Ju&s;tice of Peace, and taking his Maid Servant <HI>Su&s;an Winder</HI> with him, would have had her to have Sworn that tho&s;e Matches were found among&s;t the Thatch, and that the Hou&s;e was Burnt thereby, and &s;he would not; and he was thereupon very angry with her and &s;aid, <HI>What then came you with me hither for?</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> having a great Malice again&s;t <HI>Thomas Sparke</HI> a Commoner in <HI>Epworth,</HI> was very de&s;i|rous to have laid the Burning of his Hou&s;e to his Charge; and accordingly &s;oon after the Fire, he went to <HI>Ric Aldus</HI>'s Hou&s;e in <HI>Belton,</HI> to enquire whether <HI>Sparke</HI> was there all that Night the <HI>15th</HI> of <HI>April,</HI> becau&s;e he was told he was: <HI>Aldus</HI> telling him he was there the whole Night, Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> would have per&s;waded him to have &s;aid, <HI>that he was out two hours of the Night;</HI> but <HI>Aldus</HI> fully &s;atisfying him he was not, Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> made an&s;wer, <HI>If it be &s;o, then I doubt the Fire came by the carele&s;sne&s;s of my own Servants; for they had much Wood that Night in the Brew hou&s;e.</HI></P>
<P N="6">6. Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> out of his further mi&s;chievous Malice would have per&s;uaded <HI>Tho Parrot</HI> and <HI>Su&s;an Winder</HI> to &s;ay and &s;wear, that <HI>Gunpowder</HI> was &s;trewed in &s;ome places about the Hou&s;e: And &s;aid to them, <HI>Do you not &s;ee Powder lie here?</HI> whereas it was nothing but &s;ome black A&s;hes or Cinders of &s;ome burnt Wood; and they could &s;ee no Powder.</P>
<P N="7">7. Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> by a late &s;candalous Printed Paper of his, charges the Burning of his &s;aid Hou&s;e on all the Commoners: But all along &s;ince the Fire he did not &s;o, &s;ometimes he charged it upon one, and after upon another; and he Bound the &s;aid <HI>Tho Sparke</HI> over to the la&s;t A&s;&s;izes at <HI>Lincoln</HI> about it; and when he &s;aw how he was provided with Witne&s;&s;es to make his Defence, being prepared to prove all the afore&s;aid things, then he preferred no Indictment again&s;t him.</P>
<P N="8">8. Mr. <HI>Reading</HI> hath &s;ince &s;aid to <HI>Robert Whiteley,</HI> That he, and none but he burnt the &s;aid Hou&s;e, And al&s;o to <HI>Robert Bernard,</HI> he and the &s;aid <HI>Sparke</HI> burnt it: And at other times he charged <HI>Richard Scot, William Ve&s;&s;ey,</HI> and <HI>William Kynman</HI> with it.</P>
<P><HI>Now upon all the&s;e Circum&s;tances, which are great Truths, it is mo&s;t evident, the Fire accidentally hapned by the carele&s;sne&s;s of</HI> Mr. Reading's <HI>Servants, as many times (too often) Fires in other Places have done: And this will be made evidently appear by credible Witne&s;&s;es.</HI></P>
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