March 20, 1945
Fire-fighting arrangements were amazingly primitive in Liverpool, even at the end of the 18th century. The only method of suppressing fires was by means of water carts owned by private individuals, who sold water to the inhabitants at a halfpenny a neshin or bucketful.
To encourage the arrival of these water carts at fires, a reward of half a guinea was given to the first arrival.
When the city’s Town Hall caught fire in 1795 a woman was first on the scene with her water cart.
(Evening Express: March 20, 1945)
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"Play Up, Liverpool" 