God, I have; and divers friends in and about the Town
would entertain me about. I bless God, I am not yet
brought so low, and I crust that no man shall lose four
pence by me, neither shall they so long as I have there pence
left, I have gotten two rooms to make a shop of, in a most
convenient house, though a thatched one. We have sent
three friends to the General, and I hope every good man
will be put forward by all that have heard of the once flourishing
condition of Marleborough, that it may be built
again: if not, we are utterly undone for ever, both for
Trade and Lodging, for we have not one Inn left Standing
in the Town.
Your loving friend
Marleborough, April
to his poor power.
the last. 1653.
John Keynes.
A more particular and full relation of the beginning of this
woful fire, and manner of Gods dealing with that poor
and distressed Town in it, you may expect hereafter, onely
this for the present, as it hath been related, is as followeth.
It pleased God that on Thursday, April 28. 1653. in
the out houses of one Francis Freeman a Tanner, almost
at the West end of the high street, neer St. Peter's
Church, his people being drying of Bark, it took fire about
seven or eight a clock in the morning, and they endeavored
to put it out: the neighbourse espying of it, profered their
help, which was refused, Mr. Freeman himself being (as
is said) from home. At last it prevented so much, that it
took bold of the dweling house, and grew so violent on a
sudden, that within a shore spice the fire by the hand of
God was carried from this side of the street to the other
side on the North of [unr]: so that he took hold of same
thatched houses, and the stakes of wood in her beside,
and so suddenly rain along the whole length of one Town
Eastward, and totally consumed the street on both sides, in
three or four hours space, as is before related.