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The following relates to the fire on his Eye farm, referred to above: 

PLAYFORD,
1840, April 23.

On Wednesday (yesterday) went with my uncle to the Eye Estate, to see the effects of the fire.  The farming buildings of every kind are as completely cleared away as if they had been mown down:  not a bit of anything but one or two short brick walls and the brick foundations of the barns and stacks.  The aspect of the place is much changed, because in approaching the house you do not see it upon a back-ground of barns, &c., but standing alone.  The house is in particularly neat and good order.  I did not think it at all worth while to make troublesome enquiries of the people who reside there, but took Mr Case’s account.  There seems no doubt that the fire was caused by the maid-servant throwing cinders into a sort of muck-place into which they had been commonly thrown.  I suppose there was after all this dry weather straw or muck drier than usual, and the cinders were hotter than usual.  The whole was on fire in an exceedingly short time; and everything was down in less than an hour.  Two engines came from Eye, and all the population of the town (as the fire began shortly after two o’clock in the afternoon).  It is entirely owing to these that my house, and the farm (Sewell’s) on the opposite side of the road, were not burned down.  At the beginning of the fire the wind was N.E. which blew directly towards the opposite farm (Sewell’s):  although the nearest part of it (tiled dwelling house) was 100 yards off or near it, and the great barn (thatched roof) considerably further, yet both were set on fire several times.  All this while, the tail of my house was growing very hot:  and shortly after the buildings fell in burning ruins, the wind changed to N.W., blowing directly to my house.  If this change had happened while the buildings were standing and burning, there would have been no possibility of saving the house.  As it was, the solder is melted from the window next the farm-yard, and the roof was set on fire in three or four places.  One engine was kept working on my house and one on the opposite farm.  A large pond was pretty nearly emptied.  Mr Case’s horses and bullocks were got out, not without great difficulty, as the progress of the fire was fearfully rapid.  A sow and nine pigs were burnt, and a large hog ran out burnt so much that the people killed it immediately.

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GEORGE INN, WINCHESTER,
1840, June 21.

At Winchester we established ourselves at the George and then without delay proceeded to St Cross.  I did not know before the nature of its hospital establishment, but I find that it is a veritable set of alms-houses.  The church is a most curious specimen of the latest Norman.  I never saw one so well marked before—­Norman ornaments on pointed arches, pilasters detached with cushion capitals, and various signs:  and it is