Mysterious Death at the Ship Hotel, Barry

Mrs. Jane George of the Ship Hotel, Barry, died in a mysterious blaze in an upstairs room. The Ship Hotel concerned was an earlier building rather than the present structure. The earlier building was a mid - nineteenth century construction erected by the Romily Estate, designed to emulating the look of older, more rusticated buildings in the area. Jane was the wife of John George, himself the son of the Ship Hotel publican, Mrs. Charlotte George. The report states that she was found completely incinerated, although the room and its contents were entirely unaffected by the heat. There had been no sign of a fire anywhere in the room, nor were there any signs that the fireplace had been recently used. In short, Jane seems to have burst into flames and was incinerated to death; the only source of the fire seems to have been from Mrs. Jane George herself. The actual temperature required to completely incinerate a human body is in excess of 3,000 degrees.

The only conclusion which can be drawn from this report is that Jane spontaneously combusted. Victims of this mysterious phenomenon tend to have a number of common-denominators. The victims are almost invariably female and the victims are mostly alone (as the unfortunate Jane was). A Victorian belief was that alcohol could be a triggering-factor to SHC, and that drinking large quantities could make someone combustible.

(The Ship Hotel in 1887. In the photograph is Mrs. Jane George herself; she is the last standing figure   of the group stood by the right side sash window (second on the right in the whole picture). The seated figure is Mrs. Charlotte George and the male stood with the baby in his arms is John George. Also stood prominent is a local Bobby complete with Victorian uniform. The thatched building (built 1860 was demolished in 1891 to make way for the present building)

                                                 (The remains of Mary Reeser (1951)

One of the most well-known cases of Spontaneous Human Combustion is that of Mary Reeser (1951) who was found, with the exception of a foot and her skull, completely incinerated. Interestingly enough, in Dickens' Bleak House, a character called krook, a landlord, dies of SHC (Dickens believed in the phenomenon). Frenchman Jonas DuPont published a collection of cases in 1763, De Incendiis Corporis Humani Spontaneis, and it is thought that Dickens himself was aware of at least 30 cases of SHC.

Mark and Jonathan Lambert are archaeology graduates of Cardiff University and are published authors. They have been writing about and researching local history for the past 20 years and have a wealth of knowledge. All articles are original compositions - we hope you enjoy our content. Enquiries: hiddenglamorgan@outlook.com

©Jonathan and Mark Lambert 2012

The right of Jonathan and Mark Lambert to be identified as Authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted, reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic means, including social media, or mechanical, or by any other means including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the authors.