Technology, Chemistry, and the Law in Early 19th-Century England

Abstract

On Tuesday, April 11, 1820, in the Court of Common Pleas sitting in Guild Hall, London, Chief Justice Sir Robert Dallas and a special jury began hearing the case of Severn, King and Company, sugar bakers, versus the Imperial Insurance Company. Severn and King were suing to recover losses sustained in a spectacular fire which began at 3:45 in the morning at their premises in Whitechapel on November 10, 1819, against which losses they said they had been insured by the Imperial, the Phoenix, and the Globe Insurance companies.1 James Stephen opened for the plaintiffs, followed by Solicitor General Sergeant John Singleton Copley, assisted by King's Sergeant John Lens. James Scarlett and Sergeant Blosset pleaded for the defendants. On Thursday, April 13, after deliberating for about three quarters of an hour, the jury found for the sugar bakers. Although the legal issues were substantially the same, Severn and King's trial

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