The New Cross house fire was a fire that occurred during a party at a house in

New Cross New Cross is an area in south-east London, England, south-east of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lewisham and the London_postal_district#List_of_London_postal_districts, SE14 postcode district. New Cross is near St Johns, London, St Jo ...

, south-east London, in the early hours of Sunday, 18 January 1981. The blaze killed 13 young black people aged between 14 and 22, and one survivor killed himself two years later. No one has ever been charged in connection with the fire, which forensic science subsequently established started inside the house. Inquests into the deaths were held in 1981 and 2004. Both inquests recorded

open verdict The open verdict is an option open to a coroner's jury at an inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious, but is unable to reach any other verdicts open to them. Mortality studies ...

s. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, a New Cross Massacre Action Committee (NCMAC) was set up, chaired by

John La Rose John La Rose (27 December 1927 – 28 February 2006) was a political and cultural activist, poet, writer, publisher, founder in 1966 of New Beacon Books, the first specialist Caribbean publishing company in Britain, and subsequently Chairman of ...

, which organised a "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March 1981, when some 20,000 people marched over a period of eight hours through London, carrying placards that bore statements including: "13 Dead, Nothing Said".

Fire

A forensic science report produced for the Metropolitan Police in 2011 ruled out a firebomb attack, finding instead that the fire had started when somebody in the house set fire to a foam-filled armchair in the front room of the property at 5:40 am on Sunday morning. There had been some early complaints from neighbours about excessive noise from the party. A white

Leyland Princess The Princess is a large family car produced in the United Kingdom by the Austin-Morris division of British Leyland from 1975 until 1981 (1982 in New Zealand). The car inherited a front-wheel drive / transverse engine configuration from its pr ...

car was seen driving away from the fire. The party was a joint birthday celebration for Yvonne Ruddock (one of the victims of the fire) and Angela Jackson (who survived) and was held at No. 439, New Cross Road. It began on the evening of Saturday, 17 January 1981, and continued throughout the night and into the early hours of Sunday, 18 January.

Victims

The victims of the fire were all young black British people between the ages of 14 and 22. They were: Anthony Berbeck died two years after the fire at the age of 20, with many believing that he took his own life due to the trauma resulting from the fire.

Inquests

Police also ruled out the theory that a fight had taken place. The inquest into the deaths of the 13 teenagers began on 21 April 1981. The initial police suspicion was that the party had been firebombed, either as a revenge attack or in an attempt to stop the noise; there was also an alternative theory that a fight had broken out, from which the blaze emanated. The jury returned an

. In 2002, a new action in the High Court led to an order for a second inquest, which was held in 2004. This second inquest also resulted in an open verdict. The coroner said that the fire was probably started deliberately by one of the guests, but as he could not be sure of this, he returned an open verdict.

Aftermath

One week after the fire, on 25 January, a meeting was held at the Moonshot Club in New Cross, attended by more than one thousand people. The meeting concluded with a march to the scene of the fire and a demonstration there, which blocked New Cross Road for several hours. The New Cross Massacre Action Committee (NCMAC) was set up, chaired by

,"New Cross Massacre Campaign"

George Padmore Institute The George Padmore Institute (GPI), founded in 1991 in Stroud Green Road, North London, by John La Rose (1927–2006) and a group of political and cultural activists connected to New Beacon Books,George Padmore Institute The George Padmore Institute (GPI), founded in 1991 in Stroud Green Road, North London, by John La Rose (1927–2006) and a group of political and cultural activists connected to New Beacon Books, The Black Power group

Black Unity and Freedom Party In politics and history the Black Unity and Freedom Party (BUFP) (c. 1970 – 1999) was a political organisation that was part of Britain's Black Power and Far left, Radical left movements. Birth The BUFP held its first congress in London on 2 ...

(BUFP) published an account of what happened on the night of the fire in their journal, ''Black Voice''. The New Cross fire, described by

Darcus Howe Leighton Rhett Radford "Darcus" Howe (26 February 1943 – 1 April 2017)"Civil ...

in 2011 as "the blaze we cannot forget", is significant as a turning point in the relationship between Black Britons, the police and the media, and marks an "intergenerational alliance to expose racism, injustices and the plight of black Britons".

Black People's Day of Action

The Action Committee organised a "Black People's Day of Action" on 2 March, when 20,000 people marched over a period of eight hours from Fordham Park to Hyde Park carrying placards that bore statements including: "Thirteen Dead, Nothing Said", "No Police Cover-Up" and "Blood Aga Run If Justice Na Come". One slogan read: "Dame Jill Knight Set The Fire Alight!"; an apparent reference to a controversial speech by Dame Jill Knight, a right-wing member of the ruling Conservative Party, which was widely interpreted as condoning or even encouraging "direct action" against noisy parties. ''

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

'' described the march as "the largest mass movement for racial justice on British soil at the time", but also noted that "journalists stationed in the offices of

Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...

chanted monkey noises at the protestors down below."

Memorials

On 14 January 2011, an event called "Remembering the New Cross Fire 30 Years On" was held at the

Albany Theatre The Albany is a multi-purpose arts centre in Deptford, south-east London. Facilities include a flexible performance space holding up to 300 seated or 500 standing and a bar, two studio theatres, a performance cafe and rehearsal / meeting rooms. ...

Deptford Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a Ford (crossing), ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century ...

. The event was hosted by

Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director and broadcaster. In 2005, Kwei-Armah became the second black Briton to have a play staged in London's West End when his award-w ...

and was an evening of spoken word, film, discussion and

Lovers rock Lovers rock is a style of reggae music noted for its romantic sound and content. While love songs had been an important part of reggae since the late 1960s, the style was given a greater focus and a name in London in the mid-1970s.Larkin, Col ...

music. It featured contributions from Alex Pascall,

Gus John Augustine John (born 11 March 1945),Biography
Gus John website. . known as Gus John, is a Menelik Shabazz Menelik Shabazz (30 May 1954 – 28 June 2021) was a Barbados-born British film director, producer, educator, and writer, acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of independent Black British cinema, having been at the forefront of contempor ...

, novelist

Courttia Newland Courttia Newland (born 25 August 1973) is a British writer of Jamaicans, Jamaican and Barbados, Barbadian heritage. Background Born in 1973 in west London, to parents of Caribbean heritage, Newland grew up in Shepherd's Bush, where he became a ...

and musicians

Janet Kay Janet Kay Bogle (born 17 January 1958) is an English actress and vocalist, best known for her 1979 lovers rock hit " Silly Games". Biography Janet Kay Bogle was born in Willesden, North West London. She was discovered singing impromptu at a ...

and

Carroll Thompson Carroll Thompson is a British lovers rock singer, best known as the "Queen of Lovers Rock" Biography Thompson was born in England and is of Jamaican descent. Thompson undertook classical piano training on the piano and sang in school and chur ...

. Many of the victims' families and the survivors attended the event. St. Andrew's Church in

Brockley Brockley is a district and an wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. It has been named the best area of London to live in. It is an area rich in Vi ...

has a strong connection with the victims, as many of them attended the youth club there. In October 2002, Lewisham council installed a special stained-glass window at the church in their memory. On 16 January 2011, a memorial service was held there, with speakers including George Francis, chair of the New Cross Fire Parents' Committee,

Lewisham Council Lewisham London Borough Council, also known as Lewisham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Lewisham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour major ...

leader Steve Bullock and

Joan Ruddock Dame Joan Mary Ruddock, (née Anthony; born 28 December 1943) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lewisham Deptford from 1987 to 2015. Ruddock was Minister of State for Energy at the Departmen ...

, MP for

Lewisham Deptford Lewisham Deptford was a United Kingdom constituencies, parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencie ...

. The victims were also commemorated in January 2011 with a blue plaque from

Nubian Jak Community Trust Nubian Jak Community Trust (NJCT) is a commemorative plaque and sculpture scheme founded by Jak Beula that highlights the historic contributions of Black and minority ethnic people in Britain. The first NJCT heritage plaque, honouring Bob Marle ...

. There is a stone memorial in Fordham Park, Deptford, listing those who died; facing the stone memorial is a bench with a memorial inscription. Both were installed in 2012. There is also a memorial to the victims consisting of a park bench, plus 13 trees with a plaque at either end, on Hackney Downs in east London, and a memorial plaque on the wall of Catford Civic Hall listing the names of the "fourteen young people who died in the New Cross Fire of 18th January 1981". This was updated and refurbished in 2024. In 2017, the ''13 Dead, Nothing Said'' exhibition was hosted at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, formerly Goldsmiths College, University of London, is a Member institutions of the University of London, constituent research university of the University of London. It was originally founded in 1891 as The G ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. The exhibition shows photographs documenting the Black People's Day of Action, taken by

Vron Ware Vron Ware is a British academic and visiting professor at the Gender Institute of the London School of Economics and Political Science. She was previously a professor at Kingston University, editor of ''Searchlight'' magazine from 1981 to 1983, ...

, who had attended the march on 2 March 1981.

Depiction in media

'' Blood Ah Go Run'', a 1981 film by

Menelik Shabazz Menelik Shabazz (30 May 1954 – 28 June 2021) was a Barbados-born British film director, producer, educator, and writer, acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of independent Black British cinema, having been at the forefront of contempor ...

, documents the response of the Black community to the fire. The deaths in the fire were commemorated or mentioned in a number of reggae songs and poems at the time, including

Johnny Osbourne Johnny Osbourne (born Errol Osbourne, 1948) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall singer, who rose to success in the late 1970s and mid-1980s. His album '' Truths and Rights'' was a roots reggae success, and featured "Jah Promise" and the album's t ...

's "13 Dead and Nothing Said",

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (15 April 1958 – 7 December 2023) was a British writer, dub poet, actor, musician and professor of poetry and creative writing. Over his lifetime, he was awarded 20 honorary doctorates in recognition of his c ...

's "13 Dead",

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson Order of Distinction, OD (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poetry, dub poet and activist. In 2002, he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in th ...

's "New Crass Massakah" and

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the Grammy ...

's "Don't Let It Pass You By". The events are referenced in

The Young'uns The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and "Best Album" for ''Strangers'' in 2018. They specialise in singing unaccompanied, performi ...

song "These Hands" on the album ''Strangers'', which won

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music, with the aim of raising the profile of folk and acoustic music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British rad ...

"Best Album" 2018. Additionally, reggae producer Sir Collins, whose son Steve died in the fire, released a tribute album in memory of the victims. Rex Obano's radio play ''Lover's Rock'' (

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

, broadcast in November 2012) is a fictional account of the events leading up to the New Cross Fire. In March 2018, poet Jay Bernard's performance work investigating the fire, ''Surge: Side A'', won the 2017

Ted Hughes Award The Ted Hughes Award was an annual literary prize given to a living UK poet for new work in poetry. It was awarded each spring in recognition of a work from the previous year. It was a project which ran alongside Carol Ann Duffy's tenure as Poet ...

for new poetry. In 2020, a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

documentary entitled "From the Ashes of New Cross", an episode in the series ''Lights Out'', was broadcast to mark the 40th anniversary of the fire. The New Cross fire and the protests that followed are pivotal to the 2020

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

drama ''

Alex Wheatle Alex Alphonso Wheatle MBE (3 January 1963 – 16 March 2025) was a British novelist, who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the 1981 Brixton riot in London. Life and career Born on 3 January 1963 in London, to Jamaican parents, Wh ...

'', part of the filmmaker's '' Small Axe'' series for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The fire and the protests that followed were part of the Steve McQueen co-directed television documentary series ''

Uprising Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

'' shown on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in July 2021.

References

External links

"1981: Nine die in New Cross house fire"
– BBC News "On this Day".
Picture taken at New Cross March

Remembering the New Cross Fire 30 Years On - promotional video
* Professor Les Back
"New Crass Massahkah: Remembering the fire at 439 New Cross Road"
Published on 14 January 2016. * Adam Almeida
13 Dead, Nothing Said': Remembering the New Cross Fire"
''

'', 18 January 2021. {{coord, 51.4757, -0.0304, type:event_region:GB-LEW, display=title 1980s fires in the United Kingdom 1981 disasters in the United Kingdom 1981 fires 1981 in London Black British history Building and structure fires in London History of the London Borough of Lewisham January 1981 in Europe

House fire A structure fire is a fire involving the structural components of various types of residential, commercial or industrial buildings, such as barn fires. Residential buildings range from single-family detached homes and townhouses to apartments an ...

Residential building fires in the United Kingdom