 By 3 am, the entire warehouse was one body of flames "most awfully magnificent".The sulphurous blaze illuminated the river and its shipping, the High Level Bridge, the Castle, the steeples of All Saints', St. Nicholas' and St. Mary's churches, and every prominent object, with a lurid purple light.From the various floors of the warehouse the sulphur flowed in torrents like streams of lava, and the building resembled "a cataract on fire".