THE EARTHQUAKE IN ENGLAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1272, 5 June 1884, Page 2

THE EARTHQUAKE IN ENGLAND.

Despatches from London say that on the morning of April 22nd at 9.30 a.m. ''

an earthquake shock of considerable force a as felt in the Eastern Counties of England. Localities in Essex and Suffolk were the scenes of the greatest disturbance. At Ipswich the shock was so severe that the walla of houses were considerably shaken, plates rattled and belia : ang, a mansion stiauered, and a railroad depot partially destroyed. People w’era .thrown into such a stato of consternation that business was for a time suspended. The duration of the shock at Ipswich was three seconds. Tbs shock was still more severe at Colchester, and the concussion lasted half a minute. The first symptom was a deep rambling sound, portentous and awe-inspiring, speedily followed by a quaking and shaking of all the buildings. The church bells sounded as though swayed by unseen hands ; tall chimney stacks of factories crashed in ruins to the earth, and other lofty structures were destroyed. The spire of one of the largest churches in the city, 150 ft high, fell with an awful crash to the ground. It is impossible to estimate the amount of damage, but it is known to be great. In private, houses the greatest confusion prevailed. Chairs and tables were overtuned, china and glassware in cupboards rattled together, and were frequently shattered, while pictures and other ornaments upon the walls were loosened from their fastenings and fell to the floor. People were terror-stricken. Men, women and children rushed shrieking into the streets, where their agonised cries and pale faces made a most painful and impressive scene. In some stations traffic was forbidden, as the buildings were so badly shattered that' they were considered dangerous. The side walls of the houses of Colchester were shattered out. At (Chelmsford, about twenty miles from London, the shock was also severe, and people were filled with terror and dismay. At Malden, ten miles from Chelmsford, the Town Hall and private houses were swayed several times. The wave passed from south to north. At Southend the earth trembled for miles around. The windows of many of the dwellings were broken, the chimneys dashed to the earth, and the crockery and glassware smashed. In London there were numerous indications of the proximity of an earthquake. The telegraph institutions were shaken, and the shock was distinctly felt in Cheapside and Fleet street. ffh# Globe says the shook was felt in the Strand. A business house, it asserts, was perceptibly reeked, so much so, that the employees wore afraid and rushed into the streets. The earthquake has caused a feeling of alarm and insecurity throughout England. Eater reports say that at Colchester child was killed and a woman’s skull fractured. There were many narrow escapes. The fine old parish church at Langenhqe was demolished, and the place loqka as if it had been bombarded. The dansage at Wivenhoe alone ia L4,0Q0 At a number of m'u.o! girls rushed panio stricken into the street and many of them

were crushed. The New T 3 Tribune, commenting on the phenomenon, says England has had in the past several earthquakes, but no distinctive shocks appear ■ to have occurred during the past 200 or 300 years. The recent shock was rea’ly more severe than the heaviest known in San Francisco. The time does not indicate any greater duration than three seconds. In the heaviest which has occurred in San Francisco, and at least one of which lasted ten seconds, the oscillation, though continually increasing, did not bring down any tall chimneys. Later reports say the earthquake was one of the moat serious which has happened in England for 3000 years. People felt it quite perceptibly in London. Some of the descriptions read as if they had appeared in a San Francisco journal. One home was twisted on its foundation ; another was shattered from the basement to the roof. At least four church towers were thrown down. In Colchester, where the shock was greatest, hundreds _of people rushed into the streets, screaming at the top of their voices. The affair was so serious that everybody has been uncomfortably meditating upon the possibility of another, and philosophical weekly journals speculate on the effect a constant recurrence would have on the stability of the English character.