Great Storm of Seventeen Hundred and Three.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1621, 29 January 1886, Page 2

Great Stor m of Seventeen Hundred and Three.

■ ♦ '■ • In the year 1703 Great • Britain was visited by an atmospheric distufba'nee of so violent a character and productive of. so great an amount of destruction as to well deserve the distinctive appellation of the (i Great Storm. 1 ' . The wind had been blowing with great violence for two days, when, oh November 27th r it irief eased m force' to such an extent that to venture abroad, was to invite death, and to remain indoors afforded no other prospect than to be burjed beneath the ruins of a falling habitation. In England the effects of this terrible hurricane were most, disastrous m the sdutherri ahd :^ westerh f 'dwtri6tsV v tner numjber of lives loat being very considerable. At Wells the Bishop of the diocese and ■his wife. were killed • as • they lay.in bed by a stack of chimneys crashing throngh the roof of the house and falling, upon '■them. „ ' "' ,'',_. ' T," ; ' '' -'.V •' Stacks of corn and other agricultural produce — even herds of cattle-^were swept away ; buildings were torn from their foundations, trees were uprooted, and fertile tracts of land turned into wildernesses—all kinds of property Being damaged. V--'\ . ] In -the town especially the storm wrought great destruction. In, tlie city of London the loss was estimated at one million sterling, and m Bristol at nearly a quarter of * million. In the mstropo.lisjiiiiny.o.f the inhabitantsj;|ook- refuge m the cellars of their dwellings," m order to escape' tho threatened dangers of the Btorm. ; On the. coasts and m the harbours the damage ambngWttie shipping was incaU culable. The shores of the Channel were strewn with wreckage ; and) the; Thames .and the Severn weie crowded jWith |he dismasted hulls of vessels— the crews of which had been blown f coin the decks into the raging sea. Severatmen.of-war were totally wrecked, and fifteen hunf dred seamen perished. '■■■■•'■'"! \ The Eddystpne Lighthouse, which had ; been erected only three years.previously, was also swept away, together with its builder, Winstantley, and five other per-, sons.' ' '.'■ ■' ■ ' ■' ' " ' i It is told that' when doubts had been expressed to Winstanley as to the capability of the structure to withstand a violent storm, he had boastinglysaid that he would I ike to be m it during the greatest storm, that ever blew !, ,:...-. This terrible storm also did great damage m France ami Holland. . ..