SERIOUS SHOCK OE EARTHQUAKE IN ENGLAND. Great Destruction of Property.—Widespread Panic

Te Aroha News, Volume I, Issue 53, 7 June 1884, Page 3

SERIOUS SHOCK OE EARTHQUAKE IN ENGLAND. Great Destruction of Property.—Widespread Panic

A severe shock of earthquake, causing serious destruction of property and intense alarm to the inhabitants, occurred in the east of England on April 22, its greatest force being felt in Suffolk and Essex. A correspondent at Colchester telegraphs that the shock was felt at half-past nine, the first symptom being a deep rumbling sound, followed by a quaking which shook all the buildings in the town, caused the furniture in every house to rock and fall over, and proved very destructive to chimney-stacks and ether lofty structures, while the damage to light ornaments was general, The handsome spire of the Lion Walk Congregational Church, about 150 feet high, was brought to the ground, causing considei-able damage to the roof of the building; and scores of other roofs were injured by falling debris. The concussion lasted about half a minute. Women rushed out of doors shrieking, all the business establishments were emptied of their employe's, and children were hurried by scores, only partially dressed, into the streets. What the actual damage will prove to be it is impossible to state, but so general was the shock that it will be represented by many thousands of pounds. One fire was causod by the shock in Maiden-burgh-street, but the fire brigade extinguished it before the building was destroyed. A report was spead that the Colchester Gasworks had blown up, but this proved to be without foundation, although the vibration was felt severely in that quarter. The wave seemed to pass from Purfleet through the eastern part of Essex, in the direction of Oxfordness. In the camp and at Wyvenhoe, Abberton, Thorpe, Brightlingsea, and other places round, considerable damage was done. The damage in Colchester is estimated at £10,000. There is scarcely a house in the place which has not been damaged by falling chimneystacks, and the dehris of brickwork is lying about everywhere in the streets. Th plate-glass of the phop windows is broken' some houses aro in a dangerous condition, and one house has fallen. At Langenhoe, a few miles from Colchester, the most remarkable evidences of the shock are to be seen. Farmhouses are wrecked, or partially do, all along the high road, while Lagenhoo Church, an ancient structure of stone built in the Noiman period, is shattered in a manner that would scarcely be credited except by personal observation. The massive tower, surmounted by battlements constructed of great blocks of stone, was so shaken that the heavy masonry fell with destructive force on to the roof above the nave and chancel, utterly destroying the roof for a space of 10 feet square, and filling the interior of the edifice with a mass of dehris. The rector, the Rev. Mr Parkinson, has also suffered severely in the partial demolition of his residence,situate about two hundred, yards from the church. There were half-a-dozen chimney stacks on the house, and these have all been overthrown or twisted on their foundations so as to necessitate their being removed. The walls have been cracked in every direction. Long fissures appear also in the grounds surrounding the house, particularly on the handrolled gravel walks.