The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1863-01-27 00:00:00

THE LATE GALES.

The gale which lasted for two or three days in the
early part of last week was attended, we regret to
eon, with numerous casualties of II serious nature. In
London a great deal of damage is reported. In York.
street, Mile-end, a stack of chimneys was blown down,
ends man, his wife, and three children, who were in
bed, were buried under the mins. The womon was
killed ; the man and the children are severely hurt.
At Blackwell, a barge sank in the amuse of the night,
and • man and his two sons, who were on board at the
time, were drowned.
At Abergele. North Wales, the railway woo six fret
under water on Monday night, and at liagilt both lines
*ere torn up.

;:-.2 exceedingly rough at Holyhead, and the
lifeboat did good oervce.
. . . . .

The gale 4sed with terrific •iolence at Blackpool.
Such a storm hu not been experienced for years.
Great datuage to property of every description has been
caused. The new pier was blown down and beaten
into the water.

The Bwminghan Daily Post of Wednesday says
The gale, which during the last two day, has sweet
over and through Birmingham, bringing with it wild
drifts of rain and snow, and whirling the flames of the
Black Country high up into the Ay, until at night the
clouds in that direction looked !lie moving rocks of
fire, has not simply confined its operations to the region,
above the earth. The habitations of men have felt its
puwer, and in one instance very eerie& slatnage was
done, and life endangered. At about six o'clock on
Wednesday morning, Mr. Franklin, the well-khown
• taxidermist, who has recently come to live near hi 4
place of business, in Suffolk-street, was alarmed by a
great cruhing at the top of hie house. accompanied by
shouts and screaming. He at once went to the spot
whence the sound appeared to come, and on pushing
open • bedroom door, where his father ant lii, son—a
little boy of six or seven—were sleeping, found that the
roof had fallen in, and that the occupants of the room
were aluiont buried beneath timbers, slates, and brick•
work. With some difficulty be released them, and
found that the injuries they had sustained were but
alight. The father's leg was bruised,and the little boy's
face was scratched How they escaped without further
injury is a mystery, for a large ehimneywtack had
fallen, carrying the greater part of the nest with it, and
depositing some two or three tons of building material
in the bedrooin. The very bedstead on which they
were sleeping—an iron one—was bent in all directions
by the falling stack, and one of the legs of it was
driven clean through the door and the ceiling beneath.
The ruins, indeed, lay all around the bed, and upon
almost every part of it excepting where the sleepers
lay. That spot, and that alone, seemed to have been
providentially protected.
At Weston-nuper-Mare the sea raged furionsly, the
tide rising higher than any tide eel r known. The road
leading to Knightatone Pier became nearly inundated,
as also Knightstone itself. Itirnbeck-road became im-
passable, and during the evening of 'Tuseday the terrific
waves which rolled in on shore left a fearful spectacle
behind them. Some of the large new buttress walla of
Knightatone were destroyed ; a large portion of the
premises adjoining the Claremont Hotel was washed
down ; a large portion of the sea wall in front of Mr.
John Con's premises at Glentworth, ard the deposits
on the inside, were washed about in all directions over
on to the road. The most material damage sustained
was to the Esplanade, whieh became completely innn•
dated. The large heavy coping *tones of the Upper
Esplanade were washed clean out of their sockets, the
gravel in places had sunk from five to six inches, and
the sand been washed from under its foundation, while
the bower Esplanade (which previous to Monday even-
ing's tide had the sand driven up to its level) suffered
wont materially. The sand was completely washed
away from the wall to a depth of from five to six feet;
the water undermined the foundation, and at places
the boundary wall vu destroyed and the gravel of the
walk washed away in gape of from 4.5 to 50 feet in
length and of a proportionate width. The south end
portion of the Knightstone wall, opposite the public
fountain, was destroyed, as also the erections in connec-
tion with the fountain for the use of cattle. Some of
the boatmen's pleasure boats were totally destroyed,
while the glass of neveral windows of houses was blown
in, chimney stacks blown down, and house property
otherwise injured. Such a spectacle of destruction so
the Esplanades exhibited after Mondav's tides was never
before witnessed in Weston-super-Mare ; and it is
conjectured that had not the town surveyor (Mr. A.
Mayo) employed a large number of men to fill in the
foundations of the Eephinades with large stones and
clay, the Wednesday's tide must have brought them
down, which would have involved a coat of upwards
of 13,500.
_ . .

Portsmouth was visited with • heavy gale, accom-
panied by rain, had, and snow on Tuesday morning. A
steam dredging machine went down at her moorings,
and the Havre steam packet from Southampton was
brought up in St. Helen's roads for shelter. The
damage to shipping was small as parties had been well
forewarned of the gale by Admiral Fitiroy's signals.
One of the highest tides and most severe gales
occurred at Liverpool on Tuesday. Shortly before 12
o'clock the water had risen to a level with the top of
the quay walls on the dillerent piers. The St. George's
and Prince's landing stages were raised several
feet above the level of the piers to which they
are respectively attached, and from the high sea
which was running all access to them was rendered
diaiedt, aed in se... instances hazardous. Many of the
ferry passengers had to be conveyed to and 'rein the
St. George's landing-stage in carts and cabs, while the
spray dashed over them. So violent was the gale and ,
so high was the water that it came half-way across the
carriage-road between St. George's Dock basin and St.
Nicholas's churchyard. Some apprehensions were at
time entertained lest the frightful strain to which they
were exposed would cause some of the mooring-chains
' of the landing-stages to give way. Fortunately, how.
ever, this did not occur; the stage, gallantly rode out
she storm. So iiniuMent was the riak of drifting con-
sidered among the vessels at anchor in the river that
every precaution was adopted to secure them against
accident. The Great Eastern got up steam at an early
hour, and continued, with steam on, to ride at her
moorings. Several of the ship. building yards at the
south end of the town were inundated, and a eon-
' siderable au.ouut of timber and other materials was set
anted. The sea made several breaches in the Searonibe
enhanktnerd, but they are not believed to be of any
serious moment. A man ii reported to have been
washed off the landing dip at Seacombe and drowned.
The lifeboat-house on Rinse° Island was burst open by
the force of the wind and tide, and the liaises lifeboat
washed up at fleylake. In the Channel the storm
appears to have been equally fierce. In the town the
gale, which was accompanied by heavy showers of rain,
snow, and hail, caused great inconvenience and alarm.
although, so far as is known, there was no accident of
importune.
At Dover considerable destruction has been caused
by the gale. The "notice hoerds," prohibiting
laundresses drying on that portion of the bench most
frequented by se•si4e visitors, had been swept away.
The bathing machines have been dragged up many feet
from their usual winter standing, and at the moment
of writing the hot and cold baths are surrounded by
the use. During the night, and the high tide at 11.30
a.ni. on Tuesday, the footpath freitiog the Marine
Parade, and leading thence to Fest Cliff, was destroyed
toe depth of Irift., and it was imagined that another
such tide would carry away some portion of the car-
riage drive. Laid posts that once marked the fre-
quented promenade* for pedestrians are now between
30ft. and 4011. from the water's edge. On Monday the
Tubal Cain was brought into harbour, waterlogged
and in a sinking condition.
mu GALi Ix FlSAXCL—Atiotbar hurricane of ex-
treme violence was experienced at Marseilles on
Thursday night lase All the ships in the roads were
forced to seek shelter at the Frioul 'The tempest ex-
tended along the coast of the Mediterranean. and
occas'coned serious lows. The French coasting vessels
Vigne, Rosalie Raptistine, Marie Joseph, and the
Italian brig San Antonio, were lost. The Clew 0.1 the
Vigo. was saved. That of the Rosalie Beptistine
perished. The Marie Joseph lied lest one of bet OM W.
sad UN law Aaboabo Wee. • tel.graal from Mat.

tignes states that the French ship Jenne Armand.
bound front Calle to Marseilles, and laden with
minerals, was lost the saute night ; crew saved.
A letter frees Were* of the 17th in.t. states that on
that morning, when everbotly thought that the horri•
cane of the preoesling night had subiided, a dash of
lightning was perceived, quickly followed by a loud
clap of thuntkr. Shortly afterwards the obelisk raised
on the platform of the old castle fell to pieces. The
lightning did not snare a morsel of this monument,
erected by Colonel Vonthier. The pedestal itself was
overthrown and the iron railing we, torn up and
twisted as if it were. piece of wire The rock. which
Was likewise struck with lightning, was split into small
Purees, As a proof of the eccentric movement of
lightning, at the moment the obelisk was struck a
metal ornament on the top of the Church of St. Louis,
squats at a distance of 700 yards, was swept away: