The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-02-17 00:00:00

THE RECENT GALES AND FLOODS.

Very disastrous accounts have been received from
all parts of the country of the effects produced by the
late boisterous weather, the damage done by wind and
rain having been considerable,

With a gale from the E.S.E. and S.E. on Monday
morning, accompanied by a very high tide, Weymouth
Bay presented such a scene as had not been witnessed
for years. The sea was in some places higher than the
Esplanade, and even the decking of the pier was under
water. In many places the overflow from the harbour
prevented people from leaving their dwellings until the
tide had turned. In the bay the sea was very rough,
the waves coming bodily over the outer pier. A heavy
landslip took place at the mouth of Ridgway Tunnel,
on the line of railway between Dorchester and
Weymouth, which delayed the early morning trains
from running.

Windsor Castle was the centre of a district more or
less seriously affected by extensive floods. In t wenty-
four hours since Sunday morning, the Thames rose
nearly two feet, and immense volumes of water
coursed rapidly along the upper reaches. Forced back
by the wind, the water spread rapidly over most of
Home Park east of the Castle. Eton College and the
town were completely surrounded, the water lying on
the Brocas, South meadow, the Playing Fields, and
Willow Brook. Westward of Eton the inundations
extended for miles over the open country in the direc-
tion of Maidenhead.

At Swansea the storm was very violent. It swept
away about 100 yards of New East Pier Extension
Works and the piles were strewn along the coast.
What might have proved a serious railway accident
was averted on Monday morning by the care and
foresight of the driver of the train which left the
Didcot Junction of the Great Western Railway for
Newbury at 7.25. When the engine was running
through the cutting between Upton and Compton
Stations it was noticed that the line was blocked by a
quantity of earth that had become dislodged in conse-
quence of the heavy rains. The train was brought
to a standstill, and information sent to Didcot and
Newbury. Gangs of men were despatched to the spot
as soon as possible, and in the course of about two
hours the road was partially cleared.

_
In the Richmond district the Thames rose to an
unusual height, flooding the lawns and gardens of
many of the houses on the banks of the river, as well
as large portions of the Old Deer Park and the low.
lying meadows at Petersham and Twickenham. At
Richmond Railway Station the trains had to push
their way at times of high tide during the last few
days through about two feet of dirty water forced
back from the sewers by the tide. As the trains come
in this is forced over the platform, and passengers
are obliged to stand upon the seats to escape being
wetted.

A portion of the embankment in a deep cutting
midway between Dorchester and Weymouth gave
way early on Monday morning, blocking all traffic on
the Great Western and South-Western Railways.

The ground floors of moat of the houses at Hunger-
ford were inundated, and much damage was done. At
the stables where the horses of the Great Western
Railway carriers were kept the water was four feet
deep, and the animals were rescued with difficulty,

An inquest was held en Monday at Banbury on the
body of an old woman named Davis, who had perished
in the storm, having fallen down on the highway and
lain there all night till discovered by a policeman.
Heavy gales prevailed on Monday at Exeter,
Kinsale, Kirkwall (Orkney), Penzance, Plymouth, and
Wick, whilst the floods were very destructive around
Bridgwater, Cambridge, Dudley, Gloucester, Kingston-
upon-Thames, Leek, Lewisham, Reading, Redruth,
Rugby, Stoke-upon-Trent, Uttoxeter, and Yeovil.
The river Lea has flooded a large tract of land and
parts of the Royal Gunpowder Factory at Waltham
Abbey are under water. The workmen at the Royal
Small Arms Factory at Enfield had to be conveyed to
their work in carts, the roads being impassable for
pedestrians.
A violent storm swept over Dublin on Sunday night.
It is said that the wind has not blown with such force
for many years, and a number of fine old trees about
the city, especially near the Grand Canal, which had
weathered many a gale, were blown down. The
shipping in the port was uninjured, The Holy.
head and Kingstown mail steamers were mxch de-
layed. Throughout the south of Ireland on Sunday
night the wind blew with terrific force. On Sunday
night five soldiers attempted in a small boat to cross
from Queenstown to Rockey Island, where they were
stationed, but were obliged to put back. One of the
men fell overboard while trying to recover his oar, and
his companions were unable to rescue him.

On Saturday night, James Savill, shopkeeper, of
Farnham, Essex, drove from Bishop Stortford on his
return home in company with two labouring men, one
named Osborne, aged 66, and Warwick, a younger
man. He had to pass through a water lane, the
depth of the current being 41t. or sft., with a deeper
ditch at the aide. They had not proceeded more than
some 30 yards into the stream, which was flowing
against them, when the horse fell down. The cart
overturnod, and all three were pitched out. Warwick
and Savill succeeded in escaping, but Osborne was
carried away by the waters.
On Tuesday the scene at Datchet was very extra-
ordinary. From Windsor, Eton, and Slough, the
floods swept into the village and the South-Western
Station with alarming rapidity, pouring along the
line and converting the space between the platform,
the goods yard, and the way in the direction of
Wraysbury into a canal, the railway being more or
less submerged eastward of the station for about half
a mile. Through this inundation the trains from
Waterloo and Windsor had to carefully make their
way. In some places in the Windsor district the
floods were two feet higher than the preceding day.