The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-02-03 00:00:00

THE RECENT GALES.

The west-south-westerly gale which swept over the
Metropolis early on Saturday morning increased in
force up to half-past eleven o'clock, when the river
Thamea below London-bridge presented a very ani-
Mated appearance, and considerable damage was done
to the shipping, especially to small craft, which were
tarried away from their moorings by the gale on the
Strong ebb tide. The great force of the wind was
experienced at Rotherhithe, where great damage has
been done to house and other property. At half-past
five o'clock on Saturday night a loud crash was beam
the neighbourhood of Clapham Junction. The
gable end of a new building in course of construction
fell and crushed in the roofs and walls of two small
cottages in Falcon-yard. The family of a Mr.
Ramrnerslay were buried beneath the fallen bricks
and mortar. A gang of men were soon at work
With picks and shovels, but great difficulty was expo-
!tented in removing a largebeam which had fallen across
the legs of two persons. They were both seriously
Itch:red, and the beam had to be sawn through before
they could be extricated. They were carefully lifted
away from their perilous position, when it was found
that they were William Hammerslay and his wife,
Mary Ann. The latter had received internal injuries,
and two of her ribs were fractured. The former was
seriously cut about his legs. The other persons in-
jured were Mrs. John Hammerslay and her daughter,
Mrs. Elizabeth Hart. They were removed to St.
Thorium's Hospital. A little boy aged ten years, son
of Mrs. Hammerslay, when dug out from the ruins,
vrae found to be without a bruise. John, the father
of the family, escaped with only a few scratches. At
the time of the occurrence the family had assembled
to hear a letter read, which had just been received
from a son announcing his speedy return to Eagland
after serving meveral years in the Army in India.
The gale was felt severely in many parts of the
country. In the neighbourhood of Salisbury the wind
Is accompanied by violent rain; much damage is
done to property and low-lying lands are flooded.
The neighbourhood of Richmond, Kew-gardens,
Chiswick, and Brantford is strewn in many places
With branches and with portions of the chimney-pots.
At Chiswick a barge-builder's shed has been blown
down, but no other damage is reported. The
gale continued with great fury throughout the east
and north of Yorkshire on Saturday. The temperature
during the day and night was excessively low, and
Mum fell to the depth of 61n. on the wolds. Floods
are reported from the outlying districts; large trees
Were uprooted, sheep drowned and starved, and farm
buildings blown down. At Blackburn on Saturday
bight David Jones, cabdriver, aged about twenty
four was killed. He was standing for shelter
beneath a wall seven feet high, surmounted by a
large boarding when a portion of wall and board-
ing were blown down by a strong gust of wind, and
Jones was buried beneath the ruins. At Preston
wails have been blown down, and chimney stacks
blown through the roofs of houses, injuring several in-
Mates slightly. In one house pert of the stack fell
through the roof, injuring the widow of the late vicar
of Preston; in another a gentleman named Worthing
WWI injured about his head by a chimney pot being
blown through the slates; in another house, on Ribble
blulk, part of the stack broke through the roof, and part
of it fell on Mr. and Mrs. Pateson, the occupiers, who
Were in bed. Mr. Pateeon was injured about the back
and the lower extremities, and his wife was injured
about the back. At Fleetwood, which seemed to lie
directly in the region of the cyclonic disturbance the
gale was felt most severely. A large chimney fell, de-
molishing a building and killing a horse. A cottage, too,
was partially wrecked. Part of another house was laid in
rains and the furniture destroyed. The chimney and roof
fell on the kitchen of the Rev. A. W. Smith, com-
pletely demolishing it. At Chorley buildings have
sustained great damage, and a chimney thirty yards
Igh, was blown down. Happily no one was killed or
Initund. At Chester the wind is described as having
cad the force ot a hurricane. Snow fell for a couple
of hours r during the morning. A chimney stack fell at
eston, and the church tower was damaged. A tree
ell across the telegraph wires near Neston, nutting
Els communication between Chester and Birkenhead.
-1163'144as were blown over, and the hay blown far
kid wide. The Irish mails were delayed. The pas-
sengers across the Channel experienced the most tem-
pestuous voyage. At Crewe a policeman's head was
cut open by a dislodged elate.
At Windsor, great damage was done to the trees in
me Great Park, and a small portion of the stonework
of the curfew tower of the Castle was blown into the
street below.
, Rivers have overflowed their banks in many places
In Wales. A great extent of country is flooded,
..e 015117 between Bangor-is-coed, and Eaton,
elshpool and Llanymynech. Great damage to
vFoPerty resulted. Many dwelling-houses are com-
pletely deluged. Several persons sustained serious in-
Jsirles by falling chimneys and buildings.
heavy rains of the last week canoed serious
o;,suL continued inundations of the low-lying country in
ti"u'ral and western Ireland, particularly in Tip-
andr Queen's County. In some parts of Tip-
of _sr', to the west of Thurles especially, large areas
1...114131e land are several feet under water. The bog
also ore flooded, and groat *Gov:Ay of fuel oziebo
"srmg to Itability to dry the turf. Ploughing and
NOWing operations are in a great measure suspended,
hnd it is feared that the loss to the numerous small
farmers in these districts will lead to further distress.
At Waterford on Saturday night great damage was
done to house property. Several old houses were
blown down. The harbour was crowded with vessels
seeking shelter, some of them having their bulwarks
completely carried away.
The most terrible hurricane that has been ex-
Perienced in Belfast for a great length of time took
VAN!, on Saturday afternoon. The past two or three
MI had been most boisterous, but on Saturday after-
'loon at four o'clock a storm of great magnitude broke
"er Belfast and district and lasted for about an hour
and an half. There was a great destruction to house
ProPerty, and in many cases over the north of Ireland
'were blocked up by trees blown down. Tele-
611Phio communication was also stopped in many
Parte in consequence of breaking of the poles, Ac. A
!°od deal of damage has been done to shipping. The
:P.atant vessel the Wed Deer, which went ashore on
orth Rock, county Down, west to pieces on Fri-
"Y night and Saturday. A considerable portion of
cargo and passengers' luggage has been saved.
at Thurles, county Tipperary, during the gale, the
iiatre, a wooden structure with a canvas roof, was
4Own to the ground just as the play was commencing.
it!ers, actresses, and audience were buried in the
de' and several sustained fractured limbs and
are unto and bruises. Parts of the falling wood
were blown across the street, smashing the windows
of tho shops.

In many parts of the country on Monday the gale
continued with great severity, causing further damage
te property on shore and to shipping on the coast, and
4344 accompanied by loss of life. The heavy rains
t(34 the Past few days also caused serious floods, and
e loss to farmers has been very great.
,Th• rainfall at Windsor is described as of almost
brePloal violence. The Thames rose rapidly, and
hgnin, began to flood its banks. Considerable damage
nee
been done along the Rennet valley and a
(Mat quantity of land near Newbury is submerged.
Therra are also great floods in various parts of
North Warwickshire. The river Dee is enor-
14°1111Y high, and has overflowed its banks in many
144. Dwelling-houses in low-lying districts are
-1/141:11Ped, and the residents have been compelled to
vacate the lower rooms of their dwellings for the upper
4Pertranents. Early in the morning a wall was blown
slow?, v,
the force of the hurricane on to the roof of the
6.717,. of St Luke's Church, Sheffield. The vestry
completely wrecked. The river Teme is
to a great height, and on Monday morning a
."` was carried down a brook, through a culvert, into
river and drowned. The floods have done great
kittenge to Todmorden. Several cotton mills have
flooded, and hundreds of hands temporarily
ITlYoera out of employment. At Hebdenbridge, too,
floods have caused much loss, one cotton mill stand.
aft,,raeveral feet in water. The river Swale, which is one
~ros most rapid 'breams in the kingdom, flooded mills
C,su houses in the vicinity, rendering many persons
eLtn„eillss, and throwing hundreds out of work. Horses,
it—Lue. and farm produce were washed down by the
'III In great quantities. Some people had to be
"rattled in boats. Part of the village of Brompton was
11°"Iled away, with a considerable portion of the
It 'lellsaond-road. The river Tees was nearly as high as
fi was two years ago and muish damage was done by
iede. • The mill chimney of Messrs. Entwistle and
to'nYen, domestic washing machine makers, Aocring-
,...e! was blown down. The bricks demolished the
of the engine-house and mechanic shop. It was
fortunate the accident happened during the night, or
V? lives would probably have been lost. There has
n a small land subsidence adjoining the highway
2, Church. In the Skiddaw district a large land-
oeourreci at the east end of the railway tunnel,
ths s_R-, "wick. Fortunately, a platelayer witnessed
and running up the line, outmeded in stopping
400`1,vy mineral train just in time to prevent a serious
went. Traffic was resumed in the afternoon. The
r_.! Tweed is in very high flood, and all the adjacent
rlands are submerged. In Dungannon, on Satur.
oarter was killed by the falling of a chimney-
Pot,end at Waterford some houses were blown down.
The 1
13ap nrge wooden pavilion recently erected at West
uer to hold 4,000 persons, at a meeting held there
i.,4otniko.nnection with Mr. Gladstone's visit to Mid-
st° lee, wax completely blown down during the
rul on Monday.

Ow
the,.ing to a further fall of rain during Monday night,
Was a continuance of serious inundations in
Parts of the Midlands. Rivers overflowed their
tadA,
ria;'.ll to a very considerable extent, and in some of
tr "IntrY districts roads are impassable. The river
re rose to a great height, and two-thirds of the town
5)1
f Boroughbridge, Yorkshire, was submerged. The
ondants found themselves imprisoned in their houses,
rilol 13°148 had to be employed in carrying them pro-
and rendering other assistance. All the mills
flooded, and their fires extinguished. During
o:7nderstorin in the neighbourhcod ot Pontypridd
thr neadaY, a house occupied by a farmer was struck
Zle,„...ae times
wn the chimney stack aby the electric fluid. One thunderbolt
id domd knocked down a
buter,„lPiene, another knocked away-a portion- of the
Woes ""g' and, passing into a outhouse, killed five
A a Land a third smashed the bed-room window.
131:‘,„Uunnerside, Thwaite Islet, and Eskleth the
;4:5e1l were washed away, and the ref ..'
""011 Bit:lm on d and Reeth hasbeen oblitrtima

by a landslip extending for 200 yards. The
weather was again stormy in the Lake District
on Tuesday, particularly in the morning, when there
was a fall of snow. The embankment at the east end
of the tunnel at Keswick subsided further, blocking
the traffic for a few hours. A portion of the
remaining wall has fallen, and a considerable
length has been affected by the heavy lateral pres-
sure exerted by the sliding gravelly earth of
which the embankment consists. There was a heavy
fall of snow in the North of Scotland, particularly
along the Highland Railway. At noon on Tuesday
the snow drifted to a depth of 3ft. at Dalwhinnie
Station, and heavy showers were still falling. At
Dalnaspidal there was about 6in., and showers were
falling intermittently. At Dundee on Tuesday night
the frost was intense and the air piercingly cold. In
Ireland, the Shannon has, in consequence of the heavy
rains, flooded the adjoining lands, doing considerable
rlamage. At Currea two cows were drowned and a
quantity of farm produce destroyed.