The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-11-20 00:00:00

THE EXTRAORDINARY HIGH TIDE IN

THE THAMES.

In London, on Monday morning, between two and
three o'clock, the tide on the Thames rose to an ex-
traordinary height, and for many miles, extending
from Gravesend to the tidal limits up the river, the
water overflowed the banks on each side, and, rushing
into wharves, warehouses, and private dwellings,
caused damage to the amount of many thoußands of
pounds. The recent heavy rains and floods had caused
some high tides during the past week, but, beyond
causing some little discomfort, no damage was done,
and little fear of a further rising was entsrtained until
Sunday, when a strong wind from N.W. brought the
water up at a rate which it was feared would cause
a very high tide in the morning. Little prepara-
tion to resist the encroachment of the water had
been made in the warehouses and other buildings,
but many of the residents in the low-lying dis-
tricts did what was possible in the time, with
little effect, however, for about half-past two on
Monday morning the water flowed over the banks
and carried havoc as it advanced. In Battersea the
scene was one of wild excitement. The water flowed
over the Nine-elms Goods Depot of the London and
South-Western Railway, and, rushing down Nine-
elms and Wandsworth-roads, did more damage than
was occasioned by the high tide of March, 1874. Here
alone thousands of pounds' worth of property were
destroyed and hundreds of homes rendered uninhabit-
able. In many parts of Lambeth similar damage was
done, and people had to move their furniture into
upper floors where they possessed them, and in hun-
dreds of cases got what they could into the streets.
Farther up the river the damage was equally great.
The water broke away the gates of the dry dock of
the London Steamboat Company, and near the
same spot the first flaorti' and kitchens of many
houses were completely flooded, the water in some
cases reaching up to the ceilings. The distress
occasioned, more especially among the poorer classes,
is great. At Wandsworth and Putney, on the Surrey
side of the Thames, and Fulham. on the Middle-
sex side of the river, similar damage was done.
The tide rose about three inches above the highest
point recorded in March of last year. Messrs. Clowes,
printers, at Broadwall, are among the greatest suf-
ferers by the high tides. Their extensive warehouses
were completely flooded. In the course of one hour
fifty printing machines, two steam engines, together
with a large quantity of paper, and other stock, was
completely submerged.

On Monday afternoon the tide rose again to a great
height and occasioned further damage. In the even-
ing active preparations were being made in Lambeth
and the other low-lying districts to resist any further
entry of the water at the following morning's tide.
In Thames-street, from which the ship-building yard
of Messrs. J. A. G. Rennie and the Phoenix gas-
works are entered, the water rose in the street to a
height in some parts of 41 t. Gin, above the foot pave-
ment level. The dwellings in that and the adjacent
streets were flooded, and the inmates subjected to most
distressing inconveniences. Messrs. Rennie's yard is
on the down-stream side of the Creek or mouth of the
Ravensbourne. On the up-stream side are the work-
shops, yards, and docks of the General Steam Naviga-
tion Company, that enter from the " stowage " and
from Deptford-green. Here great damage was done.
The entrance to the company's wharves, yards, and
workshops is from a low-lying basin near a place called
the Orchard. Here the tide, surmounting the quays,
the General Steam and the Hoy, tore down the front
of a new building in process of erection by the company,
and rcse to above the window sills of a large number
of cottages in the neighbourhood.

The Daily News, in their description of the dangers en-
countered and the property injured and destroyed, narrates
the following
At the residence of Mrs. Rudd, No. I, Princes-street,
Commercial-road. a distressing scene was witnessed.
The wall supporting a heavy cistern at the rear of the
premises was torn down, and in its descent it broke
through the kitchen, rendering the house insecure.
Fortunately, Mrs. Rudd and the lodgers escaped.
The walls of Messrs. Clowes, printers, in Duke-street,
Stamford-street, fell with a loud report. The
damage done to the machinery and paper is extensive.
The adjoining premises, belonging to Mr. S. Webster,
Duke's-court, used as a manufactory, were entirely
destroyed. Eight barrels of tar were washed out of
the sheds into the adjoining street. Mr. Webster has
lost over £5OO. The heroic conduct of a lad, scarcely
seventeen years of age, in preserving the lives of
eighteen horses, deserves to be recorded. His name is
William Moore, of 57, Picton-street, Camberwell, and
he was in the employ of Mr. Teagle, glassblower,
John-street, Cornwall-road. He was at work at the
time of the approaching high tide, and at a quarter
past one the water rapidly entered his master's pre-
mises, extinguished the furnace fire, and caused a ces-
sation of work. He then left for home, and on his
reaching the Commercial-road the water was about six
inches deep. In crossing the yard leading to the
stabling of Mr. Bailey he heard a peculiar noise, and
two young men who had just come up urged him to
see what was the matter. Divesting himself of his
coat, the lad went in the direction from which the
sound came, and then heard the groaning of horses.
The water was then up to his chest. By the light of
the moon he saw a stable door, which he managed to
force open, and on entering stumbled over a dead
horse. In the same stable there were three other
horses tied together, and by cutting the rope which
attached them they were set free, as were two others
in the same stable. Still up to his neck in water the
lad made his way to another stable, the padlock of
which he forced. The plunging of eleven horses there
—each up to its middle in water—somewhat terri-
fied him, but he released them all, and, as in the case
of the six others, they were safely secured. A third
stable was then with much difficulty entered, and
there the lad discovered only one occupant—a
cream-coloured pony, said to be a great favourite
of the owner. Moore found it in a standing
posture, perfectly listless, and as he could not
get the poor animal to move of its own accord
he managed to drag it out, and was met in the
water by the master, who had just come up, and at
four o'clock the animal was restored to animation. In
Holland-street the water came with strong force from
the Falcon Drawing Dock, opposite which are the
glass-works of Messrs. Pellatt and Co., the fire in con-
nection with which has not been out for seven years,
and it was only by constantly supplying logs of timber
that it was not extinguished by the flow of water. It
was notlong before Gravel-lane, Great Guildford-sixeet,
Princes-street, Emerson-street, and Bankside, with its
numerous turnings, shared in the woik of destruction
that was going on. Messrs. Hill and Son, wholesale
druggists' whose premises extend from Southwark-
street to Princes-street, have sustained much damage;
at the "Head and Feathers," Grayel-lane, Mr.
Howard's, jun., box maker; Mountain's hop ware-
house • Cadd's oil and colour warehouse, Great
Guildford-street, and the "White Bear," Emerson.
street, have suffered severely. Among the many poor
inhabitants in Bankside, much misery is caused. In
some houses there were over eight feet of water. A
man named Macilroy, a lighterman, left his home in
Emerson-buildings to go to his barge, and on the way
the tide met him, and anxious to see that his family
were safe he returned, but was obliged to have recourse
to swimming. The engines belonging to the Metro-
politan Fire Brigade were hard at work in Southwark.
street. The flooding of the cellars in that thorough-
fare was occasioned by the sewers being over-
charged. .
The official report of damage to property in the
immediate district adjacent to the banks of the
Thames shows the inundations to be as follows :