The Express.
London, England, 1852-02-06 00:00:00

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

TSCSIDAT.

This withethig Angel doniaful osoneenso, attended with •
fusible hen adllA and antructim of peopsthy, happened
is the Ikkelode Valley, about six mike sea* of thie town.
Makelledi Is situated at the foot of a of hills which
gees a pardon of what is turned the
_ef leg
lead." TM valley between that velem end
is Mudded with imam mills. shamans bask* been
don of the insey essolbat sites whisk the wankMß of
weir kent An bilk tie Pis harked, peasks. Myst the
nenty streengeh whisk Gm ken the bah alms Main-
Ink Ow rune sharakennk Is presented, sad the
several valleys and bilbeldes ethee with a4r.V and
very
enterprising population, a seasidarable on of
the woollen cloths tor which tit With • 'mg is so
celebrated be manufactured is this legality. As in
summer time the mills often bad to stand for want
of water, them Wei but little from the hills ia dry
weather, bet IMO Asa sakelt in wet, a iota-
pany was hens& ammo peen I. and • number of gentle-
men were by ast of parliament, and em-
powered to eonstneet imp reservoirs for the storege of
water in winter, to be I. &era the rivulets in the 19991014
as it might be reveled Wit the en of the mills, power being
Also given to rate the emend mill properties fur the benefits
thus conferred. Ammo* ethers the Holgalltth Reservoir
Ciessenissimars sonstensisti • reservoir called the Bilberry
lisserfeele. sieumead *ea three miles and a half above
likkellatb, Is the esede-west. During the last week there
laws Mesa key seatiensen falls of rain, and the water has
tweelkerel the nreheakeent of the reservoir for several
days. indeed, ken was previously entertained of its safety
by parties who ventisd new to it, and who were aware that
it had never boss thowanted as a work of gist-rate quality.
Yesterday wee • day of isoess•st rain ; and the rivulets
and streams in the neighbourhood were much ewellen.
Apout one o clock this morning the embankments of this
large reservoir was swept away, and an immense volume of
water thereby soddenly iibtrated. The torrent rushed on-
wards with devastating force; some mills were swept down
—others were gutted— machinery and materials, both
wrought and unwrought, being either rendered worthless or
married away by the flood. Dwellings shared the same fate.
With a suddennres that rendered warning impossible, the
buildings with their sleeping inmates were swept along the
engulphing torrent At Holmfirth, a whole street of houses
was thus carried away, with their inhalsitants, to the num-
ber of sixty souls. Hundreds of other dwelling, were flooded,
and the wave of many of the inmates from death has been
mast miraculous. The destruction of property has been
enormous. The stocks of the shopkeepers who lined the
streets on each side of the Holme are wholly destroyed, or
damaged so as to be all but borthless. The furniture and
clothing of private dwelling-houses are alsedestroyed. One of
the most beautiful valleys in the world leas been tendered
scene of awful devastation. Bridges hen km serried
away, and large steam-engine boilers lifted from tisk seats,
and borne along by the overwhelming torrent for miles,
and then lett in the fields. Trees torn up, and the soil
washed away from the lands' adielaing the mane of the
main stream. But more awful still, emse than meaty lives
have been lam! At the time we with it is horrible to tell
the enact number, or even to approximate to k giorreetly.
Whole families are swept away, and there are none left to
tell the number. Upwards of thy badge Mk been re-
covered. They are deposited at the soned pelikhosere
along the line of devastation; sad the a
of many testify to the force of the torrent nit swept
Ms.mlae.
them before it. It is impossible in this hasty 11009111114 to
particularise ; but it may be stated that millowners, shop-
keepers, sad workpeople have met with a common fate. The
calamity is a most frightful one, likely to be the ruin of one
of the most spirited of our manufacturing districts. All
classes will suffer—the manufacturers from the lose of mills
machinery, and material—the shopkeepers from the loss of
stock, sod the operatives from loss of employment. Some
of the bodies recovered were found fourteen miles from the
place where the reservoir (the cause of this awful havoc)
was situate. Preparations are being made fur holding en
inquest ou the bodies already recovered.
A correspondent, writing from Manchester, yesterday
thus adverts to this most digressing 009911.91100, and to
various other casualties caused by floods ia the north.
In consequence of the imetinwous heavy rain., which fell
partially on Teesisy, but more particularly en Wednesday,
teem a very early hour in this morning up to 8 De 9 o'clock
in the evening, the rivers which flow through Lincoln-
shire, Yorkshire' sad Derbyshire, were swollen till the
water burst the banks, and in many places covered
the sur-
rounding country, convertiog all the low grounds into im-
mense lakes.
At Hahafirth, near Huddersfield, we regret to learn that
great keg of life, the whole extent of which is not yet ascer-
tained, and serious destruction of poprty, have taken
place. During the night of Wedneday the Bilberry Dam
reservoir, at liolmfirth, overflowed its embankments, and
deluged the lower grounds for miles down the Holm
valley. The flood swept away the Digley Mills, the reel-
dence of Mrs. Hirst, the owner; and that of her son-in-law,
Mr. H. maaufacturer, together with all the oat-
bighting., and it hod not been asseetained at ten o'clock
yesterday aiming whether the three ppeeeeaeawusa amend had
pesishoi is 7M tised, or had lose hniNatc onsepti to
snap* *en At Ilk eel* yesteeday raeralei see of
Ger Meese" SIB kinky saw the furniture of
the two homes froth( *eat ia the flood. By a later
asseastwo Mem thed at IA ehiedtit bad an base ascertained
bow knee lies bed alba a amass te Oh Mehl Wan-
ds**, but at that time a seeker of sees were engaged
In dr= suchof the bodies as ISM within mete eat of
'the waters. Up to that beer 8 bodies bed been
take Neat Lookwood, and 2 at Airy Brew, sad k was
hew* lint tiros won only • small pospenise of ths
pthe wonky of sellekes. Amway* other demon the=
ia ill NUM swept away part ef Use village of
Hiaaleal sal serried away two rows of new
bandits. 01101.1111114 as well as the bridge over the
1101910. whisk *mod the only asenenaiskise between
the parts of thads=essliir2 olei=kales of ths river.
lathe the thin Irwin
roes to a brisk win* bet vest base roneenthsreell for many
yeses ; and • lints above *5 tows, when it Rows
through Ma Wane" the Leh beak was mellowed, and a
groat mike of Lower Beseetheen was laid under water, in
sense We Mph of Rise hot. Ahem hot o'clock in
the alludes., In _____Rase__ of • report Thigh osaallod the
nen* pollee st.t.e h hkorthester, Mr. Boswisk, the chief
as at doetetles forte, who Hides
in that
ne west to *a sealstsooe of souk of the bl-
ether...be hared, hod bosom exceedingly alarmed
Mid 4111111114 he denositesess of the water cutting of all
r keeps hem *air eaddwicee. Ile found that
=litre two rows of Massa, tedesigiag to Mr. Hacking
(of New Bailey-street, adhst), situated between
&imitates-lane sad the river Irwell, which were in
the petition described. One of these was Broughton
View, sad the other was • row of houses which
have not yet been named, and which it was
ispowilis to approach without boats, the water varying
from tares to six feet in depth near to them. A stung
wiled, siting on the surface of the water, caused a
serf to break against the houses with such Once
that the owner expressed his fear that, from the slight way
in width they had been built, under contrart, they would
be washed down during the night. Mr. Besseiek despatched
saes disks to bring • boat, that assistance might be ren-
dered to the inhabitants of the bowies, and in order that
end of then as were disposed, from fear of their safety,
might be ranoved to a place of refuge. The result was,
that loos lifter 6 o'clock in the evening about 33 people
were removed from these houses and sought safety for the
night elsewhere. About 9 o'clock the water subsided, and
the boat was withdrawn, bat stationed in the neighbour-
hood for the night, under the care of some men. A eons'.
dera'ile portion of Peel Park was also under water, from
the overflow of the Irwell.

The river Medlock also Sows through the mouth of Man-
chester, and near the lower part of Oaford-street it OWeT•
floweei, plating a considerable quantity of property under
water. The houses in Little Ireland were Boosted, so that
the inhabitants were obliged to betake themselves to the
upper etorer, and were to much alarmed that the aasist-
snce of the police was celled in, and a boat obtained to re-
move them where it was found neceesary. Several of the
mills on the banks of the river were flooded in the lower
storeys, and some of them were compelled to cease work in
consequence of the boiler-houses being flooded. About
half.past eight o'clock the water began to subside, and the
danger was eoneidered past.
The river Mersey overflowed its hank. from Stockport to
Stretford, end the public roads crossing the river were, in
some places, flooded to a depth of four feet eie inches. reit-
di ring it dangiTollt for omnihusee and other vehictea to cross.
In some caws, on the Chenille•road, the omnibus drivers
thought it prudent to make a detour of a couple of mike,
cod proceed to Cheadle through Stockport.
Near Stockport, a little above the Mersey, a reservoir
belonging to Mr. John Brooks, at the llope•hill cotton mill,
Pis reported to have broken nor of its banks, and done con-
'hireable damage to the mill, by bunting into the lower
starve, and eatrying away mate of the machinery. The
damage was estimated at front !Mato 1,0001.
The river 00)1 overflowed its banks at Ilkley, and the
large cotton factory of Mr. Vickers (on one of the hank+ of
that river), which was turned partly by steam and party b
water power, had to he it.ppeti for safety by about 4 o'clock
in the afteinoon. The water was still no high yesterday