The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-07 00:00:00

TIARTHQUAKE OF YESTERDAY.

Sir,— —About 22 minutes after 3 o'clock this morn-
ing, Greenwich time, the tremor of an earthquake
was very perceptible here. It appeared to me that
th© oscillatory motion was from E.N.E. to W.S.W.,
lasting three seconds, or rather less. I heard no
sound whatever after the shock, but cannot say
positively whether any preceded it. The sky was
partially clear at the time, and the air perfectly
still. The sensation produced by the tremor was
very peculiar, and different from that of ordinary
vibration.—l am, Sir, your most obedient servant,
S. R. HIND.
Mr. Bishop's Observatory, Twickenham, Oct. 6.

STOKE NEWTNGTON.—I awoke this morning be-
fore it was light, and on getting out of bed looked
at m y watch, which was hanging on a stand in my
bed-aoom, and found that it was a little over quarter
past 3. I got into bed almost immediately after-
wards, and had scarcely laid down when I felt the
bedstead, a heavy four-post, violently shaken. The
-windows of my bedroom also rattled, but not very
much. The vibrations did not last for more than
two or three seconds, but the motion was altogether
so extraordinary that I could not account for it. I
lay awake for some time afterwards, but did not
experience any return of the vibration.
BLACKIIEATIL—This morning at 20 minutes past
3 o'clock, my wife and myself, both having been
awake for some time, were startled
nsed
by feelingour
bed move with an undulating motion, asaa if fat-
by an earthquake. We instantly roused the
fearing
an explosion of gas had taken place, but
such was not the case. One of our beingdomestics,
two floors above, felt the same k-hin. There wered of motion.
Each bed is placed north and unit
four very distinct shocks in thetospawceesotf, and felt as
two seconds.
The motion was from
e
if four waves had succeeded each other at equal
intervals under a boa
on the top of the Heath,t• The house is situate
facing the Surrey Hills on
one side to the south, and London on the west.
Perhaps some others of your readers may have
noticed the motion. The air was perfectly still,
with a slight frost, the moon shining brightly at the
time.
EDGBASTON, BIRMINGHAM.—At 3.23 this morn-
ing two shocks of earthquake were distinctly felt in
this /loge
' 'tboarhood. The first shock was very
alight and did not last more than five seconds; the
second shock was much more violent and shook the
house from its foundation, so much so that a brother,
who slept in an adjoining room, knocked at my
door immediately afterwards, exclaiming, " What is
up, th ere is such a dreadful rattle ?" and a rattle it
seemr:d, though there was little real noise, but
rather a sense of sound, caused by the sensation that
evezything around was violently agitated. It will
lao interesting to learn whether the shock was felt
in other localities.
WOLVERHAMPTON.—A shock of an earthquake,
or rather two shocks, closely following each other,
was felt here at 25 minutes past 3 this morning,
each lasting several seconds. The vibration in-
creased until it rattled the windows somewhat
-vigorously, and then gradually died away in pul-
sations, a complete rest being alternately followed
by a slight tremor until it altogether subsided.
MARKET HARBOROUGIL—WiII you allow me to
avail myself of your columns to record an extraor-
dinary phenomenon which was experienced at
Marzet Harborough at 3.25 this morning, and
which was undoubtedly the shock of an earthquake.
I was awoke from a sound sleep by an indescribable
movement of the bed upon which I was resting,
accompanied by a general creaking of the furniture
of the room, more especially the vibration of a pair
of doors of a hanging press mounted upon friction
rollcia ; this last mentioned noise continued three or
four seconds, as I had obtained a light before it

ceased, On comparing notes with the other mem.
hers of my household, I find the sensations expe.
riLnced by myself were common to all oT us. ]

presume the shock was not merely local, therefore I
expect this account will be confirmed by others,
which you will receive from your scientific corres-
poaden t s.

BITE,TON- ON-TRENT.—The town of Burton-on-
Trent and the surrounding villages were visited
this morning, at about 20 minutes past 3 o'clock, by
a rather severe earthquake. The shock was so
violet as to awaken many sound sleepers. Beds
were shaken, and windows rattled so as to produce
in many cases the notion that thieves were enter-
ing, The vibrations continued several seconds, and
they were accompanied by a low, distant, rumbling
sound.

HEIIEL HEMPSTEAD.—A slight shock of an
earthquake was experienced here this morning at
about 25 minutes to 4 o'clock. It lasted ae near as
could be calculated some 15 seconds, and made itself
felt by a kind of w shiver. There was no
Un eiulatory motion that I
could detect.
UPTON- PARE, c
OLOUGII, BUCKS.—It may be in-
teresting to Bout)
people to know that a severe
shock of an earthquake was felt here this morning
at 3.23 a.m., wakini, •
also felt by others' SU!.
people in this house, and
whom I have just seen,adioeining, and by one person
enaving about two miles from
this. It shook wardrob wash-hand stands in
my room, and lasted some sand
motion was from east to west,'onds. The undulatory
REcrony, WORD3LEY STOTIRBRIDc;TP
Last night I was awakened at ....._..—
shock of an earthquake, 3.15 by the
was speedily fol-
lowed by another. My bed shook violently, the
windows rattled, the furniture shivered, and the
whole house, which is usually as firm as a rock,
t
quivered from the bottom o the top. My man,
of
who sleeps in a distant part the house, tells me
that the silver was rattily, for some tim3. It ap-
peared as if a sound of a heavy'explosion beneath
the cellars accompanied the second shock, but that
may have been a delusion. Though
the mining districts we are not we are near
undermined, and
therefore an earthquake can be the only solution.
GLOUCESTER.—Abont three o'clock this morning
the inhabitants of this city and the neieg,hbourhood
round were startled by the shock ofan
which, from its violence, must have beenafretlhtlovaeakrneda
wide area. I was awakened from sleep by a
vibration of the bed under me, which shook to strangeu
fro SOl2lO half-dozen times, and the tremor was ac-
companied by a low roaring sound and a rattling of
doors and casements, which imported the cause of
it too plainly to bo mistaken for anything else, and
least of all for that favourite simile for all loud
noises—thunder. It is a little singular that while
many thousands of persons were aroused from slum-
ber both here and in the neighbouring towns,
the earthquake was not perceived by the sorting
clerks 'who were at work in the branch post-officeat
the Midland Railway Station ; but it may be that
their familiarity with the noise and shaking of the
trains
in the vicinity rendered them less sensitive
to this most unusual occurrence.
dittlSTbol;;eA shock of earthquake was felt yes-
terday,
Portishead, an:;. 3 and 4 a.m., at Bristol, Nailsea,
damage has the neighbourhood. No material
beenAtTeported from these districts.
SWANSEA.
:341). the shock of an earthquake
was felt slightly at
west, and Llanelly. Swansea Merthyr, Haverford-
Ferryside, and Joke_
petribt was more severe at Neath,
dock, and along the
western extremity of
of a vessel reports that 481185
he felt a concussion like a Bay. The captain
striking
from Milford Haven
NoaltALtrelking
COLLEGE...-At upon a rock.
CHELTENHAM
morning this town was visitedal
E.—At 3 20 this
quake, more distinct and
of
this country,
as far as
by an earth-
is country A
leader than any which have b„"ming in its chtl"
I know, in the past history
rumbling noise was Budd ' deep
en-Y heard .
supposed to proceed from an artillery, as
'night be
frequently described. The vibratio- wag` n,' ,c)
lege increased with the height of th Bofth--
—°`-
e building, The
heaviest pieces of furniture were severely
and the fireirons violently agitated. I
find
tshakee,
entire body of the students of this institatiothiat the
were
awakened, tl,ose occuping dormitories whichl
east to west being conscious at the commencement
of a lateral upheaving of their beds. The impres-
sion upon each one seems to have been that the rest
had conspired in a body to shake the whole build-
ing with their feet until the heavy stone walls on
every side were heard to strain and crack. Con-
sidering that this country lies upon what has been
called the great volcanic belt, it is a matter of stir-

prise that these phenomena have been so infrequent
as they have. The night was beautifully calm and
frosty, and my aneroid showed no unsteadiness.
EXETER.—Between 3 and 4 o'clock this morning
the shock as of an earthquake was felt in this city
and neighbourhood. Some persons were much
alarmed, and got up and examined their premises.
In my own house, which is situated in a central
part of the city, none of the inmates beside myself
and wife noticed it. The bed shook under us. The
vibration was similar to that caused by a railway
train passing near, and such a sensation
I have
often experienced at Dawlish, where the railway is
near the dwellings, but I never experiencedanyo-f
any-
thing like it in Exeter before. Perhaps some
your readers may be enabled to explain the cause.

WOLVERHAMPTON.
Very great alarm has been experienced by a
large portion of the inhabitants of the western side
and central portion of England by the shocks of an
earthquake, which were most sensibly perceived
throughout that district of the country shortly
after three o'clock yesterday morning.
Our information from the Midland Counties is to
the effect that the shock was very perceptible
throughout Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Shrop-
shire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Somerset-
shire, and other parts.

In Wolverhampton, about the centre of that dis-
trict, most persons but the very soundest sleepers
were aroused by it, and, not knowing from what
the noise proceeded, many people were under the
impression that their houses had been broken into
by burglars, while others appear to have at once
satisfied themselves that the disturbance was that
of an earthquake. The first shock took place at
between 22 and 23 minutes past three. It lasted,
probably, scarcely a minute, and had hardly sub-
sided, when a second, distinct shock was heard, the
second being, if anything, rather more severe than
the first. To persons in bed the general sensation
appeared to be that the whole house was being
shaken from its foundation, with a tremulous,
rapid, and undulatory motion, proceeding, appa-
rently, from north to south, and accompanied by a
sound resembling the passing of a very heavy
vehicle at a rapid pace. Simultaneously with this
noise there was a vibration of water jugs, wash-
hand basins, glasses, window panes, chairs stand-
ing against walls, and the like. In some cases,
after the shocks had passed away, cracking and
creaking noises were heard at intervals, as if the
whole house had been strained and shaken, and
the timber-work and masonry were making what
builders would call a " setting." At the time men-
tioned, a watchman was on duty at the Wolver-
hampton and Staffordshire Bank, in the central
and highest part of the town, when he and a
policeman who was with him were terrified by
the shaking of the bank, the trembling of the
ground on which it stood, and the rattling
of the gates of the church which adjoins the bank.
Another policeman, while on duty near St. George's
Church, in the same town, heard the gates of that
edifice rattle and also the vibration of windows in a
warehouse close by. A cloud of dust appeared to
rise from the earth, and at the same instant he felt
a gentle blast of warm air. Sleepers left their beds
in affright, and policemen were called to from hastily
opened windows, while others, who could not dis-
abuse their minds that their houses bad been clan-
destinely entered, searched their premises for the
supposed burglars. A policeman on duty in the
suburb of the town states that, although the air was
perfectly calm, the surrounding trees were shaken,
and that their leavas were shaken se much that
numbers of them fell to the ground. He was also
much alarmed at seeing a wail vibrating near to
him. Wrottesley Hall, the seat of Lord Wrottesley,
was shaken throughout, and the inmates alarmed.
This was also the case at Teddesley, the residence
of Lord Hatherton. In game preserves, pheasants
were observed to become much alarmed as they
usually are during the raging of a thunder-storm.
As a rule, watch-dogs were not aroused, but there
were cases in which they barked loudly.
We have not at present heard that in the " Black Coun-
try" any serious casualty has happened. Here, however,
from the circumstance of the ground being undermined, it
might naturally be concluded that such a convulsion would
have brought down many of the colliery chimney stacks and
the like. At Sedgley, which is said to be one of the highest
inhabited parts of England, the residence of a gentleman
named Waterhouse was violently shaken. All the inmates
were suddenly awoke by a great shock. The windows
rattled as though they were coming out of their frames, the
doors trembled as though seized and shaken from the out-
side, and every other part of the building was equally
affected.
The night was calm and frosty.

About ten years ago a shock was experienced in the same
pact of England, but it was of an upheaving and not of a
tremulous character or accompanied with a noise.

SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE AND EAST WOR-
CESTERSHIRE.

At an early hour yesterday morning the inhabitants of
several towns and villages in the South Staffordshire and
East Worcestershire districts were alarmed by a shock which
shook the whole of the buildings, and brought the peaceful
slumbers of the people to an abrupt termination. In the
town of Dudley the shock was most severely felt, beds being
violently shaken, and in some instances doors burst open,
crockeryware broken, and clocks stopped. In detached
buildings in various parts of the town the effect is described
as being most terrifying. The shock was followed by a
rumbling sound, similar to what would be experienced by
persons sleeping immediately over a tunnel as trains were
passing. Many inhabitants left their beds and congregated
in the street, discussing the extraordinary phenomenon.
Mr. Chief Superintendent Burton, of Dudley, who was
aroused, noted the time of the occurrence as 3.35 a.m., and
he states that he experienced a sensation as if standing upon
moving fields. At CoseleY and Gornal the shock was
severely felt, furniture and croekeryware being thrown
down and broken. Reports from Stourbridge, Wednesbury,
Walsall, Kidderminster, and other towns in the neighbour •
hood, state that the shock was severely felt, and that the
inhabitants were aroused by the clanking of glasses, break-
ing of furnitnre, moving of beds, and bursting of doors.

01{.0 E STE P. .
Yesterday morning, at 25 minutes past three, a si
Wor-
cestershire. an earthquake was felt almost universally throughout
The shock was of so violent a nature as to
awaken people from their sleep, and to rattle chairs, glass,
and furniture audibly. It is described by some
persons
who were awake at the time as having been accompanied
by a rumbling noise, while others say they were awoke by
what appeared to be an explosion. At Great Malvern the
windows of the Imperial Hotel, a very large and massive
building at the foot of the Malvern-hills, were violently
rattled, and it is said that one of the railway signals was
displaced. Servants ran downstairs in affright, and general
consternation appears to have been felt. At Upton-on-
Severn the shock was also severely felt, and it appears that
it was most violent in situations bordering on the river
Severn. At Worcester the same rattling of glass, china,
and bEd curtains as was noticed elsewhere was observed, and
in the streets nearest to the river the tremour appeared to
be greatest. One inhabitant by the river side points out a
crack in the wall which he had not noticed before, and avers
that the pictures hanging on the wall in his bedroom oscil-
lated violently. Some chimney-pots are said to have been
displaced. The shock appeared to travel from north to south.
Very similar phenonema were noticed in the district
about eight years ago. The weather on Monday was cool,
but pleasant, and yesterday morning the first autumn frost
occurred, followed by a brilliant, sunshiny day.

distinctly felt in
v
all the inter-
The shock of an BettlrithiCipTkCeiNivja?ery
it Occurred at 35
this town, and also at Wolverhampton and
morning,
distinct shocks,
; simultaneously With
minutesmediate dpiasstrtic3t,
eo,enleTeku.esdTahyere
werneg
Walls were
the second being the most violent
them was heard a low rumbling noise.
it is described as having been a grathr*so n some
localities
seen to move, and in some instances substantial
were disturbed as much as very old housesntinly bulbldvin
assay() of a heavy waggon along the street. I;ra- b°
--' the
many ruse from
P • Windows and
doors rattled considerably, and much vibration other-
wise experienced. Throughout the district a grea'atsn
of persons were awoke from their sleep;
their beds and examined their premises, the effects of theni
shock being quite as much seen as felt. At Handsworth,
Perry, Barr, Kingsnorton, and other of the rural districts,
the shock seems to A have been more
who formerly resided in
in Birmingham.
Manilla, and experienced shocks of earthquake there,
describes that which occurred in the neighbourhood this
morning as much r6serabling those in that region.
_...

DERBY.
The town at
morning. minutes past 3 o'clock yesterday
k the shaking con-
tinuing moat singular occurrencshoe ,
that hour was visited by a severe greatest alarm was
e took place at Derby at 20
the .
for several minutes, and
some assert that
feared their dwellings were giving way ;
manifested by a large proportion of the inhabitants, who
others that
they experienced violent rockings of their beds, . 8
they were awoke by a nois, resembling the sound of burglars
entering their premises, en],
indeed, the town was thrown
into great confusion, the prevailing belief being
that it was
an earthquake, The sensation Was general, and WO also