The Sun.
London, England, 1853-07-16 00:00:00

meneement of the week the weather was beautifully fine,
and in conseqUence haymaking in the neighbourhood
became very general, and in most cases the crops were
ready for being carried on Wednesday evening. Late in
the afternoon of that day, dark heavy clouds made their
appearance, accompanied by the distant roll of thunder
and intermittent flashes of lightning ; and about six
o'clock the rain beg,4an to pour down in torrents, which
continued, almost without intermission, until noon on
Thursday. The banks of the Charwell speedily became
overflown, and before nine o'clock at night the meadows
adjoining were flooded in all directions. The immense
quantity of hay outlying ready for being carried has
been in the majority of cases completely swept away
by the—force of the current, besides a great amount
of damage having been done to the uncut grass.
The large cornmill in the occupation of Messrs. J.
and T. Staley is inundated to a greater extent than
has been known for upwards of 50 years, and great
fears are entertained for the safety of the building
in consequence of the pressure of the vast body of water
against it, and the rush through some fissures in the
walls into several of the lower apartments. The family
of Mr. Luddit, whose house adjoins the mill, was rescued
before the water attained to a great height ; but several
days must elapse before it is accessible. Mr. Edwards,
of the Elephant and Castle Inn, has sustained a severe
loss to his hay crops, which have been almost entirely
swept away by the current, while other occupants of the
low lands along the banks of the river as far as Edgecote
have likewise been great losers. The line of the Oxford
and Birmingham Railway, for nearly 100 yards on either
side of the station, is completely flooded, and at an early
hour this morning the water was not less than 18
inches deep immediately within the station. It, how-
ever, subsided to some extent before the ordinary day
traffic commenced, so that, fortunately, little incon-
venience has been experienced. At Brackley, about 10
miles from this town, on the Buckinghamshire Railway,
a great amount of damage has been done by the over-
flowing of the Ouse. Skem bridge was rendered
quite impassable, and cattle and sheep were obliged
to be ferried over in carts and waggons as early as Thurs-
day morning. So rapid was the flow of water in this
neighbourhood that it rose no less than 18 inches in
about half an hour, sweeping sheep and hay away in its
destructive course. Mr. Edward Taylor, farmer ; Mr.
Walsh, Wkeatsheaf Inn ; Mr. Jones, surgeon ; and
many others, have suffered very severely by the inunda-
tion, and there is too much reason to believe that the
hay crops in this neighbourhood will be entirely worth-
less. Mr. Smith, of Radetone, had a valuable horse
killed by the lightning on Wednesday night. For seve-
ral miles in various directions the country presents the
curious appearance of one vast lake, and in many places
the water is rushing along with fearful rapidity. At
Buckingham the river Ouse is much swollen by the
heavy rain, and a great quantity of the low meadow
land is under water, but we have not heard that any
material damage has been done, except to the hay crops,
which, as in the case of Banbury and Brackley, are
Tendered nearly valueless.
CARNIARTHENSHIRE.—The severe storms which have
'burst over the face of the country have been the source
of much injury in many parts of South Wales, and in
Carmarthenshire great damage has been occasioned.
The Vale of Llandowror, on the western side of the
county, has been completely swept of hay, sheep, and
those articles which could be carried away ; and this
damage was inflicted in the course of a few hours, in
consequence of the heavy falls, or rather deluges of rain,
having so completely surged the streams that they over-
flowed their banks, and spreading far and wide caused
great destruction. At Llandowro, where the main road
from Carmarthen to Haverfordwest crosses the bridge,
Mie waters accumulated until they capped the parapets,
when the structure gave way, thus cutting off the com-
munication, and the down London mail, which came up
shortly after, was unable to pass, the mails and passen-
gers taking a long round to cross. The consequence
was that the mail was two or three hours late at Pem-
broke and Haverfordwest. The Towy was alsO much
flooded, and in Pembroke the rains have been very
heavy, with much thunder and lightning.
LEICESTER, July 15.—From 1 o'clock yesterday
till after 12 at noon there was an incessant fall of heavy
rain in this neighboorhood, and the result is that the
Soar and its tributaries have overflowed their banks and
inundated the adjoining streets, gardens, and meadows
to a very considerable extent. The overflowing in Lei-
ceiter commenced about 4 o'clock this morning, and the
Water rose so rapidly that in the Braunstone-gate and
adjoining streets it was speedily from two to three feet
deep. The inhabitants of houses in the neighbourhood,
in Great Holme-street, Watts's-causeway, and various
other streets were unable to descend from their bed-
rooms without stepping into water of the depth just
mentioned, and the houses in the Pingle, and some other
places near the Soar, were also flooded. The factories of
Messrs. Harris and Sons, Burgess and Podd, Rawson,
Rust, and several other manufacturers, have been invaded,'
so that the machinery cannot be set in motion, and some
hundreds of hands are unable to get to work, the gar-
dens on the western side of the town are literally de-
stroyed, and large quantities of hay have been carried
9ff from the meadows. Mr. Birkley, of Woodgate, in
this town, has lost the whole product of 18 acres, and
in numerous instances, the crops of smaller inclosures
have been carried away. The street from the West-
bridge to the Hinckley and Narborough road is covered
to a depth of two or three feet, and a number of owners
of horses and carts are driving a brisk trade in carrying
passengers through the water, a distance of some 300 or
400 yards, at a penny each. At Loughborough the
Wood Brook overflowed last night, and inundated all
the low-lying part of the town in its neighbourhood.
The damage to the hay crops in the valley of the Soar,
in the neighbourhood of this latter town, is more exten-
sive than at Leicester. From various villages in the
County through or near which brooks flow, the reports
are very similar, the meadows and fields are inundated,
and the hay is "swimming away." About 11 o'clock
this morning the water began to recede in Leicester,
and in the course of an hour and a half it had lowered
two inches. The weather is fine.

LANDSLIP AT BRISTOL.—Owing to the heavy rains of
Wednesday and Thursday a large portion of land at the
extremity of Brandon-hill, which overhangs Jacob's
Wells, Bristol, gave way on Thursday morning and fell
down on the houses beneath, causing a very considerable
destruction of property. At the back of those houses
are courtledges, and also behind that a wall had been
erected for the purpose of protecting them from the
floods from the hill, but the rain fell in such tremendous
torrests, and gained so much force in descending the
hill, and, being augmented by some waters from a super-
surface drain in connection with the National Schools,
which are situated in the immediate vicinity, that it
overbore the wall and carried it completely away for the
length of six or seven houses. Some of the walls of the
houses were shattered, the courts were considerably
damaged, and the windows and doors were smashed in,
to the great alarm of the inhabitants. The amount of
the damage cannot yet be ascertained, but it must be
very considerable. At Bedminster, near Bristol, the
rivulets have overflowed their banks, and placed large
tracts under water almost to the hedgetops, and, in many
places, fields of corn, and more especially barley, have
been laid by the violence of the storm.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCIIIT.—YonK, JULY 14.