The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-17 00:00:00

Floods in Lancashire and Yorkshire.

News were brought yesterday morning to Manchester
from various parts of the country that great damage had
been done by the flooding of the streams coming from the
Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Lancashire hills. There has
been a considerable rainfall during the last few weeks, and
on Tuesday evening, for about seven or eight hours be-
fore the great shower of meteors, there was a succession'of
short but sharp storms, accompanied by thunder, light-
ning, hail, snow, and rain. The temperature went down
considerably, and during the greater part of the night of
Tuesday there was a heavy fall of rain, and tho streams
were much swollen. A good deal of rain fell on Wednes-
day and yesterday, but last night it fell in torrents, and it
continued with little intermission till noon to-day.
The rivers Irwell, Irk, and Medlock, in their course
through Manchester were found to bo rapidly rising from
daybreak to after 12 o'clock. The Irwell has risen higher
than it has done for 30 years, and there has been no flood
probably for the last 15 years that has reached to within
10 to 19ft. of the same height. Trees torn up by the roots,
floating down the stream in front of the Cathedral, wero
among the earlier indications of the damage done higher
up the river. A cottage staircase was another and more
serious intimation of disaster somewhere. The river had
risen at this point to a level above the highest arch of the
new bridge into Salford, and crowds have been lingering
by the side of the flood watching waifs and strays all the
morning. Barrels of oil and paraffin on coming against
the top of the arch wore sucked under, but most of them
were broken before reaching the other side. The oil in
these cases was very perceptible on the surface, and the
bursting of the barrels was accompanied by a smell which
spread far and wide. Higher up the Irwell, iu the
passage of the river through Lower Broughton and
Strangeways, great numbers of houses and warehouses
were flooded, and in many instances the inhabitants
were placed in great jeopardy. In Elward-street,
Broughton-lane, and in some adjoining-streets, the in-
habitants, finding the collars flooded and the waters in-
vading the parlours and other rooms, began early in the
morning to send for waggons and lorries to move their fur-
niture—but in ,nany eases the rise was too rapid for them
For some hours it rose more than a foot per hour, and we
hear of parlours submerged to the depth of five and six
feet. The horses in the waggons and lorries were in some
cases up to the neck in water, and some of the animals
being seized with cramp difficulty was experienced in res-
cuing them, as well as the inhabitants of the houses. Still
higher up the Irwell, at Peel-park (the Salford People's
Park), a large portion of the grounds were under water, and
the head gardener and his family were not rescued till half-
past 12 et noon. Up towards Bury and Bolton great num-
bers of houses have been flooded, as well as cotton mills and
other works ; the machinery is stopped in soma cases by
the water extinguishing the fires, and the goods will sus-
tain great damage.

At Blackburn the river Blakewater has overflowed its
banks, and submerged the lower part of the town (called the
Wrangling), flooding houses, mills, and warehouses.
At Darwen a good deal of damage of the same kind has
been sustained. For some hours the Lancashire and York-
shire Railway through Darwen was impassable by trains
owing to this cause, and tho passengers to Manchester had
to be sent round by Accrington, over the East Lancashire
route. The Yorkshire trains of the same company were
also stopped by a flooding of the line at the Waladen end
of the Summit tunnel. The flood washed away the ballast
of the line, so that an engine got fast, and afterwards the
trains were sent round by Burnley, Rose Grove, and Bury
to Manchester. By 12 30 p.m., however, the line (accord-
ing to telegrams from Walsden and Littleborough) was
again in working order.
At Stockport damage to mill and other property, attended
with stoppage of machinery, has been done by the overflow
of the Mersey, and similar disasters are reported at Staly-
bridge from the overflow of the river. Several houses are
reported to be destroyed at Openshaw. It is said on the
Exchange that hundreds of mills will be stopped by the
floods, and that immense damage has been done in all parts
of the raanfacturing district.
At Preston the flood has been very destructive. The
Ribble began to overflow its bank early yesterday morning,
and by breakfest time immense tracts of land on each side
of it were completely covered with water. By noon the
water was so high that many hundreds of acres were
they
shouldbe swept away. For miles beyond the boundary
of Preston, up the course of the
river, all the contiguous
land is flooded. At the village of Walton the streets are
covered, cellars are drowned out, and furniture, pigs, &c.,
have had to be removed. Neither the course of ,gthoßibble
nor that of its tributary, the Darwen, can bo seen. Thero is
in their place an immense sheet of water. One farm-house,
between Preston and Walton, is surrounded by water
seve-
ral feet deep, and all the cattle and sheep are at present
penned up in the house, the barn, &c. Lower down goats
and sheep have been hemmed in, and yesterday afternoon
they were standing on embankments half covered with
water, and liable to be swept away at any moment. Some
dead cattle have been washed down the river, but nobody
can yet toll where they have comefrom. One cattle dealer,
named Midgley, was engaged all the morning in dragging
his sheep on one of the railway bridges which crosses a
portion
of tho inundated land. Ho has lost a large number,
and many of those got out of the water had been killed.
Avenham Parks, which have been made at great cost, and
which form one of the chief attractions of the town, are
inundated. All the walks are covered, and only tree tops
can be now seen. For about a mile opposite the park all
the land is under water, and even as far as the centre of
Penwortham village on that side the ground and roads are
swamped. Gardens, houses, &c., in South Meadow-lane are
flooded; some dwellings are surrounded with water 4ft.
deep, hedge rows are out of sight, and at noon yesterday
boats were sailing about over Preston Cricket Club ground.
S hops, d welling-houses, and workshops are surrounded with
water at the bottom of Fishergate-hill ; workmen had to be
carried to and from their employ in carts, and at one mill
at the bottom of Marsh-lane, the water got so high about
11 o'clock that the works had to be stopped and the hands
sent home. All the works on the quay are stopped, and if
the water does not soon abate the ships will be riding over
the side. The Ribble Branch Railway is impassable, and
along Strand-road and Ribble-place the water is running
several feet deep, and at a speed of about ten miles an hour.
Taylor-street, Bird-street, and other thoroughfares, are
nearly closed up with water. At 4 o'clock yesterday after-
noon the water was still rising. Large numbers of people
who live near the banks of the Ribble, at Preston, had re-
solved to sit up all night.

MANCHESTER, Friday, 10 p.m.
The weather has bent fine since noon, but the Irwell con-
tinued to rise for some hours. The Strangeways-road, from
the Assize Courts towards Higher Broughton, was some
feet under water, and the opposite side of the river in Sal-
ford was inundated. From the houses in Springfield-lane
and Adelphi hundreds of people were rescued with much
difficulty with boats and by other means. Up to this time
hundreds of people have been carted to the Salford Work-
house, to the Town-hall, to the Catholic Institute Dispen-
sary, and other public buildings to be sheltered and fed.
At a moderate calculation there are 500 homeless and house-
less poor (some say nearer 1,000) under the care a the
authorities from the effects of this calamitous flood. Only
one case of drowning is reported, and that is the case of a
gentleman who had rescued his wife, but was carried away