The Sun.
London, England, 1866-02-08 00:00:00

Gales in the North.

Sudden and violent gales visited the greater part
of Yorkshire on Sunday evening, and proved but
the prelude of very unsettled and tempestuous wea-
ther, by which the North Sea was swept. Through-
out Monday night and Tuesday the wind continued
to blow at intervals in extremely violent gusts.
Several casualties are reported, the most serious of
which was the destruction of the bell turret of St.
Luke's Church at Hull. This fell with a terrific
crash about 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and damaged the
roof of the church considerably. The turret or bell
tower was elevated some 10 or 12 feet above the
ridge of the roof, and was supported on two project-
ing piers built in the west wall. The turret, be-
sides being pierced for the bell, was surmounted by
a cast-iron funnel, and also supported the lightning
conductor,_ The wind appears to have blown im-
mediately upon this gable, which was a by no means
substantial adjunct to the church, and totally unpro-
tected from the gale. The turret fell over upon the
ridge of the church, and the stonework and brick
passed over the roof on each side. The slates andlaths
on the north side of the nave, and the north aisle
towards the west end of the church, were consider-
ably injured, while the corresponding portion of
the roof on the south side was much more seriously
damaged ; rafters as well in some places being
broken. Portions of the rubbish penetrated the
roof and fell within the church, but little injury was
done to the internal fittings. Some other accidents
are reported, and at Withernsea the wind caused
serious damage. It also blew out a portion of the
windows of the Wesleyan Chapel during the ser-
vice, thus extinguishing the lights and causing great
alarm. The lightning which accompanied this storm
was observed to burst out in bright horizontal flashes,
beginning at the west or south-west, and gradually
wearing round to the east. The flashes were almost
continuous, sometimes two or three successively in
the course of a minute.

A gale, exceeding the fury of any of the past
ones for some months, has been raging at Hartle-
pool with unabated violence. The wind proceeded
from a westwardly direction, and the pressure, as
indicated at the lighthouse, was equal to the force
of a hurricane—at times the gusts being so violent
and sudden that foot passengers have been actually
blown down in the street. To perambulate about
the town was attended with much danger, as tiles,
slates, and bricks were being scattered about on all
sides, and several windows were blown in and
broken. The ferry-boats were very difficult to be
got across the channel, and at Middleton the road
was literally impassable, and those who managed to
cross between the two towns experienced very much
difficulty and discomfiture by the pelting showers of
sand that were being swept in clouds against their
faces. The gale might be said to be at its height
at an early hour on Tuesday morning, and scarcely
an inhabitant in the town could slumber, as
the houses fairly seemed to be rocking to and
fro, and the howling of the furious' element
terrified the people. It Vas about this time
that a terrible smash alarmed the neighbourhood
of Lumley-square, where an accident of a most
alarming nature took place. It appears that ad-
joining a dissenting chapel are two houses, back
and front, occupied by Mr. William Burden, pain-
ter, aria Mrs. Darker. The chrtpol Imo becil erected
since this property was built, and as it is considerably
higher, the chimneys smoked, and to remedy
this several feet of brickwork were added to the
stack of chimneys ; but another addition was found
necessary before the smoking was cured. Conse-
quently, the masonry connected with the chimneys
of this property was very massive and high, and the
gale brought down the whole of the chimneys
on to the centre of the roof with a frightful
crash and broke away the whole of the roof of three
houses. In the front house, in one room upstairs,
were four of Mr. Burden's children sleeping, two in
a small wooden crib and the other two in a Tudor
bedstead. The parents were sleeping in the room
below, and the awful consternation that seized them
when the terrible fall above them occurred can be
better imagined than described. Mr. Burden
jumped out of bed, but he was unable to get up the
staircase, as it was blocked up with the fallen rub-
bish. The mother opened the window and screamed
out for assistance, and the neighbours were soon on
the spot, having already got out of bed on hearing
the downfall. After some of the rubbish had been
cleared away the father managed to scramble up
stairs, and another obstruction was here met with,
the bed-room door being completely blocked up,
but amid the howling of winds he could hear the
cries of his children who were smothered up in their
beds, which was a source of relief to him, as he con-
cluded they must have all perished. There was no
possibility of getting the door open, and with as-
sistance he got over the top of the staircase wall,
which was quite open, and dropped down into the
room. He made himself satisfied that his children
were not seriously injured, although their cries
threw him into the greatest state of frenzied excite-
ment, and he saw it was a work of great difficulty
to rescue them from the perilous position they were
in. Therefore he cleared the doorway in order to
obtain assistance, and on the neighbours getting
into the room they all set to work to clear the rub-
bish away to rescue the poor children. The gale
was raging in all its fury, and the loose masonry
and the shattered timbers, which were scattered
around and piled over the bedsteads, were being
tossed about, threatening serious injury to those
engaged in the work of rescue. The crib
was completely covered over with timber, and had
thus protected the two children from the falling
bricks, &c., although they were slightly injured.
They had to be pulled through a small hole, as the
timbers could not be moved, and it was a consider-
able time before the place was cleared to get at
them. The two in the Tudor bedstead, which stood
in the centre of the room, were most miraculously
saved, the fallen timbers having crossed over the
bed, and the slates and bricks mostly were carried
away at each side of them, but a number had fallen
upon them, and up to their waists they were buried
in the rubbish, and consequently sorely bruised.
After they were rescued they were taken into a
neighbour's house and properly cared for, and the
parents were in a state of distraction. The furni-
ture was nearly all destroyed, and in another room
on the same landing the furniture shared the same
fate. The adjoining house also suffered the same
damage, but fortunately Mrs. Baker was sleeping
at a friend's house opposite, and thus escaped what
might have proved a fatal result, as her bedstead
was broken clown with the fall. Two lodgers were
sleeping in another room but escaped. One of the
watch houses on the Staithes in connection with the
coal drops has been blown down, and various minor
casualties are reported. The shipping has been
pretty fortunate, not an accident having occurred.
The week opened in Scotland with boisterous
weather, which returned with renewed violence on
Monday night and Tuesday morning, during several
hours of which a strong gale continued at Glasgow
and vicinity. Houses in exposed situations were
severely tested, but happily no very serious damage
occurred throughout the city. Some chimneys fell,
and the gable wall of a brick building, in the course
of erection in Springfield-lane, was blown down