The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-04 00:00:00

STORM IN TILE NORTH OF ENGLAND.

On Saturday last a severe storm swept over the
coasts of Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland.
During the whole of October the weather had been
very fine ; Friday forenoon was bright, but cold,
the wind down to four o'clock in the afternoon
being from N.W. Towards three o'clock, however,
a change took place on the Northumberland coast.
White clouds made their appearance, banking ',up •
upon the edge of the horizon, and fears were enter-
tained that the weather was about to break. Not-
withstanding various premonitions of a change,
about 50 deeply-laden colliers and foreign vessels
left the Tyne for the south. The night set in very
dark and wet, with sheet lightning flashing in all
directions. At seven o'clock the following morning
a telegraphic message was received at Shields from
Admiral Fitzroy, of the Board of Trade, London :
" To-morrow hoist drum all day." The explana-
tion of this was that dangerous winds might be
expected from nearly opposite quarters succes-
sively. The gale came on with great fury about
half-past eleven o'clock from the N.E. Between
one and three o'clock on Saturday morning the
storm was awful, as the wind brought up blinding
showers of rain and sleet from the northward, and the
sea rose with great suddenness, sweeping over the
piers at the mouth of the harbour. Very few per-
sons who had friends at sea slept much that night,
no such storm having been experienced since the
fearful 9th of February, when so many seamen were
drowned and vessels lost upon our coast. The wind,
fortunately, kept off the coast, otherwise there
would have been a repetition of the tragical scenes
of that memorable day. A good deal of damage
was done in the Tyne by sailing vessels and steam-
tugs breaking from their moorings, and several
Goliah cranes and other plant were smashed up by
the heavy seas which swept the piers. Some injury
was also done to the pier works on the south side
of the water, and a very high tide, which inundated
much of the lower part of Shields on Saturday
afternoon, did. further mischief.
At Hartlepool during the early part of Saturday
morning two vessels were driven ashore to the
northward of Seaton Carew, one being a foreign
vessel laden with timber, and the other a light bark.
The crews of both vessels were rescued by means of
the lifeboat at Seaton. About 2 o'clock the wind
got round to the north-west, still blowing very
heavily. At West Hartlepool considerable damage
was done, attended with loss of life. The bug
Amelia was lying upon the gridirons in the basin
undergoing some repairs. There were on board a
man and a boy, or two boys, in charge of her. As
the tide rose she floated off the gridiron, and, by
the force of the gale, broke from her fastenings and
drove out of the harbour into the bay, since which
time she has not been seen. As she had no ballast
on board, it is surmised that she would speedily
roll over and founder. She was the property
of Messrs. Pyman and Scurr, of West
Hartlepool. A large dredging machine broke
adrift in the basin and received some damage,
and several fishermen's boats were consid-
erably injured. A melancholy accident occurred
in the forenoon in the West Hartlepool basin.
A boat with seven or eight men went off to secure
the dredge that had broken loose, and after they
had done so, and were returning, the boat suddenly
swamped; they were all thrown into deep water.
Several boats put off, and succeeded in saving all
but one—an old man, named Donald. Two of the
others were so exhausted when brought on shore
that their recovery was very doubtful. Daring the
afternoon the gale continued unabated, the sea break-
ing at a great distance from the land. The tide
rose higher than it has done for many years, caus-
ing considerable damage to waterside property.
The sea broke over the new pier in a manner that
was truly grand, frequently about 40 feet above the
top of the parapet wall. So great was its force
that it displaced several yards of the heavy parapet
stones, breaking them to pieces. Had the wind
been a little more easterly, the consequences must
have been much more disastrous.
On the Yorkshire coast the storm had been at-
tended with even more deplorable consequences. At
Scarborough, before the storm had reached its
height, a small vessel called the Wave was brought
safely into the harbour by a cobleman who had been
outside the pier in his boat waiting for her approach.
The master reported that two vessels were astern of
him at some distance, trying to make the port. The
pilot again ventured out, and had been no more
seen, nor had the vessels arrived. Mr. Appleyard,
the harbourmaster, states that between three and
four o'clock on Saturday morning he saw a mer-
chant vessel or collier drifting towards the rocks,
about three miles south of the town, at a part of the
bay where vessels have frequently been wrecked. He
watched her until she drove up to the rocks in the
very midst of a fearful sea, when her lights disap-
peared and no more was seen of her. Not a vestige
remains of the ship, and the crew could have no
possible means of escape. It was feared she was
one of vessels above alluded to, which were both
Scarborough ships. The greatest fears were enter-
tained for the numerous fishing craft, of whom up
to the time of writing nothing was known. It was
surmised that they would ride at their nets as long
as possible, and then run for shelter to the Humber,
if they could reach it. In Blenheim-street, the
upper part of a house was blown away completely,
including part of the outer walls. A photographic
gallery in the same neighbourhood was destroyed
entirely, and a similar erection in the centre of the
town was shattered. A new villa at Falsgrave was
razed to the ground. The roof of St. Peter's
(Roman Catholic) Church was much injured; and
in every street at the north of the town the debris
of fallen buildings or roofs was to be met with.
The storm still raged ; and lifeboats were prepared
for the approach of vessels at flood tide, which
would be between 3 and 4 o'clock.
Our latest information by telegraph is that the
Coupland, of Shields, had been driven ashore. All
on board, however, were saved. The lifeboat's
crew were ejected, two of them being drowned.
Lord Charles Beauclerc and a gentleman are stated
to have been drowned while attempting a rescue.
The lifeboat was wrecked. Further particulars
were anxiously looked for.
The following are the readings of the barometer
at the Board of Trade station, Shields, during
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday :—October 31, 8 30
a.m., 29.670, W. ; 12 p.m., 29.610, W. ; 3 p.m.,
29.521, W.S.W. ; 7 45 p.m.. 29.450, W.N.W.
Nov. 1, 8 30 a.m., 29.242, N. W. ; 12 p.m., 29,211,
N.W. ; 3 p.m., 29,200, N.W. ; 745 p.m., 29 200,
N.N.E. November 2, 8 a.m., 29.150, E.N.E. ; 12
p.m., 29,203, N. 8.; 3 p.m., 29284, N.N.E.; 6 p.m.,
29.359, N.N.E.