The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-01-11 00:00:00

by a fall, that be was obliged to be carried out, and took
shelter in a cottage in the neighbourhood, but we are happy
to learn that he is not seriously injured, although obliged to
vacate his house, it being no longer tenantable. We believe
Miss Fletcher was also compelled to accept a retreat offorded

•
her by a neighbour.
In Dexter-street the effects of the storm were visible
throughout, scarce a house escaping its devastating influence.
The premises of Mr. Searisbrick suffered considerably, the
'slates, bricks, &c., falling through his skylight in great pro-
fusion, obstructing the passage up stairs, and causing great
alarm to the family.
In South Hill-street a stack of chimneys belonging to Mr.
Budd were blown down, but providentially they fell outwards
into an adjoining piece of unoccupied ground. The windows
of Mrs. Hardman suffered much, as also did those of Mr.
Keightley ; the loss of that gentleman alone in glass will be
ver. considerable. The back, or west front of Mr. Harmood
Banner's house evinced forcibly the terrific effects of the
ruthless element, as, notwithstanding the storm shutters were
closed, the wind forced its way through the interstices of the
laths, and cut the glass in strips, corresponding with the di-
visions, almost as neatly as if effected by the diamond 'of a
skilful practitioner.
In South Hill-grove two large stacks of chimneys belong-
ing to Mr. T. Smith, simultaneously gave way, and fell upon
the roof. _

Park Hill-road experienced the direful effects of the
storm to a considerable extent, the houses of Mr. William
and Mr. Thomas Jevons were both deprived of their chim-
neys, the former having experienced a very providential es-
cape from destruction. Alarmed by the falling of some
fragments of the ceiling, he arose, and had left his room a
very few minutes, when the ponderous mass fell upon his bed,
and penetrated into the room beneath without injuring any
member of the family. This is one only of many instances,
within our knowledge, of the wonderful interposition of Di-
vine Providence during the late awful and melancholy visi-
tation. _

The mill in Park-road was partially damaged, the regu-
lating wheel being nearly blown away, and other injury done.
Two new houses higher up on the right side, and which ap-
pear to have been built some time, but left unfinished, were
nearly demolished, one of them, overhanging a foundation,
was completely wrecked, and the materials launched into the
hollow ; the whole presenting a fearful picture of devastation.
The Church of St. John the Baptist sustained considerable
damage. From fifteen to twenty feet of the summit of the
spire fell during the gale, and penetrating the roof, did havoc
in the gallery below. A large extent of the roof was driven
in, and many of the pews in the gallery were demolished.
The organ barely escaped—being saved by the woodwork of
the gallery of the choir. Seven or eight of the pews were
demolished by the large stone that fell through the roof, in
which there was an aperture of probably thirty feet in length.
The wood-work of the roof of this church appears to be rather
slender—though it must be allowed that no roof, however
strong, could have withstood the falling of so heavy a body
of material from so great a height. It is stated that the spire
is insecure to a considerable distance below the fracture, and
that it will have to be pulled down, and will not probably be
re-erected. We think it somewhat lamentable that in

this age of mechanical and architectural improvement, the
inferior materials used in building spires and other lofty and
decorative buildings should form an excuse for their continued
construction. Why not use metal, zinc, bronze, or copper,
for the upper parts of spires, tosbe supported lsy a strong rod
terminating in a perpendicular beam of wood reaching to the
bottom of tne spire, and secured by cross-stays. This would,
we think, render the overturning of the top a matter of im-
possibility, unless, indeed, the tempest were so fierce as to
throw down the tower itself. On the west side of the steeple
we notice a large portion of the battlement of the tower (in-
tended for the clock) has been thrown down against the base
of the spire. The roof of the church is also much damaged
throughout, the lead and slates being stripped of its many
places. The clerk of the church politely pointed out to our
i
reporter the damage done to the spire and n the church.
At the house of Mr. Hargreaves, in High Park-street, the
destruction was most alarming, and the escape of two females
truly extraordinary. Between four and five o'clock in the
morning a stack of chimneys, together with the ornamental
wall united to them, on the west side of the house (which is
so large and lofty), gave way under the force of the hurri-
cane, and descended with a tremendous crash upon the roof,
carrying down a balk 14 inches square through the cock-loft,
and into the attic below, whence a considerable portion of the
materials were driven through the floor into the bed-room on
the second floor. In the attic, one of the female servants
was asleep, nearly the whole roof of the room was driven in,
the bed crushed to pieces, and that part of the floor on which
it stood pressed down by the weight of the bricks and mate-
rials (nearly six tons) some inches below its level. Part of
the materials burst through to the bedroom in which Mr. and
Mrs. Hargreaves slept, but without doing them any injury.
The escape of the female above was all but miraculous.
Three police constables were in attendance on the alarm be-
ing given, and succeeded in rescuing her in a state of insen-
sibility, but, it is since found, not so much injured as to pre-
elude hopes of recovery in a few days. Her fellow-servant
slept in the adjoining room, and the falling materials burst
through a portion of the roof near her bed, and blocked
up the door, so that she could not escape. The doors of
both apartments were forced open, and the sufferers extri-
cated as speedily as possible. Luckily Mr. Hargreaves' two
daughters were on a visit to Manchester, otherwise they
would have been in the room where the servant who was in-
jured slept. We regret to say that an infant child of Mr.
Hargreaves was frightened into fits by the noise of the gale
and the destruction, and, after being carried to a neighbour's
house, soon after expired. The stables attached to the pre-
mises were completely snipped. The premises of Mr. Joyn-
son, adjoining, and the same size as those of Mr. Hargreaves,
were also much injured—the chimney being thrown down;
but as it was at the east gable of the house, it fell clear of the
house, but upon the coach-house and stables, carrying away
the roofs.
From the exposed situation of Mr. Alexander Smith's re-
sidence opposite, it is not at all surprising that he should have
felt the effects of a hurricane without its parallel in these
parts in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. A great por-
tion of his roof was stripped, many windows destroyed, and a
heavy stack of chimneys fell into the bed-room of one of his
servants, and from thence into the room beneath. She bad,
luckily, gone down stairs a few minutes before the occurrence
took place, which otherwise would, in all probability, have
proved fatal, her bed being broken to atoms.
Such was the alarm of Mr. Smith and family at the shak-
ing of the house and the roaring of the wind, that at four in
the morning they sent to the coffee-house for a car to convey
them from it. Such, however, was the violence of the gale
at the time, that no vehicle would have faced it without a
certainty of being upset. At about eight o'clock, Mr. S. and
his lady went in a car to the house of his,father, Fullwood
Lodge, and on the way narrowly escaped another disaster.
Whets near Mr. Kay's, at the end of Lark-lane, a huge tree
fell into the road, so nearly upon the car, that had it been a
moment later in its progress, the parties would probably have
lost their lives.
In Park-road, the coach-house of Mrs. Brookfield was
blown down, and other damage done in the back part of her
premises. Mrs. Webster's roof, chimneys, and windows, as
also those of Mrs. Lowe, adjoining, suffered greatly. A
wooden building, on the opposite side, occupied as a shop by
a shoemaker named Arnold, was carried into the middle of
the road, notwithstanding his fancied security in having, as
he thought, had it firmly fastened in the ground. It was for-
tunate for him that the storm raged at an earlier hour than
that at which he was accustomed to resume his avocation,
otherwise those sons of Crispin might have been treated to a
ride more expeditious than pleasant. He has succeeded in
re-placing his shop in its former situation.
The chimney of a beer-house, at the corner of North-street,
fell on the roof of Mr. Felton, who lives adjoining, but with-
out any serious injury. An unfinished house of some mag-
nitude, belonging, we believe, to the family of the late Mr.
Watson, and situated a little to the north of St. John the
Baptist's Church, was blown down: fortunately it was unat-
tended by any other injurious consequences. Mr. Edgar's
chimney, in Park-street, was blown down, and entered the
room below. Three other houses in the saute street ex-
perienced a similar calamity.
The upper house of a range fronting Mr. Francis Jordan's
cottage had a chimney blown outwards, which carried with it
a portion of the wall forming the gable end, and caused a
crack to the extent of several feet. By this occurrence the
upper room is exposed to the inclemency of the weather.
The destruction of windows in the range is very great, whole
sashes, in some instances, have been beaten in. Several
small houses situate in Jerry-hill have suffered considerably,
as, from their exposed situation, they were completely open
to the gale—indeed it is a matter of surprise they were left
standing. Although the backs of the houses in South Ches-
ter-street are afforded little, if any, protection from the wes-
terly winds, the whole of their chimneys are yet standing,
which can only be accounted for by their stacks invariably
fronting the south instead of the west, a plan it would he very
desirable to follow in every instance in this neighbourhood
where it can possibly be carried into effect, as the great loss
of life in this town, during the late gale, has, we believe,
without one exception, been caused by the falling, of chim-
neys presenting a broad front to the prevailing quarter, from
whence we, in almost every instance, experience the severity
of the weather.
The inhabitants of two houses in Wellington-road, near
the school, were so dreadfully alarmed, that about four
o'clock, they ran out in their night clothes, and were kindly
received into the house of the clerk of the church. While
making their escape down stairs, the skylight was smashed
in, and slates, glass, and other materials were blown down,
and, it might be said, pursued them in their flight.