The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-21
Y DILUW MAWR
YIN NGHAERDYDD
A Graphic Description Of the Great
Deluge at Cardiff.
1000 PEOPLE DROWNED IN WALES
The Great Flood which Engulfcd the
Whole Of the Sea COsat of South
Wales and MOnmOuthshire for Sew.
eral Miles Inland in the Year 1906.
Notes Of Interest.

Hardly anyone seems to be aware Of
the fact that little over 2S9 years ago.
namely, at 3 o'clock in the morning of
January 20, 1907, the town of Cardiff
was all drowned by the sea. The in
teresting inscription reproduced below
is on the wall in Nash church, Gold
cliffe, and in the porch of the church of
st. Bride, Gwentllwg, is another re-
lating to the same appalling calamity,
which engulfed the whole Of the sea
coast Of South Wales and Monmouth
for several miles inland. The st.
Bride inscription Is as follows:
THE GREAT FLvD,
20 IANvARIE.
y IN THE MORNING,
1906.
1t may be useful to explain why an
event occurring on January 20, 1907. is
dated 1906" Down to the year 1853
there was two years running concur
rently. The civil, ecclesiastical. and
legal year commenced on March 25.
and the other. commonly called the
common historical year, commenced on
January ]. Thus January 20. 1907. of
the common, historical year would be
in the year 1905 of the ecclesiastical and
legal year. In the churches the date
Is given in accordance with the eccle-
siastical year. In 1853 an act Of par
Lament was passed ordaining that
henceforward both years should COM
mence on January /. Another change
took place subsequently, when eleven
days were added to the year for rea-
sons that do not relate to this sub
Jest. Thus the ecclesiastical Gwyl Fair
or the Festival Of st. Mary. associated
with which St. Mary Hill Fair was
held, was changed from August Is to
August 26, the date on which the fair
has been held ever since. The whole
system is ecclesiastical holy days was
thus dislOcated.
There are two principal reports OF
the great flood in existence. One is In
MS. in the British museum-Harleian n
Miscellany, Vol. III. This account is
quoted in Mr.. w. L. Jenkins History
Of the Town and Castle of Cardiff -
deals exclusively with the circum.
stances of the flood at Cardiff. The
next account is found in a sermon de-
livered in the next month-at any rate
the sermon is entered at Stationers
hall on Feb. IL. LOBBY William Wei.
by, apparently a clergyman, who
sought to Improve the occasion" by
preaching that the great Hood was q
second deluge for the sins Of the
wicked. A ballad touching the calam.
tty was entered at Stationers' hall on
Feb. II, 1907. 1t would be highly in
teresting were it discovered and pub
lished,. and, doubtless. would be
healthier reading than the Rev Will.
lam Welby's views on the natural phe-
nomenon In question. Viewing all the
terrible circumstances. 1t appears that
the calamity, which is more terrible
than any other recorded in the annals
of the British Isles, was the result of q
volcano bursting along the deep bed OF
the Severn from Gloucester to Liam
stephan. and hurting the waters out OF
the channel on both the English and
Welsh coasts, with the result that the
waters of the Atlantic rolled
IN with appalling velocity. II