The Late Rain.
The Times, 1824-05-18T00:00:00

On the Kent-roads., the effects of the rains of Friday and Satur- day have been mest extensive and destructive. At Deptford, part of a su;ar-house was washed away, with se. veral hogsheads of sugar, and the mill belowseriously injured. The 7aidstoie-road. from Lee-green to Eltham, was one vast sheet of water of considerable depth; and from Shooter's-hill to Welling, a great part of the road was under water. At Crayford, the lower rooms of a row of hoases opposite the Swan public-house were inundated, =ad the inhabitants obliged to take shelter in the upper stories. Several carts were employed to carry persons over the water ata penny each, going to and returning from Dartfbrd. But the most lamentable consequences took place in the parishof Bexley. A stream of water, passing through the grounds of John Smithi, Esq.. iU. P., uniting with one from Danson-bill, the seat of John Johnston, Esq., and which crosses the road just below Bridgen, caused such a deluge, that about 10 o'clock on Saturday night, the bridge thrown across the rivulet was borne down by the force of the waters; the bricks and materials which composed it were carried into the grounds of the Rev. Air. Frith, of Bridgen place. Shortly after, as a post-chaise, belonging to Mr. Plater, of Foots'-cray, was returning from Plumstead, the post-boy, not aware of the destruc- tion of the bridre, attempted to pass, but fell into the chasm, and was carried away by the violence of the currenL The chbiie was broken to pieces, and the horses and a poor woman of the name of Alunk, who was inside the vehicle, were drowned. The post-boy escaped by clinging to the branches of a tree wlich overhung the stream. The bodv of the woman was forced from the chaise, and was not found tlll 11 o'clock on Sunday morning. Mr. Clharles Francis, surgeon, of Bexlcy, who was retlrningfrom Lord Eardley's in his gig, accompantied by his servant, was providentially fore- warned of the danger by a woman, the wife of the London carrier, who wvaslooking out for herahusband with lantem. His horse had entered the waters w.hen the cries of the woman, who had just per- ceived him, apprmsed him of his danger in time to turn his horse's head. In another moment he must have plunged into the abyss, where he must inevitably have perished. In consequence of the late heavy falls of rain, the ancient water. course named Turnmill-brosk, communicating with the Thames from the vcinity of ?lighgate and Hfampstead, in that part between St. Pancras and the House of Correction' orerfiowed the banks, inundated the gardens, and did considerabie injury to the inhabit- ants and their dwellings. 'The Bagnigge-wells ?tavern, being imme- diately contiguous to the brook, experienced injury and inconve. nience to such a degree, that on Saturtay afternoon all was bustle and confusion to pump and clear the waterfrom the premises. About 9 o'clock, a report reaehed that place, that one man by accident, and another In endeavouring to rescue him, had been washed from the open part of the gardensin the Bagnigge-wells road down to the enclosedpartofthebackofPearl.cresrent. Every endeavour wasmade by the inhabitants of the tavern to impede their further progress and render assistance; and in a shorttime they succeeded in rescuingone person almost exhausted, who had grappled the stem of an aider tree. The most prompt means were used for relieving him df his clothes; external and intemal comforts were administered, and the best bed prepared. The person saved from a watery grave was soon recognized to be AMr. King, of Drury-lane Theatre, who had mis- taken an opening in the railinyc aid was instantly precipitated into the rapid current of the brook Whih flowed, but had not been fol- lowed by any other person. The neighbourhood of Brixton, in particular, from the foot of the hiU to Kennington, exhibits a spectacde of which none but a few of the very oldest inhabit4nts can recollect any paraUel instance. The little rivulet, the EiTra, which washes the eastern side of the road, a large portion of which has lately been shored over in the progress of Lord Holland's improvements, has been swollen into a fearful and roaring torrent, whose banks, though of the height of seven or eight feet, and leaving a space between them of ten or twelte, have been broken and overflowed, while the waters, spreading themselves over the road, poured downwards in all the semblance of a broad I and turbid river, that even the footpaths, in several places, were more than knee.deep, and the stages and cArriages which were com- pelled to pass along were flooded above the axletree. The destruction of fences, gardenst and habitations by the de. scent of these torrents, may readily be believed. No less than seven bridges, over ,jach of which there was a good public read, have been swept down or broken in, and indeed it can only bave been by the timely falling in of those on the higher part of the torrentv and which by forming dams above, turned so considerable aportion of the water into the wider road, that any of the communications between thevillas and cottaresiis thLs neiehbour. hood and the road escaped from one common wreck. The in- habitants of the vilas and cottages whose grounds have been- in- vaded, were to be seen on Sanday morning, standing on the broken verge of their yet remaining territory, with dismal and impatient faces, waiting the arrival of planks and timbers to afford them the temporary means of communication with the road. The basement stores of many houses bave been filled with water; and some fami. lies on the western side of the road have been washed out of their ground floors But oome of the new cTossstreetsbetreen the Brix- ton and Ciaphamn roads exhibit a stil morenmelancholypicture. The extent of personal accidents which may hare occurred is probably not yet ascertained. But obe gehtleman, it is known, wholhad beau obliged to wade across the flooded road, plunged by mistake into the deeper waters on the other side, and with difficulty escaped drowning. The like accident happened to a grooms who, by a plunge of his horse, was thrown into the current. Orie of the stage-coaches broke dow/n while struggling agaiast the stream; the coachman was thrown behv.laeen the horses. and'i boy that was sit- ting by his side was plunged oere head and ears in the water; wbile a carmen, who had been obliged to get upon the ahalls, wa washed from his seat, and the wheel passing over his body, had both his legs fractued. in a dreadful manner. To the north of Newark there has been no rain, and the roads were inconVenicnRtly dusty for travellers. But on Frday and Satur- day thetorrents of rain that fell nearer town were such as to put ant end to all ttavelling; and at a villagc about two niles on this side of Caxton, the Edinbargh and Aberdeen down malt was stopped, and the same mall up was detained at Caxton four hours; this .was oc- c7asioned byr the nood being such as to render it impossible to pro. teed and when~ they did so, the water was up to the coach doors. A t lv ade's MiUl (lerts) the bridge was nearly three parts destroyed. sad wth great difficulty the mail was got over, the coachman and yttard leading the horses over the part of the bridge that remained, ud which was expecoted to fall every moment. At WYare the waser was over the fore-wheels, and the mail was ,aain detained tvo hours. There,also,tbe malt-houses were completely inundated, and the tim- ber atu large yard near-the bridge was floated, and comnpleteiy stop. ped the roadi and the water there was of such a depth, that the guard was oblged to ride the leaders through; antd, in fact, there was not a house in the town but wasflooded knee-deep in water. At Enfield-wash the bridge was- entirely destroyed w and we hear that Mr. Deacon. the norhern carrier, lost four horses out of seven, and two of his men were unfortunatelv drowned. The mail was obliged to proceed hy the Green Lanes. All theway down the injury is dread- ful; and the mail, whicb should have arrived at six o'clock in the morning, did not reach town till one o'ock. At Wandsworth, Surrey, the *Vandle has overflowed a number of houses in the lower part of the town, and on Sunday, after the rain had ceased for many hours, some houses were under water, and the stream was rushing like a torrentthroughothers. The marshesand meadows on the Waxndsworth-read are flooded to aa unusual extent. On the Hampstead and Highgate-roads, on the level near the Canal-bridge, the roads were impassable fbr foot passengers, and for hours the water was above the horses' bellies, and did not subside till a late hour on Sunday morning. There was a greater flood on the river Colne, rnear Ri.kmersw orth, than has been witnewsed for the last 29 years. The waters rose ves. terday morning so rapidly as to undermine and blow up the bighway bridge over the river, near the church, and to endanger thepremises and lives of the inhabitants residing in the neighbourhood. THE LATE BAlNr.