The
Great Storm of 1703 was the most severe
stormA European windstorm is a severe cyclonic windstorm associated with areas of low pressure that track across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe. They are most common in the winter months. Deep low pressure areas are relatively common over the North Atlantic and frequently track past the...
or
natural disasterA natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard that affects the environment, and leads to financial, environmental and/or human losses...
ever recorded in the southern part of
BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
. It affected southern
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and the
English ChannelThe English Channel is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover...
. A 120-
mphmph is a three-letter acronym that refers to miles per hour, a measurement of speedMPH may also refer to:* Master of Public Health, a Master's degree in public health...
(193-km/h) "perfect hurricane", it started on 24 November, and did not die down until 2 December 1703 (Old Style).
Observers at the time recorded barometric readings as low as 973 millibars (measured by
William DerhamWilliam Derham was an English clergyman and natural philosopher. He was the first man known to measure the speed of sound.-Life:...
in South Essex), but it has been suggested that the storm may have deepened to 950 millibars over the
MidlandsThe English Midlands, or the Midlands is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
.
Damage
At
seaA sea is any large amount of water filled with animals such as crabs, whales, sharks, and fish, but there is inconsistency as to its precise definition and application. Most commonly, a sea may refer to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, but it is also used sometimes for a...
, many ships (many returning from helping the King of Spain fight the French in the
War of the Spanish SuccessionThe War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, principally the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Portugal, and the Duchy of Savoy, against the Kingdoms of France and Spain and the Electorate of Bavaria, over a possible unification of the Kingdoms of...
) were wrecked, including
HMS ResolutionHMS Resolution was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Harwich Dockyard in 6 December 1667. She was one of only three Third-Rate vessels designed and built by the noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane.-History:...
at
PevenseyPevensey is a village and civil parish in the Wealden district of East Sussex, England. The main village is located 5 miles north-east of Eastbourne, one mile inland from Pevensey Bay. The settlement of Pevensey Bay forms part of the parish.-Geography:The village of Pevensey is located on...
and on the
Goodwin SandsThe Goodwin Sands are a 10-mile long sand bank in the English Channel, lying six miles east of Deal in Kent, England. As the shoals lie close to major shipping channels, more than 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked upon them, and as a result they are marked by numerous lightships and...
, HMS
Stirling Castle,
HMS NorthumberlandHMS Northumberland was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Bristol in 1679.-Service:She fought in the War of the Grand Alliance....
and
HMS RestorationHMS Restoration was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, named after the English Restoration. She was built by Betts of Harwich and launched in 1678.She took part in the Battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692...
, with about 1,500 seamen killed particularly on the Goodwins. Between 8,000 - 15,000 lives were lost overall.
The first
Eddystone LighthouseEddystone Lighthouse is on the treacherous Eddystone Rocks, 9 statute miles south west of Rame Head, United Kingdom. While Rame Head is in Cornwall, the rocks are in Devon and composed of Precambrian Gneiss....
was destroyed on 27 November 1703 (Old Style), killing six occupants, including its builder
Henry WinstanleyHenry Winstanley was an English engineer who constructed the first Eddystone lighthouse.-Early life and career:He was born in Saffron Walden, Essex, and baptised there on 31 March 1644...
.
The number of
oakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 400 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
trees lost in the
New ForestThe New Forest is an area of southern England which includes the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in the heavily-populated south east of England. It covers south-west Hampshire and extends into south-east Wiltshire....
alone was 4,000.
On the Thames, around 700 ships were heaped together in the
Pool of LondonOriginally, the Pool of London was the stretch of the River Thames forming the south side of the City of London. The term was later used more generally to refer to the stretch of the river in between London Bridge and Rotherhithe, which constituted the furthest reach that could be navigated by a...
, the section downstream from
London BridgeLondon Bridge is a bridge between the City of London and Southwark in London, England, over the River Thames. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London...
.
HMS VanguardHMS Vanguard was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1678.She ran onto Goodwin Sands in 1690, but was fortunate enough to be hauled off by the boatmen of Deal....
was wrecked at
ChathamChatham is a large area within Medway, Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped, into a business and residential community, its major buildings remain; so that, in addition to that more modern usage, the historical importance of the...
.
HMS AssociationHMS Association was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1697. She served as the flagship of Cloudesley Shovell in the Mediterranean during the War of the Spanish Succession, in engagements including the capture of Gibraltar on 21 July 1704.In...
was blown from
HarwichHarwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district...
to
GothenburgGothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest amongst the Nordic countries. Situated on the south-west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 502,833 with 622,287 in the urban area and total of 911,406 inhabitants in the metropolitan area.The City of...
in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
before way could be made back to England.
In
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, the lead roofing was blown off
Westminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to popularly and informally as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in Westminster, London, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster...
and
Queen AnneAnne became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702, succeeding her brother-in-law, William III of England and II of Scotland...
had to shelter in a cellar at
St. James's PalaceSt. James's Palace is one of London's oldest palaces. It is situated in Pall Mall, just north of St. James's Park. Although no sovereign has resided there for almost two centuries, it is considered the most senior royal palace in the UK and gives its name to the Royal Court St. James's Palace is...
to avoid collapsing chimneys and part of the roof.
There was extensive and prolonged flooding in the
West CountryThe West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
, particularly around
BristolBristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, west of London, and east of Cardiff.With an estimated population of 416,400 for the unitary authority in mid-2007, and a surrounding urban area with an estimated 561,500 residents, it is England's sixth, and...
.
At
WellsWells is a small cathedral city and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, on the southern edge of the Mendip Hills.The name Wells derives from the three wells dedicated to Saint Andrew, one in the market place and two within the grounds of the Bishop's Palace and cathedral....
, Bishop
Richard KidderRichard Kidder was an English Anglican churchman, Bishop of Bath and Wells from 1691 to his death. He was a noted theologian.He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was a sizar, from 1649, graduating 1652. He became a Fellow there in 1655, and vicar of Stranground,...
was killed when two chimneystacks in the palace fell on the bishop and his wife, asleep in bed. This same storm blew in part of the great west window in
Wells CathedralWells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....
.
Beliefs and response
A recently discovered contemporary diary written by a witness in rural Worcestershire describes in richly descriptive language the damaging emotional and psychological effects of the storm. The storm, unprecedented in ferocity and duration, was generally reckoned by witnesses to represent the anger of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
— in recognition of the "crying sins of this nation", the government declared 19 January 1704 a day of
fastingFasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. A fast may be total or partial concerning that from which one fasts, and may be prolonged or intermittent as to the period of fasting...
, saying it "loudly calls for the deepest and most solemn humiliation of our people". It remained a frequent topic of moralizing in
sermonA sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts...
s for the next half century.
Literary
The Great Storm also coincided with the increase in English
journalismJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
, and was the first weather event to be a news story on a national scale. Special issue broadsheets were produced detailing damage to property and stories of people who had been killed.
Daniel DefoeDaniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained enduring fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain, and is even referred to by some as one...
produced his first book,
The Storm, published in July 1704, in response to the calamity, calling it "the tempest that destroyed woods and forests all over England". "No pen could describe it, nor tongue express it, nor thought conceive it unless by one in the extremity of it," he wrote of it. Coastal towns such as
PortsmouthPortsmouth is a city located in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is the United Kingdom's only island city and is located on Portsea Island. The City of Portsmouth and Portsmouth Football Club are both nicknamed Pompey...
"looked as if the enemy had sackt them and were most miserably torn to pieces". He thought the destruction of the sovereign fleet was a punishment for their poor performance against the
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
armies of
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
and
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
during the first year of the
War of the Spanish SuccessionThe War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, principally the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic, Portugal, and the Duchy of Savoy, against the Kingdoms of France and Spain and the Electorate of Bavaria, over a possible unification of the Kingdoms of...
.
13 ships lost in the Royal Navy
The Royal Navy was badly affected, losing thirteen ships, and upwards of fifteen hundred seamen drowned.
- The Restoration
HMS Restoration was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, named after the English Restoration. She was built by Betts of Harwich and launched in 1678.She took part in the Battle of Barfleur on 19 May 1692...
, a third rate, Captain Emms, 387 men, on the Goodwin SandsThe Goodwin Sands are a 10-mile long sand bank in the English Channel, lying six miles east of Deal in Kent, England. As the shoals lie close to major shipping channels, more than 2,000 ships are believed to have been wrecked upon them, and as a result they are marked by numerous lightships and...
; not one saved.
- The Northumberland
HMS Northumberland was a 70-gun third rate ship of the line of the English Royal Navy, launched at Bristol in 1679.-Service:She fought in the War of the Grand Alliance....
, a third rate, Captain Greenway, lost on the Goodwin Sands; all her company was lost, being 220 men, including twenty-four marines.
- The Stirling Castle, a third rate, Captain Johnson, on the Goodwin Sands, 70 men, of which four marine officers were saved, the rest were drowned, being 206.
- The Mary
Speaker was a 50-gun third rate frigate and the name ship of the , built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Christopher Pett at Woolwich and launched in 1650. At the Restoration she was renamed HMS Mary. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 62 guns.In 1688 Mary was rebuilt by...
, a fourth rate, Rear-admiral Beaumont, Captain Edward Hopson, on the Goodwin Sands, the captain and purser ashore; one man, whose name was Thomas Atkins, saved; the rest, to the number of 269 with the rear-admiral, drowned. The escape of this Atkins was very remarkable - He saw the rear-admiral, when the ship was breaking, get upon a piece of her quarter-deck, from which he was soon washed off; and about the same time, Atkins was tossed by a wave into the Stirling Castle, which sinking soon after, he was thrown the third man into her boat, by a wave that washed him from the wreck.
- The Mortar-bomb, a fifth rate, Captain Raymond, on the Goodwin Sands; all her company lost, being 65.
- The Eagle advice boat, a sixth rate, Captain Bostock, lost on the Coast of Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is a historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
; all her company, being 45, saved.
- The Resolution
HMS Resolution was a 70-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched at Harwich Dockyard in 6 December 1667. She was one of only three Third-Rate vessels designed and built by the noted maritime architect Sir Anthony Deane.-History:...
, a third rate, Captain Lisle, on the coast of Sussex; all her company, being 221, saved.
- The Litchfield Prize, a fifth rate, Captain Chamberlain, on the coast of Sussex; all her company, being 108, saved.
- The Newcastle
HMS Newcastle was a 44-gun Fourth rate frigate of the English Royal Navy, originally built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England by Phineas Pett II at Ratcliffe, and launched in May 1653. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 54 guns....
, a fourth rate, Captain Carter, lost at SpitheadSpithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...
. The carpenter and 39 men were saved, and the rest, being 193, drowned.
- The Vesuvius fire-ship, a fifth rate, Captain Paddon, at Spithead; all her company, being 48, saved.
- The Reserve, a fourth rate, Captain John Anderson, commander, lost at Yarmouth
Yarmouth may refer to the following places:In Canada:*Yarmouth, Nova Scotia *Yarmouth, Nova Scotia *Yarmouth, Nova Scotia *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia*New Yarmouth, Nova Scotia...
. The captain, the surgeon, the clerk, and 44 men saved; the rest of the crew drowned, being 175.
- The Vanguard
HMS Vanguard was a 90-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at Portsmouth Dockyard and launched in 1678.She ran onto Goodwin Sands in 1690, but was fortunate enough to be hauled off by the boatmen of Deal....
, a second rate, sunk in Chatham harbourChatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
, with neither men nor guns in her.
- The York
Marston Moor was a 52-gun third rate frigate built for the navy of the Commonwealth of England at Blackwall, and launched in 1654.After the Restoration in 1660, she was renamed HMS York. By 1677 her armament had been increased to 60 guns. York was wrecked in 1703....
, a fourth rate, Captain Smith, lost at HarwichHarwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district...
; all her men saved except four.
Lamb (1991) claimed 10,000 seamen were lost in one night, a far higher figure, about 1/3 of all the seamen in the British Navy.
See also
- UK Weather Records
The UK Weather Records note the most extreme weather ever recorded in the United Kingdom, such as the most and least hours of sunshine and highest wind speed.-Temperature:!! °C! °F! Location! colspan="3"|Date|-!Highest| 38.5°C| 101.3°F...
- European windstorm
A European windstorm is a severe cyclonic windstorm associated with areas of low pressure that track across the North Atlantic towards northwestern Europe. They are most common in the winter months. Deep low pressure areas are relatively common over the North Atlantic and frequently track past the...
- List of United Kingdom disasters by death toll
Further reading
- Lamb, H.H. and Frydendahl, Knud (1991). Historic Storms of the North Sea, British Isles and Northwest Europe. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521375221
- Laughton, Leonard George Carr and Heddon, V. (1927). Great Storms. London: Phillip Allan & Co.
External links