Lightning Conductors

Chapter XIV Accidents and Fatalities From Lightning

The accidents that occur annually from the effects of lightning are far greater in number and extent than is generally supposed. Although the art of protecting buildings by means of lightning conductors was discovered some hundred and twenty-seven years ago, and it is now one hundred and eleven years since, in 1768, Benjamin Franklin’s ‘lightning rods’ were first set up over the dome of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, yet the application of this great discovery is by no means general. At least one-half, and perhaps two-thirds, of all the public buildings, including the churches and chapels, of Great Britain and Ireland, are without any protection against lightning. As to private houses, it may safely be affirmed that not five out of every thousand are fitted with lightning conductors. It is well known that the amount of property annually destroyed by lightning in this country is very great, though it is, very naturally, impossible to form any accurate, or even approximate estimate of it. With regard, however, to the number of deaths from the same cause, certain statistics do exist, although many of them are notoriously imperfect. According to the ‘Fortieth Report of the Registrar-General,’ issued in July 1878, and former reports, the number of deaths from lightning in England and Wales was as follows in each of the nine years from 1869 to 1877:—

Years	Males	Females	Total
1869	5	2	7
1870	13	6	19
1871	23	5	28
1872	35	11	46
1873	17	4	21
1874	25	—	25
1875	14	3	17
1876	15	4	19
1877	—	—	12
Total	147	35	194

The official returns of the number of deaths from lightning, as given by the English Registrar-General, are admittedly incomplete. In Prussia, where the registration of the causes of death is most rigidly enforced by law, and, in consequence, is far more accurate than in England, there were one thousand and four persons reported as killed by lightning in the nine years from 1869 to 1877. According to the official report issued by Dr. Ernst Engel, Director of the Statistical Bureau of Berlin, the number of lives lost each year was as follows:—

Years	Males	Females	Total
1869	47	32	79
1870	59	43	102
1871	56	47	103
1872	50	35	85
1873	61	50	111
1874	58	49	107
1875	92	48	140
1876	59	47	106
1877	105	66	171
Total	587	417	1,004

The population of Prussia is somewhat larger than that of England and Wales—25¾ millions against 24½ millions—but on the other hand, thunderstorms are less frequent there than with us. Altogether it will be rather under than over the mark to say that as many persons are killed by lightning in England as in Prussia, the loss amounting, on the average, to over one hundred every year.

Of the deaths by lightning in France, Mons. Boudin some years ago collected statistics which showed that during the thirty years beginning in 1834 and ending in 1863, two thousand and thirty-eight people were struck dead by lightning in that country. During the last ten years of this period, the deaths amounted to eight hundred and eighty, and of these only two hundred and forty-three were females. In connection with this it is a noticeable fact that when a lightning stroke falls upon a crowd, it almost invariably causes more fatalities among the men than the women.

In the following tables are given statistics of deaths and accidents from lightning in the various countries referred to.

In the case of the United States, the Chief of the Bureau of Statistics writes that no record of deaths or fires caused by lightning is kept—a somewhat curious admission on the part of such a practical and methodical country. A similar reply has been received from the authorities in Spain.

Cas de Mort, occasionnés par la Foudre, dans les 49 Gouvernements de la Russie Européenne, sans compter la Finlande et les Gouvernements du ci-devant royaume de Pologne.

Années	Hommes	Femmes
1870	261	139
1871	260	167
1872	404	216
1873	300	179
1874	227	117
Total (en cinq années)	1,452	818
De ce nombre dans les villes	75	34
De ce nombre dans les villages	1,377	784

Incendies, occasionnés par la Foudre, dans les 49 Gouvernements de la Russie Européenne, sans compter la Finlande et les Gouvernements du ci-devant royaume de Pologne.

Années	Dans les Villes	Dans les Villages
1870	11	571
1871	23	767
1872	28	1,217
1873	19	908
1874	12	636
Total	93	4,099

Dans le gouvernement de Cherson les villes Odessa et Nicolaev ne sont pas comprises, à cause du manque de renseignements.

The returns from Russia, which include the years 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873, and 1874, are here printed as they were received from the President of the Commission for Statistics at St. Petersburg.

The returns from Sweden, extending as they do over a period of more than sixty years, are highly interesting. In this case the difference in the number of men and women killed is not so noticeable as in other countries:—

Deaths by Lightning in Sweden.

Year	Total	Of which
		Under 10 years old	Over 10 years old	Males	Females	In the country	In the towns
1877	8	—	8	4	4	7	1
1876	14	2	12	6	8	14	—
1875	16	—	16	10	6	16	—
1874	9	—	9	6	3	9	—
1873	14	1	13	7	7	13	1
1872	26	2	24	10	16	25	1
1871	6	—	6	2	4	5	1
1870	9	1	8	5	4	9	—
1869	7	1	6	3	4	7	—
1868	14	—	14	11	3	14	—
1867	5	—	5	3	2	5	—
1866	26	2	24	8	18	25	1
1865	13	2	11	7	6	13	—
1864	5	1	4	2	3	4	1
1863	4	—	4	3	1	4	—
1862	12	2	10	10	2	11	1
1861	15	—	—	—	—	15	—
1860	7	—	—	4	3	7	—
1859	22	4	18	12	10	20	2
1858	18	—	18	11	7	17	1
1857	6	1	5	3	3	6	—
1856	6	1	5	3	3	6	—
1855	25	2	23	16	9	25	—
1854	5	—	5	4	1	5	—
1853	8	1	7	4	4	8	—
1852	15	4	11	7	8	14	1
1851	9	—	9	7	2	9	—
1850	9	3	6	6	3	9	—
1849	11	1	10	4	7	10	1
1848	5	—	5	1	4	5	—
1847	10	—	10	3	7	10	—
1846	21	1	20	14	7	21	—
1845	16	4	12	10	6	14	2
1844	11	—	11	9	2	10	1
1843	2	—	2	—	2	2	—
1842	7	1	6	5	2	7	—
1841	7	1	6	5	2	7	—
1840	2	—	2	1	1	2	—
1839	22	4	18	17	5	22	—
1838	11	1	10	9	2	11	—
1837	5	2	3	3	2	5	—
1836	4	—	4	2	2	4	—
1835	5	1	4	3	2	5	—
1834	36	4	32	21	15	36	—
1833	7	1	6	6	1	7	—
1832	5	—	5	1	4	5	—
1831	7	1	6	3	4	7	—
1830	5	—	—	5	—	—	—
1829	10	—	—	6	4	—	—
1828	9	—	—	6	3	—	—
1827	5	—	—	4	1	—	—
1826	11	—	—	6	5	—	—
1825	6	—	—	3	3	—	—
1824	6	—	—	4	2	—	—
1823	5	—	—	3	2	—	—
1822	8	—	—	4	4	—	—
1821	4	—	—	3	1	—	—
1820	15	—	—	8	7	—	—
1819	32	—	—	17	15	—	—
1818	10	—	—	4	6	—	—
1817	4	—	—	2	2	—	—
1816	7	—	—	3	4	—	—

Deaths by Lightning in Baden.

Year	Males	Females	Total
1874	3	—	3
1875	3	5	8
1876	2	7	9
Total	8	12	20

Fires through Lightning in Bavaria.

Right side of Rhine.

Year	Total
1843–44	24
1844–45	39
1845–46	54
1846–47	25
1847–48	27
1848–49	26
1849–50	30
1850–51	32
1851–52	44
1852–53	60
1853–54	38
1854–55	47
1855–56	70
1856–57	66
1857–58	56
1858–59	60
1859–60	50
1860–61	64
1861–62	63
1862–63	80
1863–64	59
1864–65	90
1865–66	48
1866–67	100
1867–68	140
1868–69	86
1869–70	79
1870–71	115
1871–72	107
1872–73	170

Left side of Rhine.

Year	Total
1870	6
1873	36

Austria. List of Damages by Fire through Lightning.

Key:
AWE - Austria, Western Europe
AEE - Austria, Eastern Europe
Sa. - Salzburg
St. - Styria
K. - Kärnten
Il. - Illyria
Co. - Coastland
Ty. - Tyrol
Bo. - Bohemia
Mä. - Mähren
Si. - Silesia
Ga. - Galicia
Bu. - Buckovina
D. - Dalmatia

Year	Total Fires	Of which those through lightning are:—
		AWE	AEE	Sa.	St.	K.	Il.	Co.	Ty.	Bo.	Mä.	Si.	Ga.	Bu.	D.	Total
1870	4,171	20	16	1	14	3	4	2	2	58	15	—	26	—	—	161
1871	4,293	9	26	1	9	5	2	3	1	53	8	1	34	4	—	156
1872	5,265	11	26	4	32	5	12	3	2	45	14	7	56	5	1	223
1873	5,500	11	16	3	30	4	12	1	11	88	18	7	42	3	3	249
1874	5,244	15	24	—	32	5	9	—	8	79	15	5	53	5	—	250
1875	4,529	17	34	—	19	4	10	2	7	68	19	8	62	—	—	250
1876	5,001	18	13	1	22	5	5	1	1	59	15	—	48	—	—	188
1877	6,125	21	23	3	23	8	8	—	7	63	19	6	43	1	—	225
Total	40,128	122	178	13	181	39	62	12	39	513	123	34	364	18	4	1702

Deaths by Lightning in Wurtemberg.

Year	Total
1841–42	26
1851–60	117

Deaths by Lightning in Switzerland.

	Males	Females	Total
1876	2	1	3
1877	21	9	30
Total	23	10	33

The data given here is necessarily incomplete, although much trouble has been taken in obtaining it. Many countries keep no separate records of deaths and accidents from lightning, and those kept by others are often meagre and untrustworthy. Still the statistics given are sufficient to prove that lightning constitutes no unimportant factor among the dangers that threaten the safety of human life. The apathy with which the danger is regarded by most people is simply astounding: very few make any effort to protect themselves or their houses against it, although during certain months of the year it is almost impossible to take up a newspaper that does not contain an account of some fatality or casualty from the effects of a thunderstorm. The long roll of accidents appended to this chapter shows only too clearly the enormous amount of damage that has arisen—and is continually arising—from this source. Public buildings fare little better than private houses. Even some of the first cathedrals of England have no lightning conductors whatever, while others, supplied with them, are insufficiently protected, as is apparent to any competent observer. A glaring instance of the absence of protection against lightning is to be found at Windsor Castle. It is a fact that several portions of this splendid palace, among them St. George’s chapel, and the adjoining Belfry Tower, are entirely unprovided with lightning conductors. On other parts of the castle a few conductors are placed, but clearly not enough. It is needless to say that, speaking only of St. George’s chapel and the Belfry Tower, these beautiful buildings, constantly touched by the storm-clouds that sweep up the valley of the Thames, are liable at any moment to destruction or great damage.

Thomas Fuller, in his ‘Church History of Britain,’ states that—

‘There was scarce a great abbey in England which (once, at the least) was not burnt down with lightning from Heaven. 1. The Monastery of Canterbury, burnt anno 1145, and afterwards again burnt anno 1174. 2. The abbey of Croyland, twice burnt. 3. The Abbey of Peterboro, twice set on fire. 4. The Abbey of Mary’s in York, burnt. 5. The Abbey of Norwich, burnt. 6. The Abbey of St. Edmondsbury, burnt and destroyed. 7. The Abbey of Worcester, burnt. 8. The Abbey of Gloucester. 9. The Abbey of Chichester, burnt. 10. The Abbey of Glastonbury, burnt. 11. The Abbey of St. Mary in Southwark, burnt. 12. The Church of the Abbey of Beverley, burnt. 13. The steeple of the Abbey of Evesham, burnt.’

Even in those cases where in modern times lightning conductors have been applied to buildings, they are very often improperly fixed in the first instance, or, having once been put up, are never examined or tested with the view of ascertaining their constant efficiency. Several accidents owing their origin to one or the other of these causes have occurred quite recently. In May 1879, the church at Laughton-en-le-Morthen was struck by lightning and damaged in the manner described in Chapter XIII. The spire was fitted with a corrugated copper tube conductor the joints of which were made by screws and coupling-pieces, but there was no metallic contact between the lengths; the conductor was insulated from the building; and the earth-contact was obtained by bending the end of the tubing, and inserting it about twelve inches deep in dry loose rubbish! Such a conductor is worse than useless. If it had been examined by a competent person, it must at once have been utterly condemned. In June 1879, a disastrous result followed the use of a similar conductor erected upon a private house near Sheffield. In this case the corrugated tube forming the conductor contained too little metal, and it was insulated from the building. The examples show the necessity of leaving the design and erection of lightning conductors to those persons who have made a thorough study of the subject, since the work is by no means so free from complexity as is commonly supposed.

Figs. 40 and 41 show the tower and spire of St. George’s Church, Leicester, after being severely damaged by lightning on August 1st, 1846. The storm, during the course of which it was struck, was very violent, of prolonged duration, and accompanied by torrents of rain and hail. Mr. Charles Tomlinson, F.R.S., in his work on ‘The Thunderstorm,’ thus describes the catastrophe:—

‘It was at five minutes past eight, after one or two peals of unusual distinctness, that the church of St. George was struck with a report resembling the discharge of cannon, and with a concussion of the air which shook the neighbouring houses, and extinguished a lamp burning at the entrance of the News-room, many hundred feet distant. The Sexton had gone into the church, as usual, to toll the eight o’clock bell; but was so terrified by the “fire-balls” that he saw in the sky, and by the fact that once or twice the clapper struck the side of the bell without his agency, that he made his work as short as possible, and had just gone out and locked the churchyard gate when the stroke fell. Two of the spectators of this awful event were Captain Jackson and the Rev. R. Burnaby, the rector of the parish, who both described the flash as a vivid stream of light, followed by a red and globular mass of fire, and darting obliquely from the north-west, with immense velocity, against the upper part of the spire. For the distance of forty feet on the eastern side, and nearly seventy on the west, the massive stone-work of the spire was instantly rent asunder and laid in ruins. Large blocks of stone were hurled in all directions, broken into small fragments, and in some cases, as there is every reason to believe, reduced to powder. One fragment of considerable size was hurled against the window of a house three hundred feet distant, shattering to pieces the woodwork, as well as fourteen out of the sixteen panes of glass, and strewing the room within with fine dust and fragments of glass. It has been computed that a hundred tons of stone were on this occasion blown to a distance of thirty feet in three seconds. In addition to the shivering of the spire, the pinnacles at the angles of the tower were all more or less damaged, the flying buttresses cracked through and violently shaken, many of the open battlements at the base of the spire knocked away, the roof of the church completely riddled, the roofs of the side-entrances destroyed, and the stone staircases of the gallery shattered. The top of the spire, when left without support beneath, fell perpendicularly downwards, inside the steeple, causing much devastation in its descent. Falling through the uppermost storey, and carrying along with it the bell and its solid supports, the ruined spire entered the room containing the clock, dashed the works to pieces, and penetrating the strong and well-supported floor, descended with additional momentum through the third and fourth floors (the latter being that just deserted by the prudent sexton), and reached the paved vestibule with so furious a shock as to drive in a portion of the strong foundation-arch, by which the weight of the whole tower was supported. On looking upward from the scene of ruin in this vestibule, the tower appeared like a well, so small were the vestiges of its various storeys.’

After minute examination, it was evident that the course of the lightning had been nearly as follows:—‘The flash first struck the gilded vane, marks of lightning being perceptible between its bevelled edges. After traversing the vane and spindle, and the terminating iron supports, the only path left for the fluid was through a series of iron cramps, separated by masses of sandstone; and here it was that the explosion commenced—the stone being torn and hurled aside as it came in the path of the lightning to the lowest lead lights of the spire. Most of these iron cramps were found to be powerfully magnetic; and one of them, eight weeks afterwards, sustained a very considerable brush of steel filings at its edges. The lattices of the lights on three sides of the spire were little injured; but on the fourth side the stone-work was shattered, and the lattice singularly twisted and partially fused. Here, it appears, another violent explosion took place, and the lightning diverging struck the north-west pinnacle, attracted apparently by the copper bolt by which the stones were held together. It also struck the large cast-iron pipe on the other side of the spire, reaching from the tower-battlements to the roof of the church; and during its passage down the pipe, and at an inequality in the surface of the metal, it displayed the most extraordinary expansive force, bursting open and scattering to a distance portions of metal of great solidity and weight. From the leadwork of the roof the lightning was conducted to the leaden gutters, and so finally to the earth.

‘The course of the remaining current in the interior of the tower was first to be traced on the lattices of the belfry, then in the clock-room, where the works of the clock were strongly magnetised, thence in at least three different directions to the outside of the tower. The external faces of the clock were not much altered, the hands were, however, slightly discoloured, and the blackened surfaces of the dials covered with streaks, as if smeared with a painter’s brush. On quitting the dial faces on the northern and southern sides of the tower, the lightning evidently fell upon the leads of the side lobbies, and was finally carried off by the two iron pipes connecting their roofs with the earth. Both these pipes were chipped and injured, and one of them was perforated, as if by a musket-shot, a few inches from the ground. The edges of this fracture were found to possess magnetic power. Thus, besides the division of the current at the upper part of the spire, there was a second division in at least three directions from the clock-room and dial faces. The roof of the church throughout its whole extent showed signs of an extraordinary diffusion of the electric current; and in almost every place where one piece of metal overlapped another, a powerful explosion had evidently taken place.’

As far as is known the church was unprovided with any lightning conductor. The same storm produced most disastrous effects in other parts of the Kingdom. Seven thousand panes of glass were broken by the hail in the Houses of Parliament; three hundred at the Police Office, Scotland Yard; other buildings in the metropolis suffered to a similar extent, the glass in the picture gallery at Buckingham Palace being totally destroyed and the apartment flooded with water.

Fig. 42 shows the spire of the church at West End, Southampton, which was struck by lightning on June 10, 1875. A large quantity of the stone-work was broken by the passage of the electric discharge, and some of the pieces were thrown to a great distance.

On September 27, 1875, the tower of the chapel of Merton College, Oxford, was struck by lightning. The damage done was confined to the mutilation of one of the corner pinnacles and the displacement of fragments of some of the stone-work which were thrown on to the leads and the pathway beneath. Some workmen were on the leads at the time, but fortunately were not hurt. The tower had lately been restored, and the scaffolding had only been removed a few days previous to the accident. A gentleman who had taken shelter from the storm in one of the workmen’s sheds beneath the tower was startled by seeing fragments of stone falling from above; looking up, he discovered that the tower had been struck, and immediately informed the college authorities. On ascending the tower it was found that one of the eight crocketted pinnacles had been struck. This pinnacle occupied the south-western corner, and had been completely and cleanly severed from summit to base. Fortunately, the stone-work displaced—which weighed about three hundredweight—was thrown on to the roof of the tower, a distance of twenty-five feet. The vane, slightly fused by the electric discharge, was found embedded in an upright position in the leads. The mouldings on the edges of the pinnacle were divided to the extent of four feet, and many of the stones were turned entirely round.

The tower, which was erected in 1424, and is one of the landmarks of Oxford, had not up to the time of the accident been provided with lightning conductors, but they have since been affixed to the building.

Fig. 44 shows the steeple of St. Bride’s Church, Fleet Street, London, which was severely damaged by lightning on June 18, 1764. The spire of this steeple is built in four storeys, surmounted by an obelisk. These four storeys are braced together by means of horizontal iron bars; another iron bar, about twenty feet long and two inches square, passes through the upper part of the obelisk and supports the weathercock and other ornamental work on the top; there is also a great deal of iron-work used generally in the construction of this part of the building, thus forming a complete series of discontinuous metallic masses. When the lightning struck the building it was received by the long iron bar which supported the vane; at the lower end of the bar the electric discharge, meeting with no metallic conductor, burst with great violence, shattering the stone on which the bar rested; the lightning then pursued its course to earth, leaping from one piece of metal to another and breaking the stone-work in its way. The last trace of it was found at the west window of the belfry, from whence it seems to have found a road to the earth. The damage sustained by the structure was so great that eighty-five feet of the spire had to be entirely rebuilt.

The edifice was afterwards attentively examined (as explained in a previous chapter) by Dr. Watson, a well-known electrician in those days, who reported to the Royal Society that the accident ‘completely indicated the great danger of insulated masses of metal to buildings from lightning; and, on the contrary, evinced the utility and importance of masses of metal continued and properly conducted, in defending them from its direful effects. The iron and lead employed in this steeple, in order to strengthen and preserve it, did almost occasion its destruction; though, after it was struck by the lightning, had it not been for these materials keeping the remaining parts together, a great part of the steeple must have fallen.

Fig. 45 shows the condition of St. Michael’s Church, at Black Rock, near Cork, after being struck by lightning on January 29, 1836. The damage done was entirely on the windward side of the steeple, caused, as is suggested in Mr. Tomlinson’s work, by this side receiving the greatest quantity of rain, and so being rendered the ‘line of least resistance,’ but not a sufficiently good conductor to carry off the discharge to earth.

On Trinity Sunday, June 8th, 1879, a violent thunder-storm broke over the town of Wrexham about half-past three in the afternoon, during which the spire of St. Mark’s Church was struck by lightning. A Sunday-school class was being held in the room at the base of the spire, and the teacher and five of his scholars were burnt, three of them severely, and one had his leg broken. Some of the stone-work of the spire was also displaced and thrown down. The spire was fitted with a copper conductor, but it was of too small a calibre, and it is very doubtful whether the earth connection was all it should have been.

Many other cases might be enlarged upon, but enough have been given to prove the imperative need for a more general use of lightning conductors on all public and private buildings. Another equally important necessity is that lightning conductors should be erected on sound principles, and also be periodically examined and tested by some competent person.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

Date	Building	Damage	Authority
1589. July 16	Nicholas Tower, Hamburg	The tower burnt down	From original notices in Reimarus, Bl. 315
1670. June 29	Nicholas Church, Straland	Damaged	Phil. Trans. v. 2084
1673. June 29	Pharr Church, Epperies, Hungary	Damaged	Breslauer Samml. 1717, p. 64
1693	Oundle Church	Set on fire	Phil. Trans. xvii. 710
1700. Oct. 9	Principal church, Troies	Set on fire and shattered	Mém. de l’Acad. de Sc. Paris, 1760, p. 65
1708. July	All Hallows’ Church, Colchester	Damaged	Phil. Trans. 432
1711. May 20	Principal town tower in Bern; houses adjoining	Damaged	Scheuchzer, Meteorol. Helv. p. 35
1711. May 23	The belfry of the church at Solingen	Set on fire	Scheuchzer, Meteorol. Helv. p. 28
1714. June 21	Elizabeth Tower, Breslau	Damaged	Breslauer Samml. 1717, p. 68
1717. July 2	Church at Seidenberg, near Zittau	Seven persons killed	Breslauer Samml. 1718, p. 1534
1718. April 14, 15	Twenty-four churches between Landerneau and St. P. de Léon, Brittany	Set on fire and shattered	Hist. de l’Acad. de Sc. Paris, 1719, p. 21
1718. Dec. 14	Church tower at Eutin	Set on fire	Breslauer Samml. 1718, p. 1968
1725. Dec. 18	Church tower, Winterthur	Lightning followed an accidental conductor, and resulted in melting it	Breslauer Samml. 1725, p. 166
1728. Aug. 25	Church tower, Mellingen, in Baden	Shattered	Reimarus, Bl. 145
1731. July	Three villages near Geneva	Destroyed	Gent.’s Mag. p. 309
1732. Oct.	The Escurial at Madrid	Set on fire	Gent.’s Mag. p. 1034
1743. Aug.	Liberton Church, Scotland	Steeple destroyed	Gent.’s Mag. xiv. 450
1745. July 21	Tower of monastery, Bologna	Shattered. Lightning followed an accidental conductor, and melted it	Reimarus, Bl. 93
1746. May 21	Tower of the School Church, Halle	The ball on the tower bent, and other mechanical effects	Reimarus, 198
1747. Aug. 20	Tower of the College Church, Pluviers	Physio. and mechanical effects	Mém. de l’Acad. de Sc. Paris, 1748, p. 572
1748. May 31	Top of a church tower, Witzendorf	Shattered and tore off the roof; melted and shattered accidental conductor	Hamburg Magazine, ix. 301
1750. Feb. 5	Church tower, Danbury, Essex	Set on fire	Phil. Trans. xlvi. 611
1750. Spring	Tower of Dutch Church, New York	Lightning followed an accidental conductor, which was shattered, and caused other mechanical effects	Franklin, Experiments and Observations xv. 180
1751. June 6	Tower of church, South Moulton, Devonshire	Lightning followed an accidental conductor, which was shattered, and caused other mechanical effects	Phil. Trans. xlvii. 330
1752. June 19	Church tower, Alfwa, Sweden	Tower damaged; several persons injured	Schwed. Abh. xv. 80
1753. Mar.	Darlington Church	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxiii. 145
1753. Oct.	Church of Les Filles de St. Sacrament, Naples	Reduced to ashes	Gent.’s Mag. xxiii. 487
1754. June 16	Belfry of Newbury Church	Point of spire shattered, accidental conductor melted, and other damage	Phil. Trans. xlix. 307
1755	Danish Church, Wellclose Square	Clock damaged	Phil. Trans. xlix. 298
1755. Dec.	St. Aubin Church, Lorraine	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxv. 42
1757. Jan.	Lostwithiel Church, Cornwall	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxviii. 427
1757. Nov.	Christ Church, Dublin	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxvii. 527
1759. April	Great Billing Church, Northamptonshire	Steeple destroyed	Ann. Reg. ii. 84
1759. May	Portsmouth Church, New Hampshire	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxix. 355
1759. June 10	Jacob Church, Aumale	Several persons injured	Reimarus, Bl. 158
1760. July 16	Church, Altona	Lightning struck the copper covering on the top of spire, followed accidental conductors, and melted them	Reimarus, 59
1761. June	Shifnal Church, Norfolk	Greatly damaged	Ann. Reg. iv. 136
1761. July	Ludgvan Church, near Penzance	Greatly damaged	Ann. Reg. iv. 142
1763. Mar.	Harrow Church	Set on fire	Gent.’s Mag. xxiii. 142
1763. Mar.	Salisbury Cathedral	Damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxiii. 143
1763. Mar.	Southam Church, Warwickshire	Damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxxiii. 142
1764. June 18	St. Bride’s Church, London	Spire struck and much damaged	Phil. Trans. liv. 227
1765. Aug.	Bicester Church	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xxxv. 391
1766. July	Skipton-in-Craven Church	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. ix. 118
1766. Aug.	St. Mary’s Church, Bury St. Edmunds	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. ix. 122
1767. April	Provence, France	Three churches set on fire	Ann. Reg. x. 81
1767. May	Mentz Cathedral	Set on fire	Ann. Reg. x. 92
1767. Aug. 6	Nicholas Tower, Hamburg	Lightning followed accidental conductors, and partly melted them	Reimarus, Bl. 291
1767. Sept.	Genoa	Several churches damaged	Ann. Reg. x. 126
1768. Aug. 21	Church tower in Alem	Damaged. Several persons injured	Haarlem Verh. xiv. 34
1770. Feb. 18	St. Keverns Church, Cornwall	Damaged. Several persons injured	Hemmer, Act. Acd. Palat. iv. 37
1771. Feb. 2	Nicholas Church, Kiel	Lightning followed accidental conductor, and left traces	Ackermann’s notice, Kiel, 1772
1772. Mar.	St. Paul’s Cathedral, London	Lightning followed accidental conductor, and left traces	Arago, iv. 88
1773. April	Lighthouse at Villafranca, Nice	Destroyed	Gent.’s Mag. xliii. 246
1773. June	Rhichenback, Saxony	Town reduced to ashes	Ann. Reg. xvi. 115
1773	St. Peter’s Church, London	Shattered the tower roof	Phil. Trans. lxv. 336
1774. Aug.	Buckland Church, near Dover	Damaged	Ann. Reg. xvii. 140
1775. Feb.	St. Colomb Church, Cornwall	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. xviii. 91
1775. June 27	A church in Munich	Tower injured	Epp. 90
1776. Aug.	Cuckfield Church, Suffolk	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. xix. 170
1778. April 15	Church in Altona	Metal melted	Reimarus, Bl. 64
1780. Sept.	Church of the Holy Spirit, Hamburg	Injured	Reimarus, N.B. 47
1780. Oct.	Hammersmith Church	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. xxiii. 230
1783. July	Ashbourne Church, Derbyshire	Steeple demolished	Gent.’s Mag. liii. 707
1783	St. Mary’s, Leicester	Steeple demolished
1786. June 26	Church in Wachenheim	Shattered. People injured	Act. Acad. Theod. Palat. vi. 332
1787. June	St. Mary’s Church, Grenoble	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lvii. 820
1787. June	Vendamir Church, Vercovia	Several persons killed	Gent.’s Mag. lvii. 820
1787. June	St. Gregorius Church, Prague	Set on fire	Gent.’s Mag. lvii. 820
1787. June	Cranbrook Church	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lvii. 824
1789. May	Pforzheim Church	Entirely consumed, with thirty adjoining buildings	Gent.’s Mag. lix. 754
1789. June	Barnewell Church, near Oundle	Damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lix. 665
1790. Dec.	Beckenham Church	Set on fire	Ann. Reg. xxxii. 229
1790. Dec.	Horsham Church	Set on fire	Ann. Reg. xxxii. 229
1791. Jan.	Ashton-under-Lyne Church	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. xxxiii. 3
1791. Oct.	Rainham Church	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxi. 1050
1795. June	Castor Church	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxv. 517
1795. Dec. 25	Church in Bergen, Norway	Set on fire	Gilb. Ann. xxix. 176
1797. July	Grantham Church	Damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxviii. 104
1797. Aug.	Caldecot Church, Rutland	Spire much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxvii. 817
1801. July	Corby Church	Damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxxi. 659
1804. Mar.	St. Gertrude Church at Nevelles	Burnt by lightning	Gent.’s Mag. lxxiv. 368
1804. Mar.	St. Maria at Oudenard in Flanders	Burnt by lightning
1804. June	Edenham Church, Lincoln	Damaged	Ann. Reg. xlvi. 394
1804. June	Hanslope Church, Bucks	Spire destroyed	Ann. Reg. xlvi. 395
1806. July	Sunbury Church, Middlesex	Damaged	Ann. Reg. xlviii. 426
1807	Montvilliers Church, France	Damaged	Howard’s Climate of London, ii. 29
1810. July	Attercliffe Chapel	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag.
1811. June	Ashford Church	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxxxi. 584
1811. Dec.	Ledbury Parish Church	Damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxxxi. 650
1812	St. Pelverin Church, Department of the Loire	Set on fire and burnt to the ground	Howard’s Climate of London, ii. 165
1813	Bridgwater Church	Spire destroyed	Howard’s Climate of London, ii. 222
1813	Weston Zoyland Church	Tower much damaged	Howard’s Climate of London, ii. 222
1814. Nov.	Thackstead Church, Essex	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. lxxxiv. 491
1815	The steeples of many churches in Belgium, in places far distant from one another	Struck and set on fire nearly at the same hour	Howard’s Climate of London, ii. 259
1816. July	Worschetz, county of Temeswar	Church and the town greatly damaged	Ann. Reg. lviii. 102
1816. Oct.	Moselle Church	Damaged	Ann. Reg. lviii. 161
1817. Mar.	St. Paulinas Church, Germany	Set on fire	Ann. Reg. lix. 15
1819. Jan.	St. Martin’s Church, Guernsey	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. lxi. 5
1819. July	Sedgeford Church, Lynn	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. lxi. 50
1821. May 7	Tower of Katherine’s Church, Gross-Selten	Church burned	Gilb. Ann. lxviii. 224
1821. May 7	Wooden Tower of Katherine Church, Tischendorf	Tower burned	Gilb. Ann. lxviii. 224
1821. May 8	Church at Carlsruhe	Damaged	Gilb. Ann. lxviii. 224
1821. April	Redcliffe Church, Bristol	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xci. 367
1822. Jan. 15	Church at Gerstetten	Damaged	Wurtemberger Jahreshafte, xi. 463
1822. June	North Luffenham Church, Rutland	Much damaged	Gent.’s Mag. xcii. 636
1822. Aug.	Church at Chatham	Spire ripped open	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 165
1822. Sept.	Rouen Cathedral	Set on fire	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 165
1822. Oct.	St. Peter’s Church, Venice	Reduced to ruins	Gent.’s Mag. xcii. 553
1823	Kemble Church, Wilts	Spire destroyed	Howard’s Climate of London, iii. 135
1823. Feb.	Shaugh Church, near Plymouth	Tower struck and much shattered. An iron conductor had been erected about two years before, but this had rusted and gone to decay	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 165
1824. July 10	Church at Simmerfeld	Damaged	Würtemberger Jahreshafte, xi. 463
1824. Nov.	Charles Church, Plymouth	Steeple struck, and the small brass rod erected as a lightning conductor knocked to pieces	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 165
1825—about	Torrington Church, North Devon	Tower and steeple ruined. They had to be rebuilt	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 165
1826. June	Alphington Church, near Exeter	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. 1826, p. 97
1827	Pailant Church, Chichester	Considerably damaged	Howard’s Climate of London, iii. 259
1827. Jan. 11	Church Tower, Bussen	Set on fire, although covered with snow	Würtemberger Jahreshafte, xi. 463
1828. April	Edlesborough Church	Set on fire	Gent.’s Mag. xcviii. 358
1828. June	Kingsbridge Church, Devon	Steeple rent, and other damage	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 165
1828. Oct.	Kilcoleman Church, co. Mayo	Spire destroyed	Ann. Reg. p. 131
1830. July	Independent Chapel, Edgworth Moor, near Bolton	Damaged	Ann. Reg. p. 101
1830. Aug.	Marlborough Church, near Kingsbridge, Devon	Tower and church severely damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1831. Feb.	Kilmichael Church, Glassire	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. p. 39
1833. Aug.	Strasburg Cathedral	Much damaged	Builder, ii. 39
1835. May 16	Church Tower, Endersbach	Much shattered	Würtemb. Jahreshafte, xi. 465
1835. June	Durham Cathedral	Western tower damaged	Ann. Reg. p. 94
1836. Jan.	Black Rock, near Cork	Spire demolished	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1836. Nov.	Christ Church, Doncaster	The spire shattered and the church greatly injured. The roof was smashed in, and the churchyard presented a scene of ruin and devastation. The spire was surmounted by a ball of glass to keep off the lightning!	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1837. June	Hoo Church, Kent	Set on fire	Gent.’s Mag. N.S. viii. p. 80
1839. Jan 8	Church tower in Hasselt	Damaged	Arago, Notiz, 125
1841. Jan.	Spitalfields, London	Spire rent, and other damages	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1841	Streatham	Spire nearly destroyed, and church set on fire	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1841. May 10	Walton Church, Stafford	Spire destroyed	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1841. Aug. 24	St. Michael’s, Liverpool	Beautiful spire shattered, and clock injured	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1841. Aug. 24	St. Martin’s, Liverpool	Spire shattered, and other damage	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1841	Wolverhampton Parish Church	Set on fire	Annals of Electricity, vi. 504
1841	Spitalfields Church	Steeple damaged	Annals of Electricity, vi. 504
1842. April 24	Brixton Church, London	Dome and building much rent	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1842. July 28	St. Martin’s, London	Spire shattered; cost of repair, 1,500l.	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1843. April 25	Exton Church, Rutland	Spire destroyed; church set on fire and nearly destroyed	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1843. May 25	St. Mark’s, Hull	Slightly damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1843. Oct.	North Huish, near Modbury, Devon	Steeple shattered	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1844. Mar.	Oving Church, near Chichester	Spire damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1844	St. Clement’s, London	Clock injured	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1844. July	Magdalen Tower, Oxford	One of the pinnacles damaged; staircase injured	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1844. July 20	Stannington Church, near Sheffield	Seriously damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1846. June 14	Church near Chambrey	Damaged	Compt. Rend. xxiii. 153
1846. Aug.	St. George’s Church, Leicester	Spire destroyed	Builder, iv. 395
1846. Aug.	Dedham Church, Essex	Much damaged	Builder, iv. 395
1846. Oct.	Village of Schledorf, near Munich	Completely destroyed	Journal des Debats, Oct. 20, 1846
1847. June	Her Majesty’s palace, Osborne	One tower much damaged	Builder, vii. 291
1847. June	Church in Thann	Much damaged	Compt. Rend. xxix. 485
1847. Aug.	Walton Church, Lincolnshire	Lightning entered at the belfry; one man killed, several injured	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 158
1849. July	St. Saviour’s, Southwark	Damaged	Ann. Reg. xci. 80
1850. May	Norton-by-Gaulby Church	Spire much damaged	Builder, viii. 248
1850. May	Little Stretton Church	Much damaged	Builder, viii.
1850. Aug.	Roman Catholic Church, York	Bell-turret shattered	Builder, viii. 405
1850. Oct.	Keysoe Church	Considerably damaged	Builder, viii. 509
1850. Nov.	Cobridge Church, Potteries	Considerably damaged	Builder, viii. 533
1851. May	St. Sepulchre’s Church, Northampton	Much damaged	Builder, ix. 329
1851. May	Edinburgh Assembly Hall	Much damaged	Builder, ix. 305
1851. June	Boulogne Cathedral	Dome damaged	Builder, ix. 415
1852. July 6	Ross Church, Hereford	Severely damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1852. July	Woolpit Church, Suffolk	Tower and spire destroyed	Builder, x. 492
1852. July	Leighton Buzzard Church	Much damaged	Builder, x. 492
1852	Exton Parish Church	Church nearly destroyed	Builder, xii. 575
1853. Jan.	Derby Church	Much damaged	Builder, xi. 28
1853. Jan.	Parish Church, Eskdalemuir, Dumfries	Entirely destroyed	Builder, xi. 43
1853. Feb.	Lincoln Cathedral	Struck north-west pinnacle of the broad tower; set on fire; narrowly escaped destruction	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 166
1853. July	Skipton Church	Much damaged	Builder, xi. 423
1853. July	Hereford Old Parish Church	Slightly damaged	Builder, xi. 487
1853. Nov.	Chaddesley Corbett Church	Considerably damaged	Builder, xi. 704
1854. May	Hanwell Church	Spire much damaged	Builder, xii. 283
1854. May	Helpringham Church	Spire much damaged	Builder, xii. 269
1854. June	Ealing Church	Had a common conductor, which was fused; the church slightly damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1854. July	Ashbury Church	Had a common conductor, which was fused; church damaged, but not considerably	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1854. July 19	Tower of Magdalen College, Oxford	Much damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1854. Aug.	National School Chapel, St. Mary, Ipswich	Three children killed, several injured	Ann. Reg. xcvi. 140
1855. May	Trinity Church, Southwark	Slightly damaged	Builder, xiii. 239
1855. May	St. Mark’s, Myddelton Square	Considerably damaged	Builder, xiii. 239
1855. July	Holy Trinity Church, Brompton	Slightly damaged	Builder, xiii. 348
1855. July	St. Ebbe’s Parish Church	Slightly damaged	Builder, xiii. 348
1856. Feb.	Chimney at Liverpool, 310 ft. high	Much damaged; struck at 20 yds. below the top	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1856. June	Hemingbrough Ch.	Much damaged	Builder, xiv. 348
1856. July	Clapton Church	Much damaged	Builder, xiv. 391
1856 July	Addlethorpe Church, Lincolnshire	Much damaged	Builder, xiv. 391
1856. July 14	Church of St. Ebbe, Oxford	Much damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1856. Aug.	Holy Trinity Church, Manchester	Much damaged	Builder, xiv. 451
1857. May	Parish Church, Wisborough, Sussex	Steeple set on fire	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857	Walgrave Church	Damaged	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857. May	Wargrave Church, Twyford	Pinnacle destroyed	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857. Aug.	Tower of Windsor Castle	Four tons of parapet demolished	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857	Independent Chapel, Portsmouth	Set on fire	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857. Aug.	St. Michael’s Church, Stamford	Pinnacle demolished	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857	Trinity Church, Southwark	Struck during service	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1857. Aug.	A gasometer at the Chartered Gas Co.’s works, St. Luke’s	Struck, and gas ignited	Builder, xv. 488
1858. July	The monument to Dugald Stuart at Edinburgh	Slightly injured
1858. July	Peak Hall, near Stoke-on-Trent	Church struck; roof damaged, walls seriously fractured, and organ injured	Tomlinson’s Thunderstorm, p. 167
1862. May	Mashbury Church, Essex	Set on fire	Builder, xx. 391
1862. May	Bampton Parish Church	Much damaged	Builder, xx. 391
1862. May	Rainham Parish Church, Kent	Damaged	Builder, xx. 391
1862. July	Tackley (near Woodstock) Parish Church	Much damaged	Building News, 1862, p. 77
1863. Feb.	Dunoon Church, Scotland	Nearly destroyed	Builder, xxi. 140
1863. June	St. Paul’s Church, Manchester	Considerably damaged	Building News, 1863, p. 457
1864. Sept.	St. Mary, York	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxii. 691
1865 Jan.	St. Lawrence, Nuremberg, Bavaria	Much damaged	Builder, xxiii. 53
1865. July	St. Mary’s Church, Stamford	Much damaged	Builder, xxiii. 526
1865. July	St. Botolph Church, Boston	Much damaged	Builder, xxiii. 526
1865. July	Roman Catholic Chapel, Colchester	Much damaged	Builder, xxiii. 526
1867. Sept.	Sutton-in-Ashfield Church, Nottinghamshire	Spire destroyed	Builder, xxv. 695
1867. Sept.	St. Pé-Saint-Simon Church, France	Much damaged	Builder, xxv. 684
1867. Sept.	Sanzet Church	Set on fire	Builder, xxv. 684
1868. May	St. Paul’s Church, Little Chester, Derby	Much damaged	Builder, xxvi. 340
1868. June	St. Stephen’s, Southwark	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxvi. 433
1868. June	Temporary Congregational Church, Buckhurst Hill	Set on fire	Builder, xxvi. 433
1868. June	Victoria Tower, Houses of Parliament	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxvi. 416
1868. June	Morville Church, Shropshire	Much damaged	Builder, xxvi. 416
1868. June	School, Furze Hill, Brighton	Much damaged	Builder, xxvi. 416
1868. June	Church, Shanghai	Destroyed	Builder, xxvi. 416
1870	St. Saviour’s, Southwark	One pinnacle destroyed and church damaged	Builder, xxviii. 604
1870	Rotherfield Church	Considerably damaged	Builder, xxviii. 604
1871. June	Hethersett Church	Much damaged	Builder, xxix. 450
1871. June	St. John’s Church, Bury St. Edmunds	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxix. 450
1871. July	St. Margaret’s Church, King’s Lynn	Much damaged	Ann. Reg. p. 72
1871. July	Cromer Church	Damaged	Ann. Reg. p. 72
1871. Sept.	Congregational Church, Terre Haute, Ind., U.S.	Considerably damaged	Scientific American, xxv. 161
1872. Jan.	St. Mary’s Church, Crumpsall, Manchester	Set on fire and destroyed	Builder, xxx. 51
1872. June	Baptist Chapel, Wem	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxx. 511
1872. June	St. Mary’s Church, Beeston, Norfolk	Set on fire and destroyed	Builder, xxx. 423
1872. June	St. Martin’s Church, Birmingham	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxx. 423
1872. May	Rainham Church, Kent	Damaged	Builder, xxx. 391
1872. May	Mashbury Church, Essex	Set on fire	Builder, xxx. 391
1872. May	Bampton Parish Church	Much damaged	Builder, xxx. 391
1872. June	Chiddingley Church	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxx. 484
1872. June	All Saints’ School, Little Horton	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxx. 484
1872. June	Kibblesworth Wesleyan Chapel	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxx. 484
1872. July	Brixton Church	Considerably damaged	Builder, xxx. 603
1872. July	Leigh Church	Severely injured	Builder, xxx. 591
1872. Aug.	St. Giles, Cripplegate	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxx. 629
1872. Aug.	Holy Trinity Church, Windsor	Severely injured	Builder, xxx. 610
1872. Sept.	Dundonald Parish Church	Spire and roof damaged
1873. April	Parish Church, Cromer	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxxi. 331
1873. April	Martham Church	Much damaged	Builder, xxxi. 331
1873. Nov.	Ripponden Church	Much damaged	Builder, xxxi. 875
1873. Nov.	Industrial School, Mosbank, Glasgow	Set on fire	Builder, xxxi. 875
1874. July	Chesterfield Church	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxxii. 613
1874. July	Christ Church, Salford	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxxii. 613
1874. July	St. Luke’s, Homerton	Set on fire, much damaged	Builder, xxxii. 613
1874. July	General Post Office, St. Martin’s le Grand	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxxii. 613
1874. July	Military Prison, R.A. Barracks, Woolwich	Slightly damaged	Builder, xxxii. 613
1874. July	Free Church of Braco, Perthshire	Completely destroyed	Builder, xxxii. 613
1874. July	Ayot St. Peter Parish Church, Herts	Completely destroyed	Ann. Reg. p. 70
1875. June	Chester le Street, Durham	Spire considerably damaged	Newcastle Chronicle, June 16th
1875. June	West End Church, near Southampton	Spire destroyed	Builder, xxxiii. 586
1875. June	London and South Western Railway Co.’s tall chimney shaft at Southampton	Destroyed	Builder, xxxiii. 586
1875. July	Barthomley Church, near Crewe	Damaged	Daily paper
1875. July	St. Mary’s Church, Birkenhead	Much damaged	Builder, xxxiii. 632
1875. Aug.	St. Nicholas Church, Blundellsands	Much damaged	Builder, xxxiii. 783
1876. Mar.	Cottingham Church, near Hull	Set on fire	Daily paper
1876. April	Snettisham Church	Considerably damaged	Daily paper
1876. April	Shotts Parish Church	Steeple destroyed	Daily paper
1876. July	Union Workhouse, Retford	Roof set on fire	Daily Chronicle, July 25
1876. July	Bishopstone Church	Considerably damaged	Lloyd’s Weekly News, July 23
1876. July	Wilmcote Church	Considerably damaged	Lloyd’s Weekly News, July 23
1876. July	St. Peter’s Church, Stratford-on-Avon	Considerably damaged	Sunday Times, July 23
1876. July	Market Hall, Doncaster	Damaged	Daily Telegraph, July 24
1876. Sept.	Grey Friars Tower, King’s Lynn	Considerably damaged	Daily paper
1877. May	Catholic Church, Wieschen, Poland	Six persons killed and seventy seriously injured	Globe, May 31, 1877
1877. May	All Saints Church, Stand Whiteland, Lancashire	Much damaged	Builder’s Weekly Reporter, May 25, 1877
1878. May	Sir David Baird’s monument, Perthshire	Almost entirely destroyed	Daily Telegraph, May 30
1878. June	St. Luke’s Church, Hackney	Damaged	Daily paper
1878. July	Wesleyan Chapel, Southampton	Damaged	Daily paper
1878. July	Free Methodist Church, Tamworth	Damaged	Daily paper
1878. July	St. Jude’s Church, Bethnal Green	Much damaged	Daily paper
1878. July	Church of the Holy Nativity, Knowle	Considerably damaged	The Times, July 27
1879. April	Henlow Church, Bedfordshire	Considerably damaged	The Times, April 18
1879. May	Laughten-en-le-Morthen Church	Considerably damaged	The Times, May
1879. June	St. Marie’s Church, Rugby	Set fire to the woodwork	Weekly Dispatch, June 8
1879. June	Clevedon Market House, nr. Bristol	Very much damaged	Daily Chronicle, June 10
1879. Aug.	Parish Church, Wells, Norfolk	Burnt to the ground	Norwich paper
1879. Aug.	Cromer Church	Pinnacle damaged	Daily paper
1879. Aug.	St. Bride’s Church, Stepney	Slightly damaged	Daily paper
1879. Sept.	Sanctuary of Madonna de Valmala, Valmala	Damaged. Several persons killed	Electrician, Sept. 6

POWDER MAGAZINES STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

Date	Building	Damage
1732. Oct.	Gunpowder Magazine at Compost Major, Portugal	Exploded. City laid in ruins; above 1,000 people injured
1739. Sept.	Bremen	1,000 houses destroyed
1763. Nov.	Fort Augusta, Jamaica, powder magazine, containing 2,850 barrels of powder	Great number killed; much damage to property
1769. Aug.	Brescia Magazine, containing 207,600 lbs. of powder	Exploded; 3,000 persons killed
1769	Venice	400 persons killed
1772. Nov.	Chester	Great damage to property; many lives lost
1773	Cambray	18 people killed; several houses greatly damaged
1773	Abbeville	150 persons killed; 100 houses destroyed
1780. Aug.	Malaga Gunpowder Magazine
1782. Mar.	Sumatra Gunpowder Magazine
1785. May	Tangiers Gunpowder Magazine
1807. June	Luxembourg Gunpowder Magazine	About 12 tons of powder exploded
1808. Sept.	Venice Gunpowder Magazine
1829. Nov.	Navarino Gunpowder Magazine	17 killed; 78 wounded
1840. June	Bombay Gunpowder Works Dum Dum Gunpowder Magazine
1843. April	Sicily, Puzzaloni Gunpowder Magazine
1843. April	Spain, Gaucin Gunpowder Magazine	A number of persons killed; church and 200 houses destroyed
1853	Hounslow Gunpowder Magazine
1855. Oct.	Firework manufactory, Liverpool	Exploded
1856. Nov.	Rhodes Gunpowder Magazine	A considerable number of persons killed, and a large portion of the town laid in ruins
1857. Aug.	Bombay, Joudpore	About 1,000 persons killed; 500 houses destroyed
1878. Aug.	Bruntcliffe Colliery, near Leeds; powder magazine, containing about one ton of powder	Exploded
1878. Aug.	Pottsville, Pa., U.S.; a powder magazine containing 25,000 lbs. of powder	Exploded; 3 persons killed, several injured; many houses wrecked