I Of the Damages in the City of London, and Parts Adjacent
Indeed the City was a strange Spectacle, the Morning after the Storm, as soon as the People could put their Heads out of Doors: though I believe, every Body expected the Destruction was bad enough; yet I question very much, if any Body believed the Hundredth Part of what they saw.
The Streets lay so covered with Tiles and Slates, from the Tops of the Houses, especially in the Out-parts, that the Quantity is incredible: and the Houses were so universally stript, that all the Tiles in Fifty Miles round would be able to repair but a small Part of it.
Something may be guest at on this Head, from the sudden Rise of the Price of Tiles; which rise from 21 s. per Thousand to 6 l. for plain Tiles; and from 50 s. per Thousand for Pantiles, to 10 l. and Bricklayers Labour to 5 s. per Day: And tho’ after the first Hurry the Prices fell again, it was not that the Quantity was supply’d; but because,
1st, The Charge was so extravagant, that an universal Neglect of themselves, appear’d both in Landlord and Tenant; an incredible Number of Houses remain’d all the Winter uncovered, and expos’d to all the Inconveniences of Wet and Cold; and are so even at the Writing of this Chapter.
2. Those People who found it absolutely necessary to cover their Houses, but were unwilling to go to the extravagant Price of Tiles; chang’d their Covering to that of Wood, as a present Expedient, till the Season for making of Tiles should come on; and the first Hurry being over, the Prices abate: and ’tis on this Score, that we see, to this Day, whole Ranks of Buildings, as in Christ Church Hospital, the Temple, Asks-Hospital, Old-street, Hogsden-Squares, and infinite other Places, covered entirely with Deal Boards; and are like to continue so, perhaps a Year or two longer, for Want of Tiles.
These two Reasons reduc’d the Tile-Merchants to sell at a more moderate Price: But ’tis not an irrational Suggestion, that all the Tiles which shall be made this whole Summer, will not repair the Damage in the covering of Houses within the Circumference of the City, and Ten Miles round.
The next Article in our Street Damage was, the Fall of Chimneys; and as the Chimneys in the City Buildings are built in large Stacks, the Houses being so high, the Fall of them had the more Power, by their own Weight, to demolish the Houses they fell upon.
’Tis not possible to give a distinct Account of the Number, or particular Stacks of Chimneys, which fell in this fatal Night; but the Reader may guess by this Particular, that in Cambray-House, commonly so called, a great House near Islington, belonging to the Family of the Comptons, Earls of Northampton, but now let out into Tenements; the Collector of these Remarks counted Eleven or Thirteen Stacks of Chimneys, either wholly thrown in, or the greatest Parts of them at least, what was expos’d to the Wind, blown off. I have heard Persons, who pretended to observe the Desolation of that terrible Night very nicely; and who, by what they had seen and enquired into, thought themselves capable of making some Calculations, affirm, They could give an Account of above Two Thousand Stacks of Chimneys blown down in and about London; besides Gable Ends of Houses, some whole Roofs, and Sixteen or Twenty whole Houses in the Out-Parts.
Under the Disaster of this Article, it seems most proper to place the Loss of the Peoples Lives, who fell in this Calamity; since most of those, who had the Misfortune to be killed, were buried, or beaten to Pieces with the Rubbish of the several Stacks of Chimneys that fell.
Of these, our Weekly Bills of Mortality gave us an Account of Twenty One; besides such as were drown’d in the River, and never found: and besides above Two Hundred People very much wounded and maim’d.
One Woman was kill’d by the Fall of a Chimney in or near the Palace of St. James’s, and a Stack of Chimneys falling in the new unfinish’d Building there, and carried away a Piece of the Coin of the House.
Nine Souldiers were hurt, with the Fall of the Roof of the Guard-house at Whitehall, but none of them died.
A Distiller in Duke-Street, with his Wife, and Maid-servant, were all buried in the Rubbish of a Stack of Chimneys, which forced all the Floors, and broke down to the Bottom of the House; the Wife was taken out alive, though very much bruised, but her Husband and the Maid lost their Lives.
One Mr. Dyer, a Plaisterer in Fetter-Lane, finding the Danger he was in by the shaking of the House, jumpt out of Bed to save himself; and had, in all Probability, Time enough to have got out of the House, but staying to strike a Light, a Stack of Chimneys fell in upon him, kill’d him, and wounded his Wife.
Two Boys at one Mr. Purefoy’s, in Cross-Street Hatton-Garden, were both kill’d, and buried in the Rubbish of a Stack of Chimneys; and a third very much wounded.
A Woman in Jewin-Street, and Two Persons more near Aldersgate-Street, were kill’d; the first, as it is reported, by venturing to run out of the House into the Street; and the other Two by the Fall of a House.
In Threadneedle-Street, one Mr. Simpson, a Scrivener being in Bed and fast a-sleep, heard nothing of the Storm; but the rest of the Family being more sensible of Danger, some of them went up, and wak’d him; and telling him their own Apprehensions, press’d him to rise; but he too fatally sleepy, and consequently unconcern’d at the Danger, told them, he did not apprehend any Thing; and so, notwithstanding all their Persuasions, could not be prevailed with to rise: they had not been gone many Minutes out of his Chamber, before the Chimneys fell in, broke through the Roof over him, and kill’d him in his Bed.
A Carpenter in White-Cross-Street was kill’d almost in the same Manner, by a Stack of Chimneys of the Swan Tavern, which fell into his House; it was reported, That his Wife earnestly desir’d him not to go to Bed; and had prevail’d upon him to sit up till near two a Clock, but then finding himself very heavy, he would go to Bed against all his Wife’s Intreaties; after which she wak’d him, and desir’d him to rise, which he refus’d, being something angry for being disturb’d; and going to sleep again, was kill’d in his Bed: and his Wife, who would not go to Bed, escap’d.
In this Manner, our Weekly Bills gave us an Account of Twenty One Persons kill’d in the City of London, and Parts adjacent.
Some of our printed Accounts give us larger and plainer Accounts of the Loss of Lives, than I will venture to affirm for Truth; as of several Houses near Moor-Fields levell’d with the Ground: Fourteen People drowned in a Wherry going to Gravesend, and Five in a Wherry from Chelsey. Not that it is not very probable to be true; but as I resolve not to hand any thing to Posterity, but what comes very well attested, I omit such Relations as I have not extraordinary Assurance as to the Fact.
The Fall of Brick-Walls, by the Fury of this Tempest, in and about London, would make a little Book of it self; and as this affects the Out-Parts chiefly, where the Gardens and Yards are wall’d in, so few such have escap’d; at St. James’s a considerable part of the Garden Wall; at Greenwich Park there are several pieces of the Wall down for an Hundred Rods in a Place; and some much more, at Battersey, Chelsey, Putney, at Clapham, at Deptford, at Hackney, Islington, Hogsden, Wood’s Close by St. John’s Street, and on every side the City, the Walls of the Gardens have generally felt the Shock, and lie flat on the Ground twenty, thirty Rod of walling in a Place.
The publick Edifices of the City come next under our Consideration; and these have had their Share in the Fury of this terrible Night.
A part of her Majesty’s Palace, as is before observ’d, with a Stack of Chimneys in the Centre of the new Buildings, then not quite finished, fell with such a terrible Noise as very much alarm’d the whole Houshold.
The Roof of the Guard-house at Whitehall, as is also observ’d before, was quite blown off; and the great Vane, or Weather-Cock at Whitehall blown down.
The Lead, on the Tops of the Churches and other Buildings, was in many Places roll’d up like a Roll of Parchment, and blown in some Places clear off from the Buildings; as at Westminster Abby, St. Andrews Holbourn, Christ-Church Hospital, and abundance of other Places.
Two of the new built Turrets, on the Top of St. Mary Aldermary Church, were blown off, whereof One fell upon the Roof of the Church; of Eight Pinnacles on the Top of St. Albans Woodstreet, Five of them were blown down; Part of One of the Spires of St. Mary Overies blown off; Four Pinnacles on the Steeple of St. Michael Crooked Lane blown quite off: The Vanes and Spindles of the Weather-Cocks, in many places, bent quite down; as on St. Michael Cornhil, St. Sepulchres, the Tower, and divers other Places.
It was very remarkable, that the Bridge over the Thames received but little Damage, and not in Proportion to what in common Reason might be expected; since the Buildings there stand high, and are not sheltered, as they are in the Streets, one by another.
If I may be allow’d to give this Philosophical Account of it, I hope it may not be absurd; that the Indraft of the Arches underneath the Houses giving Vent to the Air, it past there with a more than common Current; and consequently relieved the Buildings, by diverting the Force of the Storm: I ask Pardon of the ingenious Reader for this Opinion, if it be not regular, and only present it to the World for Want of a better; if those better furnished that Way will supply us with a truer Account, I shall withdraw mine, and submit to theirs. The Fact however is certain, that the Houses on the Bridge did not suffer in Proportion to the other Places; though all must allow, they do not seem to be stronger built, than other Streets of the same sort.
Another Observation I cannot but make; to which, as I have Hundreds of Instances, so I have many more Witnesses to the Truth of Fact, and the uncommon Experiment has made it the more observ’d.
The Wind blew, during the whole Storm, between the Points of S.W. and N.W., not that I mean it blew at all these Points, but I take a Latitude of Eight Points to avoid Exceptions, and to confirm my Argument; since what I am insisting upon, could not be a natural Cause from the Winds blowing in any of those particular Points.
If a Building stood North and South, it must be a Consequence that the East-side Slope of the Roof must be the Lee-side, lie out of the Wind, be weather’d by the Ridge, and consequently receive no Damage in a direct Line.
But against this rational way of arguing, we are convinced by Demonstration and Experiment, after which Argument must be silent. It was not in one Place or Two, but in many Places; that where a Building stood ranging North and South, the Sides or Slopes of the Roof to the East and the West, the East-side of the Roof would be stript and untiled by the Violence of the Wind; and the West Side, which lay open to the Wind, be sound and untouch’d.
This, I conceive, must happen either where the Building had some open Part, as Windows or Doors to receive the Wind in the Inside, which being pusht forward by the succeeding Particles of the Air, must force its Way forward, and so lift off the Tiling on the Leeward side of the Building; or it must happen from the Position of such Building near some other higher Place or Building, where the Wind being repuls’d, must be forc’d back again in Eddies; and consequently taking the Tiles from the lower Side of the Roof, rip them up with the more Ease.
However it was, it appear’d in many Places, the Windward Side of the Roof would be whole, and the Leeward Side, or the Side from the Wind, be untiled; in other Places, a high Building next the Wind has been not much hurt, and a lower Building on the Leeward Side of the high One clean ript, and hardly a Tile left upon it: this is plain in the Building of Christ Church Hospital in London, where the Building on the West and South Side of the Cloyster was at least Twenty Five Foot higher than the East Side, and yet the Roof of the lower Side on the East was quite untiled by the Storm; and remains at the Writing of This covered with Deal Boards above an Hundred Foot in Length.
The blowing down of Trees may come in for another Article in this Part; of which, in Proportion to the Quantity, here was as much as in any Part of England: Some printed Accounts tell us of Seventy Trees in Moorfields blown down, which may be true; but that some of them were Three Yards about, as is affirmed by the Authors, I cannot allow: above a Hundred Elms in St. James’s Park, some whereof were of such Growth, as they tell us they were planted by Cardinal Woolsey; whether that Part of it be true or not, is little to the Matter, but only to imply that they were very great Trees: about Baums, commonly call’d Whitmore house, there were above Two Hundred Trees blown down, and some of them of extraordinary Size broken off in the middle.
And ’twas observ’d, that in the Morning after the Storm was abated, it blew so hard, the Women, who usually go for Milk to the Cow-keepers in the Villages round the City, were not able to go along with their Pails on their Heads; and One, that was more hardy than the rest, was blown away by the Fury of the Storm, and forced into a Pond, but by strugling hard got out, and avoided being drowned; and some that ventured out with Milk the Evening after, had their Pails and Milk blown off from their Heads.
’Tis impossible to enumerate the Particulars of the Damage suffered, and of the Accidents which happened under these several Heads, in and about the City of London: The Houses looked like Skeletons, and an universal Air of Horror seem’d to sit on the Countenances of the People; all Business seem’d to be laid aside for the Time, and People were generally intent upon getting Help to repair their Habitations.
It pleased God so to direct things, that there fell no Rain in any considerable Quantity, except what fell the same Night or the ensuing Day, for near Three Weeks after the Storm, though it was a Time of the Year that is generally dripping. Had a wet Rainy Season followed the Storm, the Damage which would have been suffered in and about this City to Houshold Goods, Furniture and Merchandise, would have been incredible, and might have equall’d all the the rest of the Calamity: but the Weather prov’d fair and temperate for near a Month after the Storm, which gave People a great deal of Leisure in providing themselves Shelter, and fortifying their Houses against the Accidents of Weather by Deal Boards, old Tiles, Pieces of Sail-Cloth, Tarpaulin, and the like.