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THE ESSEX EARTHQUAKE
At 9.20 am on 22 April 1884 an earthquake struck the United Kingdom with the epicentre at Abberton which is a small village to the south east of Colchester on the north bank of the River Blackwater.
The earthquake was measured at 5.2 on the Richter scale and is considered to be the most severe recorded in the UK with shocks felt for a radius of 180 miles as far as Altringham in the North and Isle of Wight in the south.
The earthquake was probably due to movement along a fault in the ancient Palaeozoic rocks under Essex, which would have affected the overlying cover of Cretaceous and Tertiary strata.
The effects on Eastern Essex 100 were quite dramatic where many houses and building suffered from minor damage and people throughout the District ran into the street from houses or building following the noise and tremors not realising what was happening.
The events were recorded in a diary kept by Rev John Mills who was the Rector of St Lawrence.
April 22 1884
" About 9.20am on Tuesday April 22, a very severe earthquake took place in this district. It lasted only a very few seconds, but it wrecked many buildings, Churches, etc at Wyvenhoe, Colchester, Langenhoe and Peldon , even Bradwell suffered severly and Tillingham somewhat.
The shock was felt very distinctly in this parish, and the houses, the church and school, etc were rocked and twisted to and fro, but by God's mercy no harm was done, except that a few tiles were shaken from Motts Farm.
People on horseback and in carriages did not generally feel it"
Local newspapers recorded the effects of the earthquake on local people. Some of the reported events are listed below.
|
Althorne |
Mr John Rogers at Stokes Hall reported that his clock stopped with the pendulum stuck at a strange angle |
| Asheldham | Tremors felt but no damage reported |
| Burnham on Crouch | Rumbling noise heard, pictures swung on their hooks. Turbulence on the River Crouch frightened local fishermen so much that they refused to go back onto the River for several days. |
| Dengie | Shock felts pictures on walls moved |
| Latchingdon | 2 clocks stopped at 0920 at the home of Mrs E A Fitch |
| Mayland | Shock felt |
| River Blackwater |
Stansgate Coastguard's were on patrol in the River Blackwater when the quake struck. The crew rowed back to base as the leader was convinced that a torpedo had exploded amongst shipping nearby. Waves in the River Blackwater were of sufficient strength to force two Thames barges backwards against their sails. |
| St Lawrence | Tiles shaken from the roof of Motts Farm |
| Southminster |
Rev Berkeley in vicarage felt the floor move and saw his dining room wall sway. He then heard two of the church bells ring of their own accord. A later examination of the vicarage showed that 3 chimney stacks were badly damaged and needed to be replaced. William Page in Southminster Hall saw his gaselier swing, his dining room clock stopped and he noticed that the water in his moat was very agitated. |
| Tillingham |
The villagers reported tremors and them complained of strange vapours |
Southminster Hall Moat pictured in 1916
Neighbouring Maldon suffered with the weights falling from the moot hall clock greatly alarming Head Constable Wombwell and PC Parrot who had rushed from the Police Station in Moot Hall following the tremors. On a lighter note at Maldon it is recorded that a pet cockatoo suffered from the tremors by falling from its perch!
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Thus Eastern Essex survived a brush with the worst earthquake in the country's history.
