Historical Floods In Worcester

By Paul Homewood

 

 

 

The ‘Great Flood’ of 1886
Anonymous

This view of New Road on Friday, 14th May of that year shows a horse drawn tram car. Horse drawn trams operated in Worcester from 1881 until electrification in 1903

http://www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk/content/oldpics/river/30003p.htm

 

We had a look yesterday at the history of flooding in Tewkesbury, and I was reminded that at Worcester Cathedral, just a few likes upstream on the River Severn, there is a famous record of historical floods. There are twenty plaques on a wall at Watergate, just a few yards from the Cathedral, which mark previous flood levels back to 1672. The picture of this can be seen on the link below – there is a magnifying option to help.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/knowlesteve/8125392247/in/photostream/lightbox/

 

The highest mark remains that of 1770, followed by 1947 and 1886. The summer floods of 2007 come in fourth place.

 

The University of Gloucester describe thus:

“On November 18, 1770, the flood rose to the edge of this brass plate, being ten inches higher than the flood which happened on October 23, 1672′.  In 1947, the flood lapped within half an inch of the brass plate”

 

They also have these descriptions:

 

 

December 1672 flood: ‘In the year 1672, an extraordinary rise of the River Severn was noticed against a wall by the side of the river near the College Green, in Worcester, and a plate still remains in the wall, recording that event. In order that it might be known how much the present flood exceeded that, the Hon. and Rev. Dr. Digby, Dean of the Cathedral, engaged a proper person to watch the rise of the water against the same wall, and to observe its utmost reach, which it seems, was about 2 o’clock last Sunday morning, when it had risen 10 ins above high water mark of the year 1672.’ (Gloucester Journal, November 1770).

1811 and 1847 floods in Worcester: ’Two storms caused great floods, the Severn rising at phenominal speed: the famous Worcester hailstorm of 1811, and the storm of August 1847, when the water at Diglis Lock rose 18.5 ft in five hours. It stopped the river current and the water backed up like a tide, and forced the Camp Locks to open themselves. This has not happened since.’ (http://www.worcesterpeopleandplaces.com/articles/article-273-46-46.asp)

31st December 1914 flood: Observer at Worcester noted: ‘Owing to the excessive rain of December the River Severn overflowed its banks. On this day there was 12 ft. 7 inches of flood water. Many of the low-lying houses near the river were flooded and several roads in the city rendered impassable’.

There is some more history from “Worcester People & Places”

The first definite record of a great flood is that of October 1484, when the ill-fated campaign of the Duke of Buckingham against Richard lll, was brought to a halt by the great Severn flood which barred his way across England, and was passed into folk-memory as ‘the Duke of Buckingham’s water’.

Noake records seeing on a fly-leaf of a tract, reference to a flood in 1620 as follows: ‘November ye 29, 1620. In the River Severn was the greatest flood that ever was seen since the flood of Noah, there was drowned at Homstone’s Loade, 68 persons as they whare going to Bewdley Faire’.

Two great floods occurred in 1672 and 1770. A plate on the wall at the Water Gate records: ‘On the 18th November, 1770, the flood rose to the lower edge of the plate, being ten inches higher than the flood which occurred on December 23, 1672’. 

Two storms caused great floods, the Severn rising at phenominal speed: the famous Worcester hailstorm of 1811, and the storm of August 1847, when the water at Diglis Lock rose 18 ft in five hours. It stopped the river current. and the water backed up like a tide, and forced the Camp Locks to open themselves. This has not happened since.

The greatest flood of all however, is considered to have occurred in 1886, in the month of May. On that occasion the water almost reached the crown of the arches of Worcester Bridge. In the parish of St.Clement’s alone, it was estimated that no fewer than 250 houses were flooded. A punt laden with men, women and children was returning from the bridge towards Tybridge Street, when some of the passengers lurched suddenly to one side, and several were upset, though fortunately no one was drowned. During the flood, a man caught a pike in the sitting room of the Old Rectifying House.

Two more recent floods, but equally disastrous were those of 1924 and 1947. The flood of June 1924 destroyed the Three Counties Show on Pitchcroft, and prize cattle and exhibits had to be rescued from one of the fastest rising floods known. The other flood of 1947 is still remembered, when all passenger communication by road to St.John’s was cut, and a free rail service ran from Foregate Street Station to Henwick. During the 1947 flood 20 buckets of lamperns were picked up at the Electricity Power Station in Hylton Road, and sold for 6s .9d per gross, or two a-penny.

    

 

BBC have this picture of the 1924 flood at Pitchcroft, which they rate as worse than 2007.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/content/articles/2007/06/29/flood_statistics_feature.shtml

 

The simple truth is that Worcester has always been prone to flooding, and always will. Perhaps the clue lies in the caption to the photo below!

 

The River Severn and Flood Plain