AXD ITS EFFECTS IN nERTFORDSniEE. 23 



several of the windows havino; panes of glass ln'oken hy the 

 violence of the wiud. Mr. Haubui-y's lane was impassable from 

 the trees and branches. In Crane Mead 13 trees were blown down. 

 At Water-place a poplar 100 ft. high fell, and an elm fell across 

 !Mr. llurford's house. Stanstcadbury lost 9 fine elms, and at 

 Staustead itself two cowls were blown down. 



District IX. Wheatuampstead. — Great fears were at one time 

 entertained for the church spire ; its injuries, however, only 

 amounted to the lead being torn off and hurled on to the root's 

 below to their considerable damage. The most serious calamity 

 occurred about 3-30 p.m., when the hell-turret of the Xatioual 

 Schools, a massive stone structure erected in 1862, was simply torn 

 from its position and hurled bodily into the road below. Happily 

 no injury was done to life or limb, the weather being such that 

 the school was closed for the day. 



District X. Welwyn. — The gale was observed to be at its height 

 between 2 and 4 p.m., during which time a considerable number of 

 trees were blown down ; scarcely any park, field, or garden with 

 large trees escaping without serious loss. A large chestnut-tree in 

 the garden at Guessens was blown down, while at Tewin Water 

 Park 14 beech and elm-trees succumbed to the gale. Around 

 Datchworth it was observed that the greatest damage was done on 

 the high ground ; it was, however, comparatively inconsiderable. 



District XL Steveiv"Age — Many trees were blown down, while 

 huge branches were torn off and carried a considerable distance. 

 One observer counted 13 trees in one row down, being a considerable 

 portion of the whole. At Knebworth about 20 trees were blown 

 down, and the turrets of the mansion sufPered severely, some of them 

 being blown off. At Ardeley Bury the loss was 1 fir-tree, 3 elms, 

 and 2 oaks. In Woodhall Park (Hertford) the loss is estimated at 

 about 50 trees, among them two tine cedars which were completely 

 wrecked; the greatest force of the gale was felt here about 12*45 p.m. 



District XII. Buntingford. — Little damage was done in the 

 town, beyond a plentiful shower of tiles, etc. The gale seemed 

 suddenly to gather strength soon after 7 a.m. At Throcking it 

 was observed that the first downfall of trees occurred about 7*30. 

 The lay of the trees was in all cases as nearly as possible W. to E. 

 'I'he gale was at its strongest between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. At 

 Wyddial Hall 20 trees were blown down, a fine old oak was shorn 

 of all its limbs save one, and what had appeared a grand old tree 

 is now only a lopsided pollard ; a barn on the neighbouring farm 

 of Beauchamps w^as blown down ; at Aspenden Hall about 20 large 

 trees fell, whilst the number of branches torn off was enormous ; 

 in Coles Park 7 or 8 were snapped off close to the ground, and 

 many others, chiefly elms, were torn up or mutilated ; and in Hamels 

 Park about 100 trees suffered, some uprooted, some snapped off, 

 some deprived of branches. 



District XIII. Hadham. — At Moor Place 10 trees were blown 

 down. Xear the station a large tree fell across the road. At the 

 north end of the village a number of trees were torn up by the 



