202 J. HOPKINSOK GALE OF THE 24tH OF MAliCH, 1895. 



roofs and cowls of malting-houses were miich damaged, and a large 

 window at the west end of Christ Church was hlown in, crashing 

 through the flooring-boards, without being broken. The brick 

 wall bordering the Presdales estate on the London Road was blown 

 to the ground for a length of from sixty to seventy yards. Hay 

 and straw stacks were unroofed and scattered, and many trees in 

 the neighbourhood were uprooted. Three large trees on the side 

 of the road leading from Ealdock Street to Wadesmill fell across 

 the road, stopping traffic until the following day, when they were 

 removed. The fine old avenue in Ware Park suffered severely, no 

 less than sixteen of its trees being levelled to the ground. At 

 Hoddesdon considerable damage was done in several parts of the 

 town ; a stone cross was blown off the top of the church ; and large 

 boughs of trees were wrenched off at Rose Hill and elsewhere in 

 the neighbourhood. 



Our record is a long one, but it can by no means be considered 

 exhaustive. It covers nearly the whole of Hertfordshire, and it 

 must not be inferred that in the few districts which have not been 

 alluded to, no damage, or but little, was done, but rather that 

 these districts have not been visited by me and no reports from 

 them have appeared in the newspapers from which my information 

 has been derived. Most of the damage seems to have been done by 

 two gusts of wind, one at about 1.45 p.m., the other at 3. The 

 severe frost of February, which penetrated far into the ground, 

 must have considerably loosened the surface-soil, and this may 

 account to some extent for the very large number of trees which 

 were uprooted, especially in the case of such shallow-rooted trees 

 as elms, which suffered most. It is also possible that some trees 

 which withstood the first gust had their roots somewhat loosened 

 by it and succumbed to the second, though neither gust alone 

 would have brought them down. The great force of the wind is, 

 however, amply testified to by the snapping of large trees just 

 above their roots, as in Gorhambury Park, and by the huge 

 branches torn off others. 



It is to be hoped that our county may not again for many years 

 be visited by such a devastating gale as swept over it on this 

 memorable Sunday afternoon. 



I 



