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buildings out of a hundred are probably not perceptibly the worse 

 for the shock, though some important falls occurred, notal^ly that 

 of the spire of the Congregational ChapeL This spire was of stone : 

 that of the Churcli in the High Street, which is constructed of 

 timber, is unhurt. At Lexden, west of Colchester, and in the 

 country a mile or two north, the damage done has been trifling. 

 The area of serious damage is from Colchester southward. A line 

 drawn from Colchester Eailway Station, or thereabouts, and passing 

 a mile westward of Mersea Island to the estuary of the Black- 

 water, and another drawn from the same point on the north, and 

 ranging thence to a spot about a mile eastward of Mersea Island, 

 and on to the sea, would comprise the whole of the grievously 

 afflicted district. 



At Colchester we saw that the Congregational Church spire 

 had been thrown down towards the N.E. At Wivenhoe, between 

 tliree or four miles lower down the River Colne, we found the battle- 

 ments of the Church tower thrown down to tlie north side. Inside 

 the Church the tirst glance disclosed but little damage, but more 

 cai'eful examination showed that one of the pillars on the south 

 side of the nave had been twisted more than an inch out of its 

 place, and the whole of the arcade had thereby been seriously 

 weakened. And "Wivenhoe Hall, though the exterior suggested 

 that the damage done had been but slight, appeared, on examining 

 its interior, to be so fundamentally shaken and cracked as to require 

 entire re-building. In the village the chimneys of a whole row of 

 cottages had been thrown down to the north-west, and various 

 chimneys had been twisted either to the north-east or to the 

 north-west. At Abberton, Peldon, and Langenhoe, the damage 

 done has been very great, the churches at tlie two latter places 

 being very seriously injured. Tlie vestry chimney at Peldon 

 Church had fallen northward, and three cottage chimneys in that 

 village had all fallen in the same direction. As a general rule we 

 found the northern ends of buildings had suffered most. Where 

 wooden cottages had brickwork chimneys, one at the north end 

 the other at the south, the northern chimney had fallen north- 

 ward, while tlie southern chimney had frequently fallen south- 

 ward. Few buildings in Peldon escaped injury except barns or 



