133 



croachments of the sea. Godwin's rental of the Manor, made in 1665, 

 stated that previous to that year no less than 22 tenements under the 

 chffs were destroyed by the sea, and between 1645 and 1655 frequent 

 grants of land were made to tenants who had suffered from the inundation, 

 and in one case a tenant lost eight acres. In 1665 there remained, how- 

 ever, 1 1 3 tenements under the cliff. The next storm which visited the 

 county was that known as " the Great Storm," which occurred on 

 November 27th, 1703. It was one of the most disastrous storms ever 

 recorded, and indeed some writers had stated that it was the most 

 dreadful storm since the Deluge ! Defoe who published a book on 

 the storm, says : — 



"At Shorain the Market House, an Antient and veiy strong 

 building, was blown flat to the Ground, and the town shattered. 

 Brie,hthelmston, being an old built and poor tho' populous Town, was 

 most miserable torn to pieces and made the very Picture of Desola- 

 tion, that it lookt as if an Enemy had sackt it." 



" The Bishop of Bath and Wells and his lady were killed at 

 Wells, Somersetshire, by a wall, which was blown down, and ' the 

 Bishop of London's sister. Lady Penelope Nicholas, was killed in like 

 manner at Horsley in Sussex, and Sir John Nicholas, her husband, 

 grieviously hurt.' ''—Milners Gallery of Nature. • 



The same book contains the following curious and quaint descrip- 

 tion of the effects of the storm in a letter to Defoe : — 



" From Medhurst in Sussex, the following Letter is a short 

 account of the loss of the Lord Montacute there which is extraordinary 

 great, tho' abridged in the letter :- Sir, I received a letter from you, 

 wherein you desire me to give you an account of what damage was 

 done in and about our Town. I praise God we came off indifferent 

 well ; the greatest damage we received, was the untiling of houses, and 

 3 chimneys blown down, but 4 or 5 stacks of chimneys are blown 

 down at my Lord Montacute's House, within a quarter of a mile of us, 

 one of them fell on part of the Great Hall, which did considerable 

 damage ; and the Church Steeple of Osborne, half a mile from us, was 

 blown down at the same lime ; and my Lord had above 500 trees torn 

 up by the Roots ; and near us several Barns blown down, one of Sir 

 John Mills, a very large Tiled Barn. 



" Your humble sei-vant, 

 " Medhurst, Jan. 18, 1703-4. "John Prinke." 



