378 



The Great Wiltshire Storm. 



mentioned, where Aland's donkey was feeding, the field being in 

 shape an acute angled triangle, the acute angle lying towards the 

 storm or westwards, the trees which stood on the two long sides of 

 the field were almost all thrown inwards and towards one another, 

 scarcely a tree on either side falling outwards towards either of the 

 adjoining meadows. Again, from the top of Aland's house (for here 

 the storm exhibited great violence) a slate ridge-crest, (or crease, as 

 it is provincially termed) weighing 27 Jibs., and measuring 4 J feet 

 long by 7 inches wide, was carried northwards about 40 yards; while 

 a rick and some trees standing in a parallel line at Oar, (commonly 

 called Whyr) farm, were blown due south. Again at Cherhill, seve- 

 ral large elms on Mr. Neate's land fell across one another in diamet- 

 trically opposite directions ; precisely the same thing occurred with 

 reference to my own trees in a long plantation, the firs in more than 

 one instance fell with their tops towards one another, and in one case 

 actually crossing each other on the ground. And again in a field 

 to the west of the churchyard at Yatesbury, a row of elms 1 and a 

 row of ash, in parallel lines, and of sufficient size to have served 

 for years as the favourite nesting places in a thriving rookery, have 

 been uprooted, both lines falling inwards, across the direction of 

 the storm, and towards one another. And once more, the east and 

 west walls of Mr. Tanner's kitchen garden were both blown in- 

 wards, and so laid flat on the ground: while the cart horse before 

 mentioned was blown from the east towards the west, directly in 

 the teeth of the general line of the gale. But these are merely 

 instances of what may be observed in many localities, and are by 

 no means to be considered the only cases of the storm's attack from 

 an unexpected quarter, for several of the houses and other buildings, 

 though standing directly exposed to the fury at the hurricane, ex- 

 hibit their western fronts perfectly unscathed, while the opposite 



1 These elms, eight in number and each measuring 70 feet in length, were all 

 thrown down without an exception; of the ash (which measured 60 feet in 

 length) three only of the row of nine were prostrated ; the rows of elms and ash 

 were about 60 yards apart. In the field east of the churchyard two large elms 

 were blown down towards S.E. ; and four N.N.W. ; these also were 60 yards 

 apart: between these two fields stand the church and churchyard, which were 

 uninjured. 



