554 MR. PRESTON’S NOTES ON THE NORFOLK FLOOD. 
1814, it appears that the flood of 1614 (or 1615 as it is there 
stated) occurred on November 30th, and was known as “St. 
Andrew’s Flood.” In 1646 it is recorded that the flood occurred 
on November 15th, and “boats were rowed in several of the 
streets.” “A great flood” occurred on the 31st December, 
1734, and was of nearly the same level as that of 1878. Of 
the 1762 flood Browne records, “On October 27th a great 
inundation which laid 300 houses and 8 parish churches under 
water ” ; also “ a great flood” on 19th November, 1770. 
Mr. Collins states that there was also a flood in 1696, known 
as the “St. Faith’s Flood,” which came within about four inches 
of the 1878 flood. There are no available records of the quantity 
of rain which fell in any of the floods prior to 1878, but in the 
latter year, when the flood occurred in the middle of November, 
it was the culminating point of a very rainy period of fifteen 
days. Although the previous August had been wet, the follow- 
ing September and October were not abnormally so. But with 
the advent of November rain fell daily, the total from November 
1st to 14th having been as much as 4'40 ins., or more than three 
times the average for the period. On the top of this, on the 
15th, 1'34 ins. more fell, making 5'74 ins. for the fifteen days; 
and this last fall caused the flood of that year, when the 
Heigham district suffered severely, though considerably less so 
than in 1912. It is interesting to compare these figures with 
those of the 1912 flood. In 1912 we had an exceptionally dry 
April and May, a rather wet June, then a dry time till July 
18th, when very heavy rains set in, resulting in no less than 
5‘95 ins. falling in the 38 days (five weeks and three days) 
immediately preceding the great flood-rain. Strictly to compare 
the period before the 1912 flood-ram with that of 1878 we must, 
however, only take the preceding 14 days, and there we find 
that considerably less fell in 1912 than in 1878, viz., 2'35 ins. 
in 1912 against 4'40 ins. in 1878. Therefore it is not so 
surprising how a comparatively small fall as 1'34 — which was 
the actual flood-rain of 1878 — caused so great a deluge in 
proportion to the extraordinary fall of 7 "34 ms. which fell in 29 
hours in 1912. Taking, however, the fall of the previous 
