of the 20th of novembee, 1887. 45 
the roll or rumbling of thunder at a distance. One says it seemed 
to affect him as if shaken, but the other, and the more intelligent 
of the two, was not conscious of being shaken, but it seemed 
strangely to affect him. This man thought at first it must be the 
sound of the Midland train going over the viaduct or large bridge 
across the valley to the 1ST. of Harpenden, bnt he soon became 
satisfied it was a very different sound from that. A woman, who 
lives not far from him (at the 17. end of Codicote), was somewhat 
astonished and alarmed at the sound, and rushed into the house to 
her husband, saying the sound was so peculiar—“ different from 
thunder, as it rolled over such a space.” A young man living 
not far from my house says he heard the strange sound from the 
S., like the rumbling of a distant explosion or thunder.— E. Wallis 
Jones, The Manse , Codicote, Welwyn. [Ayot St. Lawrence and 
Harpenden are both W.S.W. of Codicote.] 
Kimpton.—B oth myself and my wife heard the noise, which I 
thought was a distant clap of thunder. We were in the house at 
the time. The sound reached us from an easterly, or perhaps a 
little south-easterly, direction, and appeared to me to travel across 
to a westerly or north-westerly direction. The noise appeared to 
be like several barrels being rolled along at some distance off.— 
Arthur A. Armstrong , Kimpton. 
Ayot St. Laweence. —Several people about us felt the shock. 
The shepherd at Ivory’s Hill Tarm heard a rumbling noise, and 
[thought] that London had been blown up. I heard of it the 
same day, and the time was fixed as u when you were in church;” 
and as far as our locality is concerned, the shepherd’s remark would 
seem to point to London as the direction from which the rumbling 
noise came.— Herbert Athill , [rector of Ayot St. Lawrence,] The 
Rectory, Ayot St. Lawrence, Welwyn. [London is S.S.E. of Ayot 
St. Lawrence.] 
Long Maeston. —The report was noticed here.—‘Jf. Jf.,’ p. 165. 
Welwyn.— 1 heard a sound from the S.E. direction, which I at 
first thought was thunder. It would be about a quarter past 8 a.m. 
It seemed to me to roll from S.E. towards S.— John Jointer, White 
Hill Farm, [about f of a mile nearly S.W. of] Welwyn. 
I heard what I at the time thought was a distant roll of thunder, 
but could see no cloud. Later in the day I heard other people 
talking about it, some of whom thought a dynamite explosion had 
taken place.— Geo. J. Buller, Welwyn. 
At about 8"20 a.m. I heard a loud rumbling sound, which 
appeared to be in a direction S.W. by S', from here. I attributed 
it to shunting operations going on at Ayot railway station, for 
the noise was very like detached trucks being violently banged 
together. Soon after, I saw a man named Ewington, who immediately 
said: “Did you hear that clap of thunder?” Indicating with his 
finger a direction from S.W. to JST.W., he said, “ It rumbled all the 
way down Hitchin way.”— J. A. Kite, [L.B.C.P.Edin.,] Welwyn. 
[Ayot (St. Peter) Station is S.S.W. from Welwyn; Hitchin is 
M.W.] 
