The Greatest Storm: Britain's Night of Destruction, November 1703All but forgotten now, the Great Storm of 26/27 November 1703 was the worst storm experienced in recorded history in the British Isles. Over 8000 people died and the losses of property and shipping were immense. Martin Brayne tells in vivid detail the story of this tragic and catastrophic event. While almost everyone knows something about those two classic disaster scenarios of the Stuart age, the Great Fire of 1666 and the Great Plague of the year before, hardly anyone knows the story of the Great Storm of 1703, the worst that has occurred in the British Isles. Winds and rain lashed the entire country and floods were reported almost everywhere. Famously, Henry Winstanley had the misfortune to be in the wooden lighthouse which he had designed on Eddystone Rocks of Plymouth on 26 November 1703. The lighthouse was destroyed and Winstanley died. |
Contents
Dies Irae | |
The Birth of The Storm | |
Dark is His Path | |
On the Wings of the Storm | |
HurryDurry Weather | |
This Fatal Piece | |
Damage Most Tragicall | |
Her True and Faithful Lover | |
Sir Cloudesley is Expected | |
As Dismal as Death | |
Within the Bills of Mortality | |
Carpenters Caulkers and Seamen | |
Fast Fact and Fiction | |
In Memoriam | |
Other editions - View all
The Greatest Storm: Britain's Night of Destruction, November 1703 Martin Brayne Limited preview - 2002 |
The Greatest Storm: Britain's Night of Destruction, November 1703 Martin Brayne No preview available - 2003 |
Common terms and phrases
27 November Admiral anchor appears ashore blew blowing blown boats broken buildings cables Captain century Channel church coast Collier crew damage Daniel Defoe December Defoe’s described devastation dreadful storm driven Dutch East Eddystone Eddystone lighthouse Edward Elinor England estuary event Fairford fall fleet fourth-rate gale Goodwin Sands Hampton Court harbour Hellevoetsluis Henry Winstanley hurricane Kidder killed King land late Storm Leamington Hastings lighthouse London Gazette Lord loss lost Mary masts men-of-war merchant miles mill morning Navy night North Sea November o’clock parish Pepys Plymouth Portsmouth probably records repair Richard river roof Royal sail sailors seamen ships shore Sir Cloudesley Sir David Mitchell St Lo stack of chimneys Stirling Castle Street Tempest Thames tide tiles town Towneley trees veered vessels violent warships weather West West Horsley wife William William Derham wind speed Winstanley wrecks yards Yarmouth