>On 11/01/2014 10:33, Josephine Jeremiah wrote: >List members with family links to the Somerset Levels may be interested in this: VIDEO: Aerial view of the flooded Somerset Levels Thanks Josephine - really interesting video, and worth reminding ourselves that flooding of this nature would have been routine every winter, prior to the drainage of the levels around the 18th c. onward. It's fortunate that we are unlikely to see in our lifetime, anything on the scale of the floods of 1703 or 1607. Ian

On Sat, 11 Jan 2014 12:33:58 -0000, Ian Sage <sage_gen@tiscali.co.uk> wrote: > Thanks Josephine - really interesting video, and worth reminding > ourselves that flooding of this nature would have been routine every > winter, prior to the drainage of the levels around the 18th c. onward. > It's fortunate that we are unlikely to see in our lifetime, anything on > the scale of the floods of 1703 or 1607. Hi Ian and Listers, In these times of flood, I often have the Great Flood of 1607 in mind, as it related to Bristol and neighbourhood, and wonder if something similar could happen again in the West Country. Samuel Seyer wrote a description of this event, in Volume 2 of his Memoirs Historical and Topographical of Bristol and its Neighbourhood (1823), which I sent to the list some years back but it may be worth sending again for anyone who hasn't heard of it: "The 20th of January 1606-7, being Tuesday in the morning, the wind blowing hard at south-west, there was so great a flood at high-water, that the sea broke over the banks, and overflowed all the marsh country in England and in Wales, drowning their cattle, and carrying away their corn and hay, some houses and many trees. Some lost their lives, and many saved themselves by climbing up on the roofs of their houses, and others on trees and mows. In the marsh country about Aust and Henbury, the flood was so high that it could not all run off again, but remained a fathom deep, and the people on the trees could not come down, but remained there two or three days. The Mayor, Mr. Barker, hearing thereof commanded cock-boats [al' cork boats] to be hauled thither to fetch them off, that they might not perish. In the city it rose on the Back 4 feet above the street; so that a small boat about 5 tons came up laden to St Nicholas crowd door; and the boatman put his hook against the lower step and thrust off his boat again. All the lower part of the city was covered; it was in every house on the Back and most part of the Key, doing much hurt in cellars to woade, sugars and salt; butts of secks swam in the cellars above ground, therefore worse in vaults under ground. In Redecliffe, Temple and St Thomas streets, the water was so high as men's girdles. In St Stephen's, St Thomas and Temple churches, it was half way up the seats. The Bridge was stopped and the water bayed back higher towards Redcliffe-street: it rose five feet at trin-mills. At its return it brought great trees down the river, but did no harm to the bridge." Josephine