The Great storm of was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November High winds caused 2, chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest , which lost 4, oaks. Ships were blown hundreds of miles off-course, and over 1, sea men died on the Goodwin Sands alone. News bulletins of casualties and damage were sold all over England β a novelty at that time.
The Church of England declared that the storm was God's vengeance for the sins of the nation. Daniel Defoe thought it was a divine punishment for poor performance against Catholic armies in the War of the Spanish Succession. Contemporary observers recorded barometric readings down to millibars measured by William Derham in south Essex , [ 1 ] but it has been suggested that the storm deepened to millibars over the Midlands.
Retrospective analysis conjectures that the storm was comparable to a Category 2 hurricane. In London alone, approximately 2, massive chimney stacks were blown down. The lead roofing was blown off Westminster Abbey and Queen Anne had to shelter in a cellar at St James's Palace to avoid collapsing chimneys and part of the roof.
On the Thames , some ships were heaped together in the Pool of London , the section downstream from London Bridge. Huge waves on the Thames river sent water 6 feet 1. There was extensive and prolonged flooding in the West Country , particularly around Bristol. Hundreds of people drowned in flooding on the Somerset Levels , along with thousands of sheep and cattle, and one ship was found 15 miles 24 km inland.
At Wells , Bishop Richard Kidder and his wife were killed when two chimneystacks in the palace fell on them, asleep in bed. This same storm blew in part of the great west window in Wells Cathedral.
