One hundred years ago
On Tuesday the Eastern counties, especially Suffolk and Essex, suffered from the most serious earthquake recorded in England for many genera- tions. Two churches were very seriously injured (those of Langenhoe and Peldon), and two Congregational chapels had their spires thrown down. Colchester suffered more than any other great town, but the villages of Wivenhoe, Abberton, and Peldon were almonst destroyed. In Peldon, not a single building has escaped injury in a greater or less degree; while the residence of Mr Holland, a house of large size, has been 'shattered from basement to roof almost beyond repair.' In Peldon alone, the damage to property is estimated at over £7,000; in Col- chester, at over £10,000; and at many of the smaller villages the serious injury done has not been estimated at all. One house in Peldon was moved — twisted on its foundations — by six inches. In Chelmsford, also, and Sudbury and Bury St Edmunds, the shock was distinc- tly felt; and even in London, along the line of the Strand, very considerable alarm was caused by the violent vibra- tion. No earthquake so serious has, it is said, happened in England since the reign of Elizabeth.
Spectator, 26 April 1884
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