History
History - On Timeline
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Floods ancient and Modern
Gloucester has flooded ever since the Romans built it. But at least they had the sense to build on the high ground.
Unlike a lot of more recent developments.
If buying a house, there are parts of the city suburbs I for one would avoid.
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1258 flooding
4th June: “a terrible storm of wind accompanied by torrents of rain fell on and raised all the waters of the Severn from Shrewsbury to Bristol to a degree that has not been seen in our times."
1483 flooding
“A year noted for its continual monsoon-like rains. The river Wye in Herefordshire and the Severn in Worcestershire rose rapidly…”
1484 flooding
Tewkesbury: “…there was a remarkable high flood in consequence of the waters overflowing the banks of the Severn.”
1576 flooding
5th March: “Great flood in Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Tewkesbury & Bewdley…"
1586 flooding
“…as a result of wind & rain some time before, the waters of the R. Severn rose suddenly during the night."
1588 flooding
“…as a result of wind & rain some time before, the waters of the R. Severn rose suddenly during the night."
1602 flooding
4th – 12th January: “Due to great tempests & rain the Severn rose.
After 5 days it fell but within 2 days it rose again remaining high for 2 days. On 7th Feb Severn rose again but not as high as the first water by ¾ of a yd & went down the next day."
1768 flooding
December: "At Gloucester the express was retarded by ten hours by the floods,
which in every county are higher than can be remembered. Such a general inundation as the present has scarcely been remembered. The flat country in Herefordshire and Shropshire is a perfect sea, so that the roads are impassable."
1795 flooding
February: "…the river Severn has overflowed its banks and covered an extent of country for a great number of miles with water…
Shrewsbury was almost surrounded with water. In most places water has risen higher than was ever remembered by the oldest inhabitants; upwards of 50 bridges have been totally destroyed, and a great number of others much damaged...” Flood at Gloucester ranked 2nd in annual flood peak level list 1770 – 1970.
1809 flooding
28th January: Flood at Gloucester ranked 3rd in annual flood peak level list 1770 – 1970.
1852 flooding
November, Worcester: "The incessant rains of Wednesday and Thursday tended to augment the swollen waters to an extent truly alarming.
The flood overspread the raceground…The water…rose on North Parade to within 11 ins. or 12 ins. of the height attained by one of the highest floods ever known on the Severn, which occurred in 1795."
"In the Midland counties, a wide expanse of country was covered by the waters…At Shrewsbury more than 700 houses were flooded...The whole vale of Gloucester was one wide-spreading sea…"
1867 flooding
7th January: "Very heavy floods were reported from all parts of the country; in some cases, it was said they even exceeded those of November, 1852. The Severn is said to have been more flooded than since that year."
1872 flooding
10th August, Gloucester: "Constant rain. The country near here is dreadfully flooded and accounts are bad from all parts of the country."
1875 flooding (again)
11th November: "The floods are out again as far as the eye can reach west of Gloucester".
1875 flooding
July, Worcester: “The river rose very rapidly, the meadows on each side of it from hence to Gloucester were under water;
much hay was carried away and grass spoiled. There was a heavy spate down the Teme which overflowed its banks, as did also the Avon between Evesham and Tewkesbury…The Leam and the Avon overflowed their banks, washed away a small bridge, and flooded much adjoining land... Rugby - all the low-lying land by the river Avon is under water…”
1876 flooding
“The low-lying districts of the Severn were much flooded in November..."
1879 flooding
16th August, Cheltenham: "... The Severn of course is flooded, and all the low-lying ground adjacent thereto”.
1880 flooding
6th October: "Rain fell continuously for about 40 to 45 hours…causing higher floods in the Severn than have occurred for many years."
1882 flooding
24th October: “…followed by disastrous floods, which rendered roads impassable, and inundated many houses in the lower parts of Cheltenham." Flood at Evesham ranked 4th in the annual flood peak level list 1848-1935.
1886 flooding
12th May: "…causing the highest flood in the Severn valley since 1852."
Flood at Gloucester ranked 6th in the annual flood peak level list 1770 to 1970. Flood at Tewkesbury ranked 2nd in flood levels from 1862 to 1990.
1910 flooding
December: "…record floods occurred in the middle of December, round Gloucester,
Tewkesbury, and Worcester the rivers Severn and Avon overflowed their banks, and postmen used boats to deliver letters."
1947 flooding
Rare footage of the previous record flooding in 1947.
This was caused by massive sudden snow melt - that's right, amazing as it may seem these days, the previous winter had snowed, and snowed, and stayed cold and the snow had NOT melted, esp up in Wales, where the Severn headwaters rise.
Suddenly it warmed up and the river had, in effect, an entire winter's rain fall dumped into in in a matter of a few days.
Flood at Gloucester ranked 4th in the annual flood peak level list from 1770 to 1970.
Coda re 2007 - listening to a Radio 4 program about science a flood expert commented that in the late twentieth century planning experts debated whether or not rainfall could cause a 1947 type event. In 2007 they got their answer.
1957 flooding
Tidal flooding
The Citizen newspaper reported a 33'6" tide at Sharpness dock, which rose 5'4" at Gloucester flooding the Isle of Alney and washing over the carriageway at Minsterworth.
1960 flooding
Flooding in Gloucester requiring the council to help those affected.
1975 flooding
Listed in flood records, but we have no further information.
1980 flooding
Listed in flood records, but we have no further information.
1990 flooding
A close call.
I remember standing down by the riverfront watching as water came through the sandbags and into the drains. So yes, the drainage system was below river level and I guess that we came within an hour of a mess.
1995 flooding
Storm surge flooding.
A low depression and strong winds lead forecasts to predict a half metre surge on the tide. However, the wind swung westerly and jumped from force 3 to force 9 prior to the tide, forcing a revised prediction of a 1.3 metre surge. The Daily Telegraph, document a tidal bore four times its predicted height striking the Severn Estuary and parts of Gloucester. The A48 was closed and six thousand homes were without power for several hours.
1999 flooding
No detailed info available.
2000 flooding
Over 100 local properties flooded.
2002 flooding
Listed in studies but no details.
2007 Great Flood
The Great Flood of 2007
Everyone who was there will remember this.
This page is my notes - we'd love to get more details and memories to expand this page and add others..
A massive amount of rain fell - perhaps 3 months worth in 5 days.
The result was predictable, if unprecedented*. Huge floods.
The flooding was a combination of river flooding, which we get a lot, combined with surface flooding (due to volumes of rain overwhelming the drains). It was the surface flooding that caused the initial chaos, esp on roads, but the river flooding that did the major damage.
- 21 July - flooding starts. Surface flooding traps many cars.
- 22 July - river flooding starts.
- I was driving around and saw all the cars that owners had abandoned the previous day.
- Tewkesbury Abbey flooded for first time in 200+ years.
- Mythe Water Treatment plant flooded, resulting in no water for 2 weeks for many people, - 350,000 to 420,000, estimates vary. Water in pipes was Ok, so most people had water for a day or so. Initial reports suggested water off for 3-4 days, but I for one didn't believe that and guessed at least 10. Memo to self - don't trust everything you hear from officials.
- Remember the bowsers? We had the UK's entire supply of bowsers out on our streets.
- Massive emergency services operation to prevent Waltham power substation flooding (would have cut off the electricty to 500,000+ people). the water came within 2 inches of flooding it.
- Gloucester and Cheltenham came within 2 inches of an evacuation. To where? - you can't live in a city in summer without power or water, though we discovered that without water could be done.
- 23 July - local power went off.
- 24 July - local power back on, operation Bowser begins, and the Army start distributing 3 million bottle of water a day.
- Flood Peak was I think 23-24 July. After that it was all clearing up, though we did have a nasty worry when another potential deluge passed by, but luckily didn't drop too much water.
It was about 2 weeks before water was restored and most people got back to normal.
Those (thousands) who were flooded however could expect to take 6-12 months to get back into their homes.
* I got very tired of hearing politicians claim that the floods were unprecedented as if that meant that they were unpredicatable. Good planning is about predicting, and providing that so predictable events do not lead to unprecedented events. My death, when it happens, will have been unprecedented because it will never have happened before. It is however entirely predictable that I will die. (Though hopefully not for some time yet).
A Young Reporter's view...
BY NEIL ROBINSON, 19
- I put this compilation together to present the many photographs that I took, and to convey the experience I had whilst coincidentally working for the Gloucestershire ECHO on a Work Experience placement, for my Journalism Degree course.
(Just finished my first year). I was fortunate to be in that newsroom at the time of the floods crisis. I spoke to many of the people affected and saw for myself the extensive damage caused by the flooding. Water was out at the offices in Cheltenham but luckily we had emergency back-up supplies.
Thanks for watching.
Music - Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
BBC view
Battle for the Substation - Army and Navy help to keep electricity flowing in Gloucester
Military personnel from the Army and Royal Navy have played a vital role in preventing an electricity switching station in Gloucestershire from flooding.
The soldiers and sailors, aided by local firefighters, were called into help after the flood waters threatened to engulf the sub station at Walham, near Gloucester, which serves half a million homes. At its peak the water reached as high as two inches from the top of a dam.
CNN view
When I saw this back in August, I cried. It was the first time that I had actually reacted emotionally to the flooding - apart from that it was knuckle down and get on with it.
Hats off to The Brunswick for staying open, and to the Blues Festival for ploughing ahead (I filmed a fair chunk of it).
Music is F.E.A.R by Ian Brown.
No water, flush your loo with wine...
Severn Sound's Review of the Floods 2007
The End of Meadow Park (?)
The MasonMoore flood video
Excellent montage video, to Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars.
Gloucester Day
Gloucester Day was begun to celebrate the lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643 during the Civil War.
Eventually it fell into disuse until 2009 when, as the result of much initiative and hard work by Alan Myatt (the Town Cryer, abv), it was reborn as a celebration of Gloucester, it's people and heritage.
2009 Revival
GLOUCESTER DAY
ORDER OF PROCESSION AND ROUTE
Saturday 5th September 2009
01.30 Dedication and Blessing of the Gloucester Standard .Rev Douglas Drain outside Constitution House (Conservative Club) Constitution Walk.
01.45 pm Parade assemble point Constitution Walk (behind Brunswick Rd Museum)
02.00 pm Parade Departs Along Constitution Walk through boots tunnel into East Gate St turning left over Gloucester Cross down West Gate St turning right into the Cathedral car park following the Via Sacra into St John’s Lane across North Gate St along the Ox bode onto Kings Sq..
Following Speeches a mini Tattoo shall take place. Parade shall then depart along Ox bode turning left into North Gate St over the Cross along South Gate St To Brunswick Baptist Church .Parade will fall out.
Refreshment will be served at Brunswick Baptist Church.
Order of procession
Police
C S O –Town Crier C S O
Gloucester Standard
1643 Drummers – Pike Men- Alyson Clayton
------------------------------------------------
20 yds-----Gap-----2Oyds
-------------------------------------------------
City Marshall
Sword Carrier
Maces
Mayor ---Mayors Lady
Sheriff -- Sheriff’s Lady
Officers
Councillors
Shrievalry association
Free men
----------------------------------------------
-20yds--------Gap----------Gap------Gap----------20 yds
-----------------------------------------------
Corps. Of Drums –Drum Major Andy Casey
Parade Marshall
Royal British Legion Standard Bearers
Members of Veteran-Service Organisations
5 YDS ------Gap--------5YDS
Standard Bearer R S S G
Gloucester Branch R S S G
CIVIC TRUST
-5yds------------Gap-------Gap------Gap---------5 yds
M Kerby P Dhanda MP G Walker M G Ian Meen
Chairman GLoucester Chamber of Commerce
Past Presidents of Chamber
MemberS
Miss Gloucester. Attendants
Michael Carter Rotary
CHAIR OFFICERS OF GODS
YOUNG GODS
Gloucester Rugby Foot ball Club reps
Gloucester Banshee,s
20yds------Gap------20yds
T S Gloucester Corps of Drums
T S Gloucester chaplain
Sea Cadets
Gloucester Churches ---Faith Groups
Political parties
Community leaders.
Charitable organisations.
Siege of Gloucester
During the Civil War Gloucester was for Parliament and it's strategic position as a Severn crossing meant that the Royalists needed to take it.
So they laid siege, expecting a quick surrender. However under the leadership of Colonel Massie (see pic) Gloucester held out for two weeks, until the main Parliamentarian Army came to their rescue.
An important battle during the early part of the war, by boosting the morale of the Parliamentarians and weakening that of the King.