This section pulls together aspects of Local History.
Likal would love to hear from people interested in local history in order to develop material for this section.
Some archive footage of the London Gloucester Reliability trials - which just happened in the Cotswolds and date back to when it was damned impressive of a car to get up an ordinary hill without stopping. (Originally it was a London to Gloucester drive).
This might seem crazy today, but even in the 1960's my parents were never quite sure if their little car could drive the Cotswolds part of the A40 without stopping.
Gloucester played an important part in the history of aviation.
The very first jet launched from here.
The Gloster Aircraft Company at Brockworth / Hucclecote
Gloucester has an important place in the history of flight.
Any sensible council, anywhere else in the world, would have sorted out the Jet Age Museum http://www.jetagemuseum.org/ and built a tourist attraction out of it.
Rare colour footage of the the E28 , aka Gloster Whittle. Question - was this filmed in Brockworth?
The Cheese Roll is the most famous local event that we have, possibly second only in notoriety to the Bull Run at Pamplona.
2008 footage
Gloucester has flooded ever since the Romans thought it would be a really good idea to build on a flood plain.
Though to their credit they did actually build on the high ground. It was only as Gloucester expanded that the trouble really started.
Scroll down for modern floods pages and videos
Some historic and modern Severn floods, which, given that new houses, once built, should be there for 100-200+ years (and the developers don't care once they have sold the property), gives pause for thought :-
| 1258 | 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." |
| 1338 | Year that included a notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury. |
| 1483 | “A year noted for its continual monsoon-like rains. The river Wye in Herefordshire and the Severn in Worcestershire rose rapidly…” |
| 1484 | Tewkesbury: “…there was a remarkable high flood in consequence of the waters overflowing the banks of the Severn.” |
| 1545 | Year that included a notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury |
| 1576 | 5th March: “Great flood in Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Tewkesbury & Bewdley…" |
| 1579 | Year that included a notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury. |
| 1586 | 9th October: “…as a result of wind & rain some time before, the waters of the R. Severn rose suddenly during the night." |
| 1587 | 19th July, Tewkesbury: "...high floods on the Severn…when a sudden inundation overflowed the meadows….” |
| 1588 | 2nd – 4th January: “Severn water rose at Shrewsbury due to the great rain in Wales & flooded western suburbs of Shrewsbury…" |
| 1588 | 29th July: "Great flood on 29 Jul. Sudden over-flowing of the Severn caused meadows to be drowned within 2 days”. |
| 1590 | 30th January: “Severn flooded some parts of western suburbs of Shrewsbury to a height of 1 ft but flood only lasted 1 day" |
| 1593 | 25th December– 4th January 1594: “Severn flooded due to recent heavy rains. Parts of western suburbs of Shrewsbury flooded 1ft deep………” |
| 1596 | 20th January: “Severn waters rose suddenly due to great rain & continual wind. Water rose in people's houses in Shrewsbury. 14" deep in one house. Flood lasted to 27 January.” |
|
1599 |
Year that included a notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury. |
| 1602 | 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." |
| 1610 | Tewkesbury: "another flood.” |
| 1611 | "Floods began 12 Jan & lasted for a long time. On 30 Jan "increased to so great a flood as seldom been seen". Continued through February. The east bridge over the Avon swept away & other bridges destroyed. Much rain fell in Jul & Aug. Hay spoiled by floods "one renewing & following another" from 19 - 24 Aug" |
| 1620 | 29th November: “There was a great flood on the Severn on the 29th of November, but the only specific details are the drowning of 68 people going to Bewdley Fair near Kidderminster." |
| 1640 | Tewkesbury: "... in 1640, when there were no less than eight floods between Midsummer and Michaelmas." |
| 1672 | 23rd December: "This year was such a vast flood in Shrewsbury that it threw down the Welsh Gate…" |
| 1673 | December, Tewkesbury: “…so high a flood that the water came into a channel of the Church -street at the bull ring now called the Crescent." |
| 1721/1722 | Tewkesbury: "The years 1721 and 1722 were times for floods..." |
| 1729 | December: A notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury |
| 1729 | November 19th: "The nineteenth day of November in the year 1729, the greatest flood as I ever have seen in the town of Newtown, which came very near to the Town Hall, and likewise the top of Ladywell…” |
| 1739 | September: A notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury. |
| 1740 | 10th December: "The Severn was higher on the 10th than it had been ever since the year 1672. As it rose suddenly much damage was done and several persons drowned….” |
| 1748 | Year that included a notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury |
| 1768 | 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." |
| 1769 | 14th March: “…we rode towards Tewkesbury...But we could not get to it; the floods were so high…” |
| 1770 | 18th November: Shrewsbury: "In the flood of 1770 there were seventeen inches of water in the Abbey and 300 houses were flooded." Highest in annual flood peak level list 1770 – 1970 |
| 1772 | November: A notable Severn flood at Shrewsbury. |
| 1792 | 19th April, Tewkesbury: "…there was such a great fall of rain that the water rose in the Severn to a height of sixteen feet within twenty-four hours". |
| 1795 | 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 | 28th January: Flood at Gloucester ranked 3rd in annual flood peak level list 1770 – 1970. |
| 1814 | Tewkesbury: "…during a spring flood the water was so high...persons sailed in boats completely around the town..." |
| 1852 | 5th August: "The violent and incessant rains which set in at the end of August…The consequences were most extensive floods and inundations in every part of the country…In the course of 24 hours the Severn rose from its ordinary channel and overflowed its banks…In Worcester city the damage done was not very extensive. The greatest ravages were inflicted on the valley of the Teme river…” |
| 1852 |
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 | 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 | 10th August, Gloucester: "Constant rain. The country near here is dreadfully flooded and accounts are bad from all parts of the country." |
| 1875 | 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…” |
| 1875 | 11th November: "The floods are out again as far as the eye can reach west of Gloucester". |
| 1876 | “The low-lying districts of the Severn were much flooded in November..." |
| 1879 | 16th August, Cheltenham: "... The Severn of course is flooded, and all the low-lying ground adjacent thereto”. |
| 1880 | 26th October: "Rain fell continuously for about 40 to 45 hours…causing higher floods in the Severn than have occurred for many years." |
| 1882 | 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 | 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. |
| 1890 | February: "Disastrous floods on the upper Severn; much suffering". |
| 1910 | 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." |
| 1914 | 31st December, Worcester: "Owing to the excessive rain of December the river Severn overflowed its banks…Many of the low-lying houses near the river were flooded and several roads in the city rendered impassable". |
| 1916 | Newtown: "Disasterous [sic] floods in town". |
| 1929 | 13th November: "One of the most serious floods experienced in Newtown occurred on the night of 12th - 13th November, 1929. ...Although no-one was drowned, the 1929 flood created similar, if not worse havoc [ to that of 1852]……." |
| 1932 | 23rd May: “The river rose 13 feet, exceeding by two inches the height of the Avon in the great flood of 1801 but falling five inches short of the high water mark reached during the famous “century” flood which occurred on December 31st, 1900…” |
| 1947 | 21st March: Flood at Tewkesbury ranked 1st in the flood levels list from 1862 to 1990. Flood at Gloucester ranked 4th in the annual flood peak level list from 1770 to 1970. |
| 1960 | 26th January: Flood at Tewkesbury ranked 3rd in the flood levels list from 1862 to 1990. |
| 1975 | Gloucester properties flooded |
| 1980 | Gloucester properties flooded |
| 1990 | Gloucester properties flooded |
| 1999 | Gloucester properties flooded |
| 2000 | |
| 2002 | |
| 2003 | |
| 2004 | |
| 2007 | The BIG ONE - power off for a day, no water for two weeks for over 300,000 people, bowsers on the street, army and navy, panic about major substation serving 500,000 people. |
This is a stub page about the 1947 Flood.
If you remember the flood, please contact us for our Local History project.
If you know about the flood and want to expand this page, contact us, please!
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 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.
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.
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, when it happens, will have been unprecedented because it will never have happed before. It is however entirely predictable that I will die. (Though hopefully not for some decades yet).
Local young reporters view - he had access so it's interesting to see some of the "media stars" sideways on...
People get flushing desperate....
Armed Forces video recording their help in the Floods.
BBC film of the floods.
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).
Floods force Gloucester City FC to seek a new home. (Unless you have £100 grand to spare...)
Gordon Brown Interview about floods - did he keep his word?
Severn Sound review of the Floods on 2008
One of the most popular flood videos on YouTube