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Gloucester Floods, ancient and modern

Posted December 22nd, 2007 by Likal Admin

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.
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