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The Great Flood of 1841

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Jan 21, 2011

Tagged in: Wylye valley , WSA 1336/98 , World War 1 , Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre , Wiltshire , William McGonagall’s , weather , waterproofs , Warminster , verses , Tilshead , The Great flood , thaw , Terry Bracher , Tay Railway Bridge disaster , story , Stoke Winterbourne , stanzas , souls , snow storm , Shrewton , Sarum , Salisbury Plain , River Wylye , River Till , records , rebuild , Project group , poetic , poem , Orcheston , newspapers , Maddington , local , letter , investigating , indexes , homeless , historical record , Hanging Langford , Flood Cottages , flash flood , event , Elston House , Elston , drowning , doggerel , document , disasters , destitute , currents charity , county , compassion , communities , commemorating , collections , Codford , Blewdon’s House , author , Ann Doughty , 1841 , 1789

I just happened to be trawling through some indexes to our records when a subject caught my eye - the Great flood in the Wylye Valley 1841. Now I am just about to visit the Wylye World War 1 Project group, one of several trips to the south of our county this week, and have an eye on the weather since the heavy rain over the last few days. Investigating this story in more detail it appears that the flood took place 170 years ago, almost to the day!  (Apparently there was a similar flood in 1789 around the same time of year - I am taking my waterproofs).  What particularly drew me to the reference was a note concerning a piece of doggerel about the event.

 

I have always been curious about doggerel and other poetic forms as an historical record commemorating events (and people), especially disasters, such as William McGonagall’s poem on the Tay Railway Bridge disaster of 1879. But what I found was even more astonishing; forget the 8 verses by McGonagall, our document contains 51 verses, in part 1, and a further 25 in part 2, a grand total of 76 stanzas detailing an event that, according to contemporary local newspapers, lasted a mere 12 hours, though with such force and hugely disastrous consequences for the local communities. The document (WSA 1336/98) is a transcript of a letter by Ann Doughty of Hanging Langford to her mother some days after the flood with a doggerel rhyme by an unknown author.

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Crime and Punishment in Wiltshire

Posted by: Blog Administrator on Oct 13, 2009

In 1849 a crowd of 30,000 people gathered outside the imposing gates of Devizes prison to watch the public execution of Rebecca Smith of Bratton for poisoning her baby. Rebecca spent the night before in the prison chapel with her open coffin for company. After her execution her body is taken for burial in unhallowed grounds within the prison wall.

Devizes Prison Gate, 1889 
Devizes Prison Gate, 1889


Students from Wiltshire College have been investigating crime and punishment in the county as the basis for their creative writing. You can find out more by reading the prison diaries, letters appealing innocence, court room scripts and newspaper accounts that they have written. Their work will be appearing here soon and will be on display in the public search room at the History Centre in December.

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