1884 Colchester earthquake
Encyclopedia
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
and the surrounding villages in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. In terms of overall destruction caused it is certainly the most destructive earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
to have hit the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in at least the last 400 years, since the Dover Straits earthquake of 1580
Dover Straits earthquake of 1580
Though severe earthquakes in the north of France and Britain are rare, the Dover Straits earthquake of 6 April 1580 appears to have been one of the largest in the recorded history of England, Flanders or northern France...
.
At 9:18 am the earthquake struck with its epicentre in the vicinity of the village of Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe
Wivenhoe is a town in north eastern Essex, England, approximately south east of Colchester. Historically Wivenhoe village, on the banks of the River Colne, and Wivenhoe Cross, on the higher ground to the north, were two separate settlements but with considerable development in the 19th century the...
causing the surrounding area to rise and fall violently as the waves spread, lasting for around 20 seconds. Measuring 5.1 on richter scale, the effects were felt across England, as well as in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The earthquake damaged about 1,250 buildings, including almost every building in Wivenhoe and Abberton
Abberton, Essex
Abberton is a village in Essex, England. It is located approximately east of Abberton Reservoir and is south of Colchester. The village is in the borough of Colchester and in the parliamentary constituency of North Essex...
, and in settlements all the way to Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
. The medieval church in Langenhoe
Langenhoe
Langenhoe is a village in the Colchester district of Essex, England to the south of Colchester. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 536.The village church was once reputed to be amongst the most haunted buildings in Essex...
was significantly damaged, as were those in the villages of Layer-de-la-Haye, Layer Marney
Layer Marney
Layer Marney is a village and civil parish near to Tiptree, in the Colchester borough, in the county of Essex, England. Layer Marney has a Tudor palace called Layer Marney Tower and a church called Church of St Mary the Virgin. In 2001 the population of the civil parish of Layer Marney was 206.-...
, Layer Breton
Layer Breton
Layer Breton is a village and a civil parish in the Colchester borough, in the county of Essex, England. Layer Breton has a church called St Mary the Virgin, Layer Breton.The village was among those which suffered damage from the 1884 Colchester earthquake....
, and Peldon
Peldon
Peldon is a village in the Colchester borough of Essex, England and forms part of the Winstred Hundred civil parish.It is near the villages of Little Wigborough and Langenhoe. The parish church is dedicated to St Mary the Virgin and is a grade 1 listed building.Peldon was significantly damaged by...
. In Peldon, the local newspapers claimed that every building had been damaged in some way. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
reported that the earthquake was greeted with terror by the people near Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
.
There are some reports that between 3 and 5 people were killed by the earthquake, but this has been disputed by other contemporary accounts. The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported damage "in the many villages in the neighbourhood from Colchester to the sea coast", with many poor people made homeless, and estimated the cost of the disaster at 10,000 pounds. It did however mention the death of a child at Rowhedge
Rowhedge
Rowhedge is a village in Essex.Formerly in the parish of East Donyland, it is now a ward of Colchester Borough Council. It is on the south bank of the River Colne and is the first settlement downstream, about 4 km from Colchester. Wivenhoe is on the opposite bank and Fingringhoe is about...
, attributed to the earthquake. The large waves caused by the earthquake destroyed many small craft.
It is believed that the earthquake resulted from movement along a fault in the ancient Palaeozoic rocks that underpin most of Essex, causing waves to propagate through the overlying Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
and Tertiary
Tertiary
The Tertiary is a deprecated term for a geologic period 65 million to 2.6 million years ago. The Tertiary covered the time span between the superseded Secondary period and the Quaternary...
layers.
As is often the case, it is not always the strongest earthquakes that cause the most damage, and the British Geological Survey
British Geological Survey
The British Geological Survey is a partly publicly funded body which aims to advance geoscientific knowledge of the United Kingdom landmass and its continental shelf by means of systematic surveying, monitoring and research. The BGS headquarters are in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, but other centres...
estimates that the 1884 earthquake's magnitude was only around 4.6 on the Richter Scale, compared with 6.1 of the 1931 Dogger Bank earthquake
1931 Dogger Bank earthquake
The Dogger Bank earthquake of 1931 was the strongest earthquake recorded in the United Kingdom since measurements began. It measured 6.1 on the Richter Scale....
.
Langenhoe Church was badly damaged. Masonry tumbled off the tower crashing into the roof of the nave and chancel. The nearby rectory was also damaged.