Essex Standard 18 Aug 1843: severe hail storm

CAMBRIDGE. - Wednesday, the 9th of August, will hold a conspicuous place in the annals of this and the adjoining counties, and the resemblance of it will never recur without sorrow to the minds of those now living, for to many is brought positive ruin, while very few escaped more or less of the injury with which it was fraught. The early part of the day was hot and close, but there was nothing to indicate the approach of such a storm. About two o’clock there were symptoms of a change in the sunny atmosphere. Large drops of rain began to fall soon after four o’clock, and in a short time a perfect deluge poured down upon the earth. The hail storm began at about quarter before five, at which time there was a tolerably brisk wind from the north-east. Whether we regard the size of the hailstones, the violence with which they were driven against objects on the earth, or the destruction they have caused, there is no parallel in this part of the world to the tempest which now raged for nearly half an hour. The extraordinary darkness of the atmosphere, with the clouds almost sweeping the housetops, the incessant roar of the thunder and flash of lightning, and the deafening noise of the falling hail, impressed one with a sense of awe and admiration which cannot be described….

…THE TOWN. - Every house suffered more or less, but the most remarkable injury was sustained by Mr. Pemberton, who has 3,200 squares of glass broken in his garden. Amongst the most serious sufferers are the gardeners and florists, many of whom will be absolutely ruined. Not only is their loss in the shape of glass enormous, but the produce upon which they depend for subsistence is in most cases utterly gone. At Mr. Widnall’s, at Granchester, the demolition is quite distressing; not less than 5,000 square feet of glass are broken, and most of his beautiful and rare plants destroyed: probably Mr. Widnall’s loss is not less than £800. Mr. Brewer, Trumpington Road, had 4,500 square yards of glass broken, as well as his plants, &c., destroyed. Mr. Green, of Newnham, suffers to the extent of perhaps £500. At the Garden of Eden, which Mr. Tomline took possession of only last Michaelmas on lease for five years, the damage is between £300 and £400. Of course it is quite impossible to estimate with any degree of accuracy the amount of damage which the tempest has done in the town, but there seems to be a general impression it is at the very lowest £25,000.