The Great Storm of 1703 Strikes England

On the night of 26 November 1703 by the Old Style Julian calendar (7 December in the modern calendar), an immense extratropical cyclone struck southern and central England and south Wales. The violent weather brought sustained, destructive winds across the British Isles, tearing through communities unaccustomed to atmospheric disturbances of such magnitude. At Upminster in south Essex, the clergyman and natural philosopher William Derham tracked the fall of his barometer through the storm and sent his readings to the Royal Society, where his letter was read on 22 December 1703.

The gale inflicted severe structural devastation upon London and surrounding settlements. Across the capital, approximately 2,000 massive chimney stacks collapsed, and the lead roofing was stripped directly off Westminster Abbey. Queen Anne is said to have sheltered in a cellar at St James's Palace, and Defoe recorded that a falling chimney killed a woman in or near the palace. Along the Thames, ships tore loose from their anchors and moorings. Defoe recalled that scarcely four vessels were left in the Pool between Wapping and Ratcliff Cross, while the rest were driven together in a tangled mass downriver. Towns across the south and east, including Bristol, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Cowes, and Hull, suffered widespread structural damage.