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Great storm of 1703

1703 in England1703 natural disasters18th-century disasters in England18th-century meteorologyAnne, Queen of Great Britain
Daniel DefoeEuropean windstormsExtratropical cyclonesFloods in EnglandHistory of the English ChannelWeather events in England
Great Storm 1703 Goodwin Sands engraving
Great Storm 1703 Goodwin Sands engraving

The Great storm of 1703 was a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England on 26 November 1703. High winds caused 2,000 chimney stacks to collapse in London and damaged the New Forest, which lost 4,000 oaks. Ships were blown hundreds of miles off-course, and over 1,000 sea men died on the Goodwin Sands alone. News bulletins of casualties and damage were sold all over England – a novelty at that time. The Church of England declared that the storm was God's vengeance for the sins of the nation. Daniel Defoe thought it was a divine punishment for poor performance against Catholic armies in the War of the Spanish Succession.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Great storm of 1703 (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Great storm of 1703
East Meon Road, East Hampshire Langrish

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Wikipedia: Great storm of 1703Continue reading on Wikipedia

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N 51 ° E -1 °
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East Meon Road
GU32 1RD East Hampshire, Langrish
England, United Kingdom
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Great Storm 1703 Goodwin Sands engraving
Great Storm 1703 Goodwin Sands engraving
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Butser Hill
Butser Hill

Butser Hill is a hill and nature reserve in Hampshire, England. South-west of Petersfield, it is a 239.7-hectare (592-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is a national nature reserve and a Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is a Geological Conservation Review site and an area of 84.8 hectares (210 acres) is Oxenbourne Down, which is designated a Local Nature Reserve. Part of it is a Scheduled Monument.It is a chalk hill and one of the highest points in Hampshire. It is also the highest point on the chalk ridge of the South Downs and the second highest point in the South Downs National Park after Blackdown in the Western Weald. Although only 271 metres (889 ft) high, it qualifies as one of England's Marilyns. It is located within the borders of the Queen Elizabeth Country Park. The name Butser comes from the Old English Bryttes Oran meaning Briht's slope. Oran or Ora is Old English for flat topped hill and/or steep slope.The flat summit is surrounded by a number of spurs. Iron Age ditches and banks divide the spurs from the summit although the purpose of these earthworks is unclear.There is evidence of lynchet farming on the southeast side of the hill. The age of the lynchets is unknown but Roman pottery has been brought to the surface by rabbit holes.There are aerial masts on the hill.The hill was purchased by Hampshire County Council in 1966. Prior to the purchase the summit was used for growing wheat but now the only farming activity is grazing. In December 2021 a £240,000 program was announced to restore grassland on the hill and improve trails.Butser Hill has a rich variety of flora and fauna located upon the hill. Butser Hill is in the top twenty Hampshire chalk grassland sites for its rich vascular flora, and is the richest chalk grassland site in Hampshire in terms of its bryophyte (125 species) and lichen (82 species) flora. As well as this, over 30 species of butterfly have been recorded, including populations of Duke of Burgundy and the Silver-spotted Skipper, making the area an important conservation area for many butterfly species. There is an annual Fell Run called the Butser Hill Challenge that involves running up and down the hill three times.