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<DATE>2009-03-21</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Scott Lepisto</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Checklist:
x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate
x Add DIV TYPEs, validate
x Review structure, use BODY or rarely GROUP
x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N=""
x Proof title page(s)
x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE
x Check ^, oe, italic I / J, _Initals, space between &amp;c FIGURE
x Check q; startq endq Q
x Check ligatures if in black letter &abper; &abpro; &abus; &abquod; &absed; &abser; &abcon; &abrum; &abis;
x Correct illegibles from proofsheet
x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs, &punc;
Final validate

Corrected [  ] illegible groups out of [  ].
Converted [  ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible".
DONE</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="A95213">
<STC T="W">t2961</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">42475263</BIBNO>
<VID>151423</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letters">
<PB N="1" REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>A TRUE RELATION OF THE GREAT <HI>Thunder, Lightning, Rain,</HI> GREAT VVIND, AND Prodigious HAIL, That Happened at ALVANLEY In the Pari&s;h of <HI>Frod&s;ham</HI> in CHESHIRE. On Sunday the 19th day of <HI>June.</HI> 1687. As it was &s;ent to a Merchant in <HI>London.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<OPENER><DATELINE><HI>Alvandley</HI> <DATE>this 18th of <HI>July</HI> 1687.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SALUTE>Loving Cou&s;in,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>I <HI>Have not received one Line from thee, &s;ince thy li&s;t going to</HI> London: <HI>But Cou&s;in</HI> Elizabeth Bird&s;ey <HI>told me of thy dangerous Sickne&s;s, for which I am much troubled, but &s;hall be glad to hear of thy perfect Recovery to Health again. God grant that all Afflictions we meet with in this vale of Tears or Tran&s;itory Life, may be a means to draw us nearer him&s;elf, who only can help, &s;upport, and &s;trengthen our Infirmities. I hope the&s;e Lines will find thee better Recovered.</HI></P>
<PB N="2" REF="2">
<P><HI>I was de&s;ired by our Neighbour</HI> Jeremiah Leech, <HI>(who&s;e kind Love is herein re|membred to thee) to &s;end thee a Copy of the Relation of that remarkable Accident, which by the di&s;po&s;ing hand of God, happened with us at</HI> Alvandley <HI>the</HI> 19th <HI>of</HI> June <HI>la&s;t pa&s;t, to the great damage of our Corn, Hou&s;es, Cattle, Meadowing and Fruits, which was occa&s;ioned by the Wind and Prodigious Hail, which may appear by the following Relation, which be the &s;aid</HI> J. Leech <HI>is very de&s;irous may be com|mitted to the Pre&s;s, that all might have a true accompt of it, and de&s;ired me, to re|que&s;t thee to do it, that for time to come it may be known and kept in mind how the Lord hath dealt with us in his Judgments in this kind, which were wonderfully mixt with Mercy to us, in pre&s;erving our Lives, when much Cattel hardly e&s;caped, being brui&s;ed, and hurt, and cut, till blood ran down them, as appears by the Rela|tion following, which is a true Account how it was; I being an Eye-witne&s;s, and had a &s;hare of it. So with mine, and Brothers kind Love to thee, wi&s;hing thy good health, and to hear from thee, I re&s;t</HI></P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><HI>Thy a&s;&s;ured Loving Kin&s;man,</HI> Nathaniel Bu&s;hell.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>The Copy as it was Directed to Sir <HI>John Arderne,</HI> take as followeth.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>Right Wor&s;hipful,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WE your di&s;tre&s;&s;ed Tenants in <HI>Alvandley,</HI> do Certifie unto you, how it hath plea&s;ed Almighty God to &s;hew his great Power, in that terrible &s;torm of Thunder, Lightning, Rain, great Wind and Hail, that lighted on us, your Wor&s;hips di&s;tre&s;&s;ed Tennants in <HI>Alvandley</HI> the 19th of <HI>June</HI> 1687. But we are not able to expre&s;s the terriblene&s;s of it in full, being too apt to forget, like <HI>Pharoah</HI> of Old; but &s;eeing it hath left &s;uch memorable Monu|ments of the de&s;tructivene&s;s of it, all the beholders have &s;tood amazed at it, fetching Tears from the Eyes of the Tender-hearted, many having come far to &s;ee it; and &s;aid, if it had been atte&s;ted to them upon Oath how de&s;tructive it was, they could not have believed it had been &s;o, till they came to &s;ee it.</P>
<P>May it plea&s;e you, That after great Lightning, Thunder and Rain, there aro&s;e a great terrible Wind, which brought with it the great Hail in abun|dance, which at the fir&s;t da&s;h broke all our Gla&s;s Windows that were on the South-We&s;t &s;ides of our Hou&s;es, the Wind at that in&s;tant coming from thence upon us; and i&s;&s;ued a fla&s;hing Fire, that accompanied with great Thunder, the Hail came with great vioience, and had &s;harp Ends and Edges like broken Ice, Cutting, Smiting, and driving down all tops of Trees and young Plants, and cut the Backs of our Kine, till Blood i&s;&s;ued therefrom, and brui&s;ed the Elders and Paps, and wonderfully affrighted them, that they ran as if they had been Mad, leaping out of their Pa&s;tures, &s;ome into Pits and were almo&s;t drowned; &s;ome people that were out of Doors were ill beaten and brui&s;ed ere they could get to &s;helter them&s;elves, that to our knowledge their fle&s;h was as black as pots, and &s;carce able to go. Although prai&s;ed be God, he in his infinite Mercy &s;pa|red both Man and Bea&s;t alive, which is no &s;mall wonder, for it killed flying Fowl, both Crows and Pyes, and other Fowl. Several of our Buildings were Shattered and Battered by it; and the Roofs of both Thatch and Slate torn and uncovered: &s;ome Walls both Timber and Stone driven down; the Windmill was blown and driven down; nay, which is mo&s;t remarkable, it broke &s;trong &s;ound Trees of a great &s;ub&s;tance off in the middle, and blew down very many
<PB N="3" REF="2">fruit Trees, and de&s;troyed all the Fruits, the which were abundance before the Storm was; and did &s;o cut and brui&s;e all &s;orts of Fruit Trees and other Trees, that we think they will hardly get recovery, the Hail-&s;tones being many of them &s;harp, that they &s;lit the Bark of Trees as if done with a Knife: if any Apple be left, it &s;eems as if it were cut with a Knife. All our Gardens, Plants, and Flowers are de&s;troyed but what were within Ground; our Hedges and Quick&s;ets are pill'd, &s;o as the Leaf and Bark is not left.</P>
<P>But we may &s;ay this is little in Compari&s;on of the lo&s;s of our Corn in every &s;ort of Grain, which was Smitten very terrible, <HI>viz.</HI> Wheat, Rye, Barly, Oates, Pea&s;e, Beans, <HI>French</HI>-Wheat, with our Flax and Hemp; in a Word, all was by the &s;aid Storm of Hail de&s;troyed, &s;o that &s;ome have Plowed it up where their Corn was, and Sowed it again; &s;ome have Plowed it for Summer work, and &s;ome have turned their Cattle into their Corn Fields, and &s;ome others let it lie, to &s;ee what the Lord will be plea&s;ed to do with it.</P>
<P>The Tythe-Corn of the Town, that u&s;ually hath been Let from 25 to 26 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> and &s;ometimes at 30 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> the Morning after the Storm, none would have given 1 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> for it: The lo&s;s of our Meadowing is not a whit behind the re&s;t: To the great Damage of the Town; mo&s;t of the Town Folk being Daries; the Gra&s;s was Beaten and Battered as if pounded in a Mortar, &s;o that there is little left, and what between, the Sap of Trees, Corn and Gra&s;s. Our Pits and Ditches are Dyed like Tanners Bark-Pits. We heard that our Neighbouring Towns|men were &s;o &s;orry for us, that one &s;aid he would (if the re&s;t would do like|wi&s;e) give us a Load of Hay for relief of our Cattle.</P>
<P>The Hail and Wind continued about half an hour; the Hail-&s;tones were of divers &s;hapes, &s;ome with &s;harp Ends and Edges, and like your Smiths Cynders, &s;ome &s;ay there were of 8 or 9 Inches about; but we were &s;o affrighted that Night we did not regard to mea&s;ure them, but next day there was mea&s;ured that were 5 Inches about, and on the <HI>Friday</HI> following which was 5 days after, there was found in old Thatch, Hail that was 5 Inches about, we cannot ex|pre&s;s our lo&s;s, &s;u&s;tained by the &s;aid Wind and Hail; there was &s;uch abundance of it, and it beat mightily into our Hou&s;es, that our Old Corn, Chee&s;e, Meat, Bedding, and other hou&s;hold Goods received great Damage by it, all the &s;ub|&s;tance of the Storm lighted on our Village, as it afterwards appeared, for that way the Storm drove it pa&s;&s;ed by the Neighbouring Towns, the Hill being be|twixt them and us, &s;o they &s;u&s;tained very little lo&s;s by it.</P>
<P>Truly &s;ince the great Hail in the Land of <HI>Egypt,</HI> we do not hear that the like hath been &s;een for Thunder, Hail, and Fire mingled with it, fla&s;hing upon the Ground, as it appeared to many that beheld it, and came with &s;uch a hei|deous Noi&s;e, that cannot be expre&s;s'd, betwixt the Hail and Wind, its violence was great, being in &s;uch abundance, that it lay in &s;ome places three quarters of a Yard deep, and beat up the Ground, and drove it on heaps in &s;ome places, and after it, followed a great Damp or Mi&s;t, with a very offen&s;ive &s;mell; but we de&s;ire to give Glory and Thanks to Almighty God, that &s;pared our Lives and the Lives of our Cattle, when it had been &s;o ea&s;ie a thing to de&s;troy us, when &s;tronger things were de&s;troyed, but that he plea&s;ed to give a Commi&s;&s;ion to its &s;trong Force, and no further to proceed.</P>
<P>And we humbly pray God, that we who have &s;een and felt his mighty Power, and all others, who only hear of this Relation, may make a right improve|men of it, to the Glory of Almighty God and our own &s;ouls good.</P>
<P>And we who&s;e Names are hereunto &s;ub&s;cribed do humbly conclude, that all our lo&s;&s;es in the afore-mentioned particulars, within the Precincts of <HI>Alvanley,</HI> will amount unto the Sum of &s;everal 1000 <ABBR><HI>l.</HI></ABBR> and upwards, unle&s;s God in his infinite Mercy find out a way for our Relief; but it pittys our hearts mo&s;t of all, for our poor Widows and Fatherle&s;s, who&s;e whole years profits are de&s;troyed.</P>
<PB N="4" REF="3">
<CLOSER><SIGNED>We who&s;e Names are hereunto &s;ub&s;cribed, &s;hall be ready to atte&s;t what is here Written for certain Truths and no feigned things.
<LIST>
<ITEM><HI>John Turner,</HI> Mini&s;ter at <HI>Alvandley</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Clarke,</HI> School-ma&s;ter</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Walker,</HI> Clerk at the Chappel</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Samuel Gerrard</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Jeremiah Leech</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>George Whitley</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Richard Simcock</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Ba&s;&s;net.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John A&s;hbrooke</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Samuel Leech</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Robert Simcock</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>John Hayes</HI></ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED>

<POSTSCRIPT>
<P><HI>John Bu&s;hell,</HI> of the Pari&s;h of <HI>Allhallows the Wall, London,</HI> knows very well the per&s;ons who &s;ent this Letter, as likewi&s;e &s;ome of the per&s;ons above-named, and do believe this Relation to be very true, having received a Letter from another per&s;on to the &s;ame Effect.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>John Bu&s;hell.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</POSTSCRIPT>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P>I <HI>William Watts</HI> of the &s;aid Pari&s;h of <HI>Allhallows in the Wall,</HI> do know very well, the per&s;on that &s;ent the above-written Letter, and doth really believe the above-written Relation to be true.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>William Watts</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</POSTSCRIPT>
<POSTSCRIPT>
<P>I <HI>William John&s;on</HI> of <HI>London,</HI> Notary Publique, do Certifie that I do know, not only the &s;aid per&s;on that &s;ent the &s;aid Letter, but al&s;o &s;everal other of the per|&s;ons Inhabitants there, and that I believe the above Relation to be a&s;&s;uredly true, and no fal&s;e thing, I having &s;een a Letter &s;ometime &s;ince to that Effect.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>William John&s;on.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</POSTSCRIPT></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="license">
<P>This may be Printed,</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>R P.</SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>July <HI>the</HI> 28th 1687.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="colophon">
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed by <HI>D. Mallet,</HI> for G.P. 1687.</P>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
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