Meteorological Phenomena - "Ramble through St. Leonards
148 St
During the sojourn at St. Leonards of the ex-Royal Family of France (to be noticed further on) our now old townsman, Mr. Hardwicke Bray, was engaged as tutor to the Count de Paris and Duc de Chartres. He has since died (in 1897) at 86 years of age.
Mr. Richard Hawkins was elected out of 52 applicants as dispenser at the Dispensary, in the room of Mr. Jackson who had resigned.
Mr. T. N. Ward, of Ore, created a little sensation by the erection of a Steam flour-mill at Ore, which ground 4 sacks of wheat per hour.
“The Cow jumped over the Moon,” but it was not the moon in the heavens nor the ** man in the moon,” but a young man named Moon, who, on the 5th of December, was tossed by a cow, and, luckily, without doing him serious bodily harm, a good shaking and a few bruises being the result only.
Mr. F. Ticehurst, on the 20th of December, was presented with a silver tea-service valued at 100 guineas by a body his public services as Mayor, his exertions among the sick poor during the cholera, and his detection of the Guestling poisoning cases.
The last personal matter of 1849 to be noticed is that which relates to Mr, (“Crazy Tom“) Richardson, whose ingenuity and eccentricity has been fully set forth at another place. Among other works of his handicraft was a six feet refracting telescope which was raffled for by 40 persons at 10/- per chance.
Accidental Fires
Allusions have been made to water and to Clark's new water-works, and as water is generally used to extinguish fires, it seems but a connective step to a narrative of the fires which occurred in 1849. The first was on the 7th of February, and its site was in Norman Road, next door to what was afterwards, and still is, the St. Leonards Mechanics’ Institution. It occurred about noon in Mr, James Smith’s work shop, and though it was put out in a short time with the assistance of neighbours, the damage was considerable.
The next accidental fire occurred on the 15th of October, and although it was extinguished, as in the first case, with the help of neighbours, it created much alarm. It was at 3 Edith place, St. Mary’s terrace, more commonly known at that time as the “Long Fields.” The house was inhabited at the time by the Rev. J. Sheal. A brick had fallen out of a copper flue connected with the chimney, and the bond-timber having got ignited, the flame ascended the lath and plaster into a bed-room, and had it not been for the help so quickly rendered, the whole house might soon have been in flames.
The next providential prevention of destruction by fire was not in Hastings or St. Leonards, but its discovery was by a St. Leonards tradesman, In the month of November as Mr. Albert Parks was returning from Battle, he saw smoke issuing from a stable near the Black horse mill. He entered and found two horses kicking in a frantic manner from the smoke and heat of smouldering straw. After releasing the horses, which he did at great risk, he cleared away the ignited straw, and discovered one of the posts of the partition on fire, Water being at hand, the fire was soon put out, and but for Mr. Parks’ discovery and prompt action, the entire stable, together with the horses, and contiguous stacks and buildings might have been destroyed.
But the greatest loss by fire during the year in the neighbourhood of Hastings was at Ore on the 18th of September. The fire occurred at a barn and farm premises, owned by Musgrave Briscoe, Esq., and tenanted by Godfrey Philcox, near the Westfield lane at its junction with the Rye road. A portion of the premises had been let to Mr. Parks, a bricks contractor to the railway works. One of his men who slept in the barn was awoke by the fire, and immediately gave the alarm. A number of railway labourers collected and assisted in the attempt to put it out, but it raged for nearly three hours, and when the Hastings firemen with their engine arrived they found only a heap of ruins. The loss, including the value of a ton of hay, was estimated at £100.
Another fire — this time supposed to have been caused by a lighted candle — occurred at the Foresters’ Arms inn on Dec. 3rd. There were forty railway navvies lodging in the house at the time, and great confusion prevailed when the fire was discovered. Everything in one room, valued at £40, was consumed before the tire could be extinguished.
Two nights later, a fire broke out in the rear of 22 All Saint's street, owing to the combustion of slaked lime. It was soon subdued, and very little damage resulted.
Meteorological Phenomena
From terrestrial fires, I take an imaginary flight to a celestial one. On August 7th during a thunderstorm, the house No. 9 Maze hill, St. Leonards occupied by Mr. Nathan and family, was struck by lightning, soon after midnight. It entered the top front bed-room in which two females were sleeping, both of whom were greatly alarmed, but not injured. It then passed along the bell-wires, through bedrooms and sitting-rooms, to the kitchen, where the ceiling was much scorched, It then appeared to have travelled to the entrance hall (where the bell was standing upon its head) and to have escaped at the front door, “like a thief in the night.” Wires were broken at several places, cranks and brackets melted, bed room ceilings partly torn down and bed-clothes singed; yet, as though by a miracle, not any person was injured, On the preceding Sunday evening, a beautiful lunar Rainbow was observed from the hill near the same spot,
On Monday. Sept. 10th, a violent storm occurred at a time when 1,200 excursionists were assembled at the railway station previous to departure. It caused much confusion — not to say fear — among them, but no bodily harm came of it.
Another electrical tempest occurred on June 4th, but its most destructive effects were in the neighbourhood of Brighton. In that town, some of the hail-stones were as large as hen’s eggs, the damage by which was very great. The Brighton Guardian, which enumerated the principal conservatories, sky lights and windows which suffered, stated that 20,000 squares of glass were broken.
And now, to have done with the celestial fire works and their coneomitants, I come to the story of Nature's waterworks. The month of October is one when the winter gales most usually begin, and the said month in this Particular year was ushered in by a strong gale and turbulent sea, by the action of which the parade and sea-wall on the eastside of the Archway were destroyed. The gales continued during the greater part of the first week, and on the 6th and 7th days, there was an eighteen-hours’ fall of rain. On the latter day (Sunday) the flood poured down the valley, through the hop-gardens and brick-fields, where is now the lower part of the Alexandra Park, into the meadows and brooks (now St. Andrew’s Square, Recreation Ground, Town Hall, &c.) and nearly swept away two of the navvies’ huts. Planks, wheelbarrows and other objects were floating in all directions, and a community of pigs near the Gas Works had to swim for their lives, The rats also, in countless numbers, which had burrowed for years in and about the slaughter-house, were driven out by the water. At high water of the sea the outlet of storm-water was blocked, and York buildings, as well as Meadow Cottages (now the General Post-office and adjoining buildings), were inaccessible for several hours. From the Ozier gardens to Cambridge road, the area was — as I had several times before seen it — one vast lake. The gales here noticed were southerly and westerly ones, but on the 28th of December, there was a northerly gale which continued the whole day, preceded by a fall of Snow, and a bitterly cold air, the thermometer registering 14 degrees’ below the freezing point, Notwithstanding that the sky was clear and the sun shone brillantly, the frozen flakes of snow were taken up by the gale in clouds and drove over the fields into the sea. Among other incidents, a hayrick in the Long Fields was levelled to the ground and scattered.
Having shewn the effects of southerly gales and a northerly gale, it may be appropriate to describe the freaks of a westerly gale which paid us a visit on the 7th of March. Many persons were taking walking exercise on the Eversfield parade, when they were startled at seeing a huge column of dust rising and travelling in the direction of Hastings, arid then mingling apparently with a mass of scudding clouds, swept on furiously and blinded the pedestrians with dust and grit. This was the herald of a spring winter, as will be now seen.
On the following day (March 8th) having gone through the period of winter with an autumn temperature, all on a sudden, Hastings, with other places, was visited with snow and hail, and the landscape, smiling with the verdure of spring, was transformed into a scene of wintry desolation. At night the thermometer registered 4 deg. of frost.
From that day until the 12th of May continued cold and ungenial, with falls of snow and hail, several solar halos (caused by frigid particles in the air) and some thunder. This period, however, was remarkable for a large amount of sunshine, but, as is often the case in winter and spring, the greater the sunshine the greater the cold. The condition of the weather for the whole year, with its assumed causes, was shown by St. Leonardensis in his “Tales and Times of the Hilders,” and it must suffice here to say that the temperature of January was above the average for 70 years; February was 4 deg, above March very mild till the said 8th, and April 3 deg. below. All the mild periods were moister and much less bright than the colder ones.
In the chapter succeeding this are described the improvements of the walks and ways of Hastings in 1849. Whilst here it will not be inappropriate to extract from the Hastings News a paragraph by a correspondent under the heading of
A Ramble through St. Leonards
I made occasion to visit St. Leonards, a few weeks back, on a fine sunny day, and have since been to it in all shades of light, and at nearly all hours. My first wonder in casting my eyes about was that local pens had been so sparing in their black libations: to this goddess of the southern coast. For myself, I love not only to admire, but to feel a resurrection of my first emotions of pleasure always occurring in the act of recording equal admiration for other minds. The lovely promenade before the placid sea delighted me much. Minds like Byron’s and Campbell's find here a congenial theme: and Madden might, for his reputation’s sake, have spared himself his burlesque on Campbell’s magnificent ode. Southall’s Library occupied my attention for awhile, and then came the baths — food for the mind and comfort for the body nearly contiguous. Opposite is the Victoria Hotel, lately the abode of the exiled royalist of La Belle France. This is a noble building; and on the principle of Johnson’s parody — ‘He who keeps fat oxen should himself be fat,’ I thought the keeper of such an hotel should himself be a noble fellow, I was curious enough to enquire, and was glad, for the sake of my powers of divination, to find it was so, The shady Colonnades, the overlooked Undercliff, the well-arranged lodging houses, and well-stored shops on the Marina, are all good, even if the architectural style of some of them may be faulty. The Assembly Room is a much larger one than some towns can boast of. The Subscription Gardens are most beautiful — a fitting place for the loveliest fawns and nymphs of the loveliest poetry to dwell in. And lovely beings are here too, for ladies wander in fairy groups for health and converse amid the cultivated luxuriance of this racy spot. The clock-house smiles down in this retreat as if to give a gentle caution that in pleasure-time the hours fly most swiftly away. Allegria, the residence of Mr. Robert Hollond, M.P. for the borough, is on the other bank of the gardens, and near to it is a feudal-looking edifice called Quarry Castle. The Archery Grounds next meet the eye; and here both Art and Nature divide the thoughts and claim the heart. Further on I saw the word Chalybeate in a neat little garden by the roadside. My curiosity led me in, and here I was introduced to Mr. Grosslob, a German gentleman, with whom I passed a very agreeable hour. Is my reader's patience spun out? If so, suppose I pause awhile, and let the rambler tell you of other rambles another time.”
The Ex-Royal Family
In the preceding ”Ramble at St. Leonards,” the writer refers to Mr. Robert Hollond, M.P., and to the parody on Campbell's Ode to the Sea, as well as to Mr. Grosslob and his chatybeate spa, all of which, it will be remembered, have been noticed in these pages. The Rambler also refers to the Victoria Hotel as being lately the abode of the exiled royalists of La Belle France. This last-named reference is just that which leads to the next employment of my own pen.
The first intimation given to the public that the ex-King and Queen of the French would come to St. Leonards to reside for some time was in the announcement that a suite of apartments, numbering 88 rooms, had been taken at the Victoria Hotel for the Count and Countesse de Neuilly, whose arrival was fixed for the 12th of April. The arrival, however, was not effected until the following Saturday, April 18th. The visitors consisted of Louis Phillipe, Queen Amelie, Prince and Princess de Joinyille, Duke and Duchess de Neymours, and the several attendants.
At the West-Marina station the door of the saloon carriage was opened by Mr. Wm. Chamberlin, jun., and his ex Majesty was handed out by Mr. Sutton, the station-master. Three hearty cheers were given for the Count and Countesse de Nenilly (the names which the ex-King and Queen had assumed), while several voices shouted ”Welcome to St. Leonards.” The Count bowed gracefully, and personally thanked the company for their kind reception. He also cordially shook hands with an elderly gentleman on the platform, The route from the railway to the hotel was lined with carriages and bystanders, and with the waving of handkerchiefs and lifting of hats, the scene was one of unusual animation. The royal visitors were received at the hotel by the Mayor and Corporation, the reception being witnessed by some hundreds of persons.
It is somewhat curious that Lady Lubbock when she fled from Paris during the revolution of 1830 should first reside at the Victoria Hotel, and that Louis Phillipe, who was proclaimed King of the French during that revolution, should also take up his residence at the same hotel after his flight from Paris during the revolution of 1848. Not less curious is the fact that the Empress Eugenie, after her flight from France during the disturbances of 1870, should come to the Marine Hotel, at Hastings, which was next to the house where her future husband (Louis Napoleon) resided ere he was proclaimed President of the Republic in 1848.
The next day after the arrival of the ex- Royals being Sunday, they attended service at the Catholic Church of All Souls in the morning, and afterwards walked on the parade. On Monday, several parts of the town were visited, and sketches were taken by. Prince de Joinville from the Coastguard Station on Cuckoo Hill. By the great respect that was everywhere shown them it soon became manifest to the distinguished family that commiseration was felt for the reversal of their position. The yacht British Lion was engaged for their use, and on it the tricolour was displayed as an emblem of courteous nationality. The Prince de Joinville made excursions almost daily in the British Lion, or on horseback,
in the town’s vicinity. During the first week the royal party visited the Castle, Battle Abbey and other places, and the ex-Queen, it was said, felt herself gradually improving in health. Several French fishing-boats anchored in the roadstead and about 40 of their crews came ashore and conversed with their late King, and to whom he ordered money to be given. On the 23rd of April, the Duke and Duchess of Saxe Coburg Gotha and suite arrived by train at the hotel, thus augmenting the number who sat at meals to about 40. A few days later brought another addition in the persons of the Duke and Duchess d’Aumale, whilst a friendly letter from Queen Victoria was visibly gratifying to the whole party.
On the 24th of May (Queen Victoria’s birthday) the ex-Royals honoured with their presence the first of the season’s prize-shooting meetings of the Queen's St. Leonards Archers. The party consisted of the Count and Countesse de Neuilly, the Duc and Duchesse d’Aumale, the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg Gotha and their families and suite. The following autographs were written in the Society’s book : S. M. Louis Phillipe and S. M. Marie Amelie (ex King and Queen), Louis d’ Orleans and Victorie (Due and Duchesse de Neymours), and Marie Caroline Auguste (Duchesse d’Aumale), In the following week the Duc d’Aumale and Prince de Joinville went out fishing in the British Lion, and his ex-Majesty also had a marine excursion in the same yacht. On the following Sunday, after a prolonged visit, the Duke and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg left St. Leonards. for Dover, en route for Ostend and Brussels, On the 23rd of June was held the second prize-meeting for that year of the Queen’s St. Leonards Archers, at which a great number of distinguished persons were present, including some of the ex-Royals’ party, Brett's St. Leonards Band enlivened the proceedings.
Royalty at St. Leonards and Bexhill
On Thursday, June 28th, the Count and Countesse de Neuilly, with the Duke and Duchess d’Aumale, and the Duchess de Neymours, left the Hotel in a splendid saloon carriage of the L B. & S.C, Company) for Lewes, there to await the arrival of the Duchess of Orleans, who was expected, via London, from the Continent, and to come on to St. Leonards, accompanied by the Queen of the Belgians, the Prince and Princess de Joinville, the Duke de Neymours, the Count de Paris, and the Duke de Chartres. The Duchess of Orleans had been travelling on the con-
