Sarah
Hawkins Genealogy Site
Newspaper
Articles
Taunton Courier. Bristol and Exeter Journal, and Western Advertiser. Wednesday 04 Dec 1929
Page 6 Column 3
THE FLOODS.
The weather experienced during the weekend was the worst known in West Somerset for many years past, for in addition to the boisterous winds the rain was more torrential than usual, whilst on Saturday evening it was accompanied by heavy thunder and vivid lightning. The Valley of the Tone, in common with other low-lying areas, presented an unusual appearance, and looked more like a sea than grazing land, hundreds of acres being completely submerged, doing a great deal of damage to property, stock-in-trade, and also live stock. At Taunton there was a great deal of anxiety when the flood was at its height, and many of the older residents recalled the fact that it was forty years ago last March that the disastrous flood occurred which ruined many homes in the neighbourhood of Sherford, Tangier, and North Town. Many anxious eyes watched the rise of the water at the Horse Pond, whilst pedestrians stopped and looked over Tone Bridge as the water lapped the top of the bank along Messrs. Penny's timber yard, but during the afternoon there was a considerable subsidence, and before the shops closed all(?) doubts as to the possibility of another Taunton flood had been set at rest. The new penstocks for dealing with flooding at French Weir proved their worth, for the volume of water coming down the river had not been equalled for many years, yet all was passed to the lower reaches without the town suffering the slightest inconvenience. The retaining bank at the new Markets stood the test admirably, and as the auction yard was not flooded there would not appear to be any risk of this happening in the future unless the rainfall is far more abnormal than that of the past week-end. Those who had built on the opposite side of Priory Bridge-road, however, were less fortunate, for their buildings became water-logged, whilst the triangular piece of ground purchased by the County Cricket Club as an additional entrance resembled a miniature lake. Taking all things into consideration, the town is to be congratulated upon having escaped so lightly. In the rural districts many roads were flooded to a considerable depth, and some were impassable to all kinds of traffic.