Descriptive Report. 57
Cemetery.—A coping-stone was dislodged from one of the
chapels, and a chimney thrown down at the gate lodge.
Mr. T. B. Harrington, of Marlborough Villa, who witnessed
the fall of this last chimney, has furnished me with some in-
teresting details. He was walking along the Mersea Road,
in a direction nearly N. 30° W., and when nearing the
Cemetery heard a sound which he at first considered to be
distant artillery or thunder, but which at the time struck him
as being too loud for the usual sound of distant artillery.
Mr. Harrington continues:—"While I was wondering what
it was (I still kept on walking) I observed the little house
quiver and the top part of the chimney and pot fall to the
ground. I stood still in amazement, and the instant I saw
this the ground very perceptibly heaved under me, in fact it
caused me to reel; immediately following that I heard the
sound of falling chimneys, tiles, &c." This observer adds, in
further explanation, that he first heard the sound, which
appeared to approach from his left side (approximately from
a south or south-westerly direction) and then moved on for a
distance of eight or ten paces before he saw the chimney fall
and simultaneously felt the heave of the ground. After this
the sound of falling objects was heard for four or five seconds.
The morning was quite calm (" scarcely a breath of air"),
partly cloudy, with occasional sunshine. Mr. Harrington
informs me that at Marlborough Villa, about 400 to 500 yards
from the Cemetery gate, no damage was incurred, although
bells were rung and objects thrown off mantelpieces. Two
clocks were stopped, both swinging N.W. and S.E. (approxi-
mately), and other clocks swinging at right angles to these
were not affected.
The Mersea Road runs almost due south from the Ceme-
tery for a distance of a mile and then winds towards the S.E.
Practically, no damage was observed along here, nor at
Blackheath and Berechurch to the west. Some men working
on the land at the last place are reported to have witnessed
the passage of the earth-wave from S. to N.
Kingsford.—Mr. Horace Green's house seen to totter by
the gardener, and the chimneys afterwards found cracked and
insecure; a cottage on the estate reported to be wrecked.