98 The East Anglian Earthquake.
Chelmford.—The shock was sharply felt in many buildings,
especially at the foot of Springfield Hill, about half a mile
from the town. In many of the houses furniture and other
movable objects were overturned. Mr. F. H. Meggy, to
whom I am indebted for much information from this place,
informs me that near the top of the hill, which is covered
with from 12 to 20 feet of gravel, the shock was not felt;
1000 feet nearer the town, in a S.W. direction, the movement
was felt but no bells were rung, whilst 900 feet further on
in the same direction, as well as in the town itself, the
disturbance was severe and bells were rung, although no
damage was done. At the top of Springfield Hill a horse
was thrown down, and the signalman in the box at the
Chelmsford railway-station was thrown against the handles
of the levers, the structure, which stands on an elevated
framework, at the same time swaying to and fro. In a
house near Moulsham a breakfast-table was thrown against a
partition wall. At the timber-yard, Springfield "Wharf, a
pile of planks was thrown down. Mr. R. J. Lawrence,
writing from the ' Chelmsford Chronicle' office, has furnished
me with some interesting details respecting his own expe-
rience. He was in the reading-room in a standing position,
pressing against a table, reading the paper, when the table
suddenly receded about an inch, his body following. The
movement was repeated a second and third time, his body
being jerked against the table with considerable force. " There
was an apparent depression in the floor of the room towards
the north, and the sensation was that the whole apartment
was being gently swung or thrown into the area beneath."
The wall was heard at the same time to give a sharp
crack, and on turning towards the door this was found to be
shaking. The three waves felt were estimated to last about
5 seconds, and the tremor of the door from 10 to 15 seconds
longer. The room in which this occurred is on the second
floor and faces N.N.W. The time, " as indicated by un-
reliable clocks," was 9.18, The foreman on the third floor
reported that the walls of his room moved from S.S.E. to
N.N.W., and he was himself thrown forwards towards the