South England flood of February 1287

In February 1287 a storm hit the southern coast of England with such ferocity that whole areas of coastline were redrawn. Silting up and cliff collapses led to towns that had stood by the sea finding themselves landlocked, while others that had been inland found themselves with access to the sea.

The city of Winchelsea on Romney Marsh was destroyed (later rebuilt on the cliff top behind).^[1] Nearby Broomhill was also destroyed. The course of the nearby river Rother was diverted away from New Romney, which was almost destroyed and left a mile from the coast, ending its role as a port. The Rother ran instead to sea at Rye, prompting its rise as a port. The storm contributed to the collapse of a cliff at Hastings, taking part of Hastings Castle with it, blocking the harbour and ending its role as a trade centre, though it continued as a centre for fishing. Whitstable in Kent is also reported to have been hit by the surge.

In all, the storm can be seen to have had a powerful effect on the Cinque Ports, two of which were hit (Hastings and New Romney), along with the supporting "Antient Town" of Winchelsea. Meanwhile, the other Ancient Town of Rye was advantaged.

The storm is one of two huge ones in England in 1287. The other was the one known in the Netherlands as St. Lucia's flood in December, the following winter. Together with a surge in January 1286,^[2] they seem to have prompted the decline of one of England's then leading ports, Dunwich in Suffolk.

Notes

↑ Sussex: Environment, Landscape and Society, Edited by The Geography Editorial Committee, University of Sussex, Alan Sutton, 1983, http://www.sussex.ac.uk/geography/researchprojects/coastview/Introduction_background/Sussex_blue_book_coasts.pdf
↑ Simons, Paul (2008). Since Records Began. London: Collins. pp. 175–6. ISBN 978-0-00-728463-4.

References

Weather events in the United Kingdom

Climate of the United Kingdom Drought in the United Kingdom

Avalanches	Lewes 1836 Buachaille Etive Mòr 2009

Coldwaves	Great Frost of 1709 Winter 1894–95 Winter 1946–47 Winter 1962–63 April 1983 January–March 1987 Winter 1990–91 Winter 1994–95 Winter 1995–96 Winter 2000–01 January 2003 February 2009 Winter 2009–10 Winter 2010–11 February 2012 Spring 2013

Flash floods	Louth 1920 Lynmouth 1952 Chew Stoke 1968 Glasgow 2002 Boscastle 2004 Morpeth 2008

Floods	Holmfirth 1738, 1777, 1852, 1944 Sheffield 1864 Thames 1928 Thames 1947 South England 1968 United Kingdom 2000 United Kingdom 2007 Sheffield 2009 United Kingdom 2009 United Kingdom 2012 United Kingdom 2013–14 Somerset Levels 2013–14 United Kingdom 2015–16 United Kingdom 2016

Heat waves Droughts	1906 1911 1955 1976 1990 2003 2006 Spring 2011 Autumn 2011 2012 2013 September 2016

Storm surges	South England 1287 North Sea 1287 Bristol Channel 1607¹ North Sea 1953 North Sea 1976 North Sea 1978 North Sea 2007 Irish Sea & North Sea 2013

Thunderstorms	Widecombe-in-the-Moor 1638

Tornadoes	London 1091 Great Malvern 1761 Birmingham 1931 Birmingham 2005 London 2006 West Midlands and Wales 2011

Windstorms	December 1703 November 1824 August 1848 October 1859 February 1871 December 1879 January 1881 blizzard October 1881 January 1968 January 1976 October 1987 January 1990 December 1998 January 2007 December 2011 January 2012 October 2013 December 2013 Christmas 2013 New Year 2014 February 2014 August 2014

Windstorm seasons	2015–16 Abigail Desmond Eva 2016–17

¹ Disputed tsunami

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South England flood of February 1287

See also

Notes

References